Embroideries and Appliqué Breathe New Life Into Vintage Clothing

One of my favorite aspects of cus­tom embroi­dery is how it can make every­day items sud­den­ly pre­cious. (It’s part of the rea­son I start­ed my embroi­dery busi­ness, Brown Paper Stitch.) Illus­tra­tor and tex­tile artist Madeleine Kem­s­ley is doing this with vin­tage items. Tak­ing waist­coats, work­wear jack­ets, and more, she adds embroi­dery and appliqué designs to the gar­ments. The suns, flo­ra, and fau­na breathe new life into these pieces and give them a con­tem­po­rary point of view while still main­tain­ing a folk-art-esque appeal that is a cor­ner­stone of Madeleine’s style.

In addi­tion to wear­ables, Madeleine stitch­es on wall hang­ings and pil­lows. A selec­tion of her work is avail­able in her online shop. To see what she’s up to next, fol­low her on Insta­gram.

Illustrator and textile artist Madeleine Kemsley adds embroidery and appliqué designs to vintage garments, breathing new life into them.

Suddenly, a waistcoat has a new point of view.