Vintage chainstitch embroidery

As a chainstitch embroidery artist I am always on the lookout for vintage chainstitch embroidered pieces. Yesterday I stumbled upon this example at a flea market here in Indianapolis. For ten dollars I couldn't say no! The jacket itself is made in the USA and given that chainstitch embroidery in the states was rarely done past the mid 1980's, I would guess that the piece is from the late 70's or early 80's. I love that the embroidery has an image of the state of Indiana as well as a reference to the Indiana Veteran's Home where my grandma, Margaret Atwood, was so kindly cared for in her final months.

As you can see in the detail photo below the skilled embroiderers of the past were masters of their craft with a keen sense of how the design would translate as a chainstitch embroidered piece. This example was most likely worked on a Singer 114w103 which was the machine most commonly used in America for this type of work.

Another vintage piece that I picked up recently at a garage sale is an early 1970's Future Farmers of America jacket. The FFA jackets have remained basically the same since the 1950's and even today the blue corduroy FFA jackets feature chainstitch embroidered city and state names which are worked by skilled artisans.