Services

Custom chainstitch embroidery, Styling, Custom garment design, Vintage sourcing, on-site custom chainstitch embroidery

Source Material is a place where textile histories hold hands with contemporary clothing expressions. Available in limited piece collection drops, Source Material works exclusively with vintage garments as the canvas for creation, alteration, imaginative styling, disruption, and repair. Central to this work is the Chainstitch machine, an industrialized method of chainstitch embroidery created in the late 1800s as a part of the Industrial Revolution’s reinvention of garment manufacturing. These machines feature no computerization and require manual operation by skilled textile artists. Designs are hand drawn, fit to garment, and stitched with care through a laborious but magical artist to machine relationship.

Source Material was founded in 2021 by designer Grace Wells. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Grace graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies. She began her career in fashion designing for some of the industry’s biggest startups and independent designers, including Parade Underwear, Susan Alexandra, and THE SERIES NY. Grace’s work is heavily influenced by garment histories of the western United States. In November of 2021, Grace incorporated chainstitching into her creative practice. Since then, she has used the medium to capture the emotion and energy of her experience as a woman traveling alone in the American West.

Recent Collaborators

Artists

Sierra Ferrell

Mac Cornish

Radio Ranch

Brands

Lyft

Huckberry