Getting creative with a needle and thread
Published 7:00 am Saturday, December 5, 2020
A Passion for Thread: When she’s not studying for her degree, Chelsea Atchison creates custom embroidery pieces. Cathy Cook | Picayune Item
Certified Grandma: 28-year-old Chelsea Atchison jokes that with her embroidery skills she is the “grandma” of her social group. Submitted photo
Wearable Art: Along with decorative pieces, Chelsea Atchison also hand embroiders wearable items like the sunflower on this hat. Cathy Cook | Picayune Item
Bouquet: One piece Atchison is presently working on is a textured wedding bouquet in a large oval hoop. Cathy Cook | Picayune Item
Seasonal Work: Embroidery pieces are popular as gift items so Atchison stays busy embroidering winter themed pieces before the holidays. Cathy Cook | Picayune Item
Cathy Cook | Picayune Item
Submitted photo
To express herself creatively Chelsea Atchison uses needle and thread. Her hand-embroidered pieces feature bright sunflowers, leafy green letters, fall leaves with swirling patterns and nativities in silhouette.
Atchison is a one-woman embroidery business, Red-Threaded. She creates custom made door hangers and hand embroiders decorative and wearable pieces. She also machine embroiders T-shirts and stockings.
Atchison learned about embroidery, sewing and crochet from her grandmother, who worked as a seamstress at the Newton Company in Newton Mississippi.
“I just watched her whenever I had the chance and I loved it. I’ve known how to sew since I was like 8-years-old. I’ve been crocheting longer than that. Hand embroidery is actually the more recent of that,” she said.
Atchison had a very close relationship with her grandparents, fueling her love for creating with fabric.
“My grandmother and my grandfather, we were super close whenever I was younger. I watched everything that she did. I cook just like her. I use all of her recipes just from memory. I’m a certified grandma in my group of friends and my family. I just loved watching her do,” said Atchison.
Atchison starts a project by selecting the size hoop she wants to work with and drawing out a design. Sometimes she uses water soluble paint to sketch a design directly on the fabric. Currently she is working on a large embroidered bouquet with calla lilies and succulents, a depiction of a customer’s wedding bouquet.
While she’s accomplished at using thread to embroider color gradients, Atchison continues to push her embroidery skill so she can blend colors with even more subtlety.
“Everybody has their own artistic outlet and I guess this is just mine.”
Atchison’s pieces can be found on the Red-Threaded Facebook page.
