About Us

Lauren Stenger (Singing Dog Stitchworks) is a multi-disciplinary fiber artist with a passion for restoring and using vintage industrial chainstitch embroidery machines to create heirloom-quality felt patches, and unique designs on clothing, accessories, and home goods. Most of her machines are nearly 100 years old! There is no computerization-- every motif is hand drawn and embroidered by Lauren by cranking a handle under the machine to guide the thread for a truly one of a kind piece of fiber art. 

You can find us:

In the Studio: Taking on custom commissions for individuals and local businesses.

On the Road: Bringing our vintage machines to live chainstitch events, weddings, and pop-ups for onsite personalization. 

FAQ: 

What is Chainstitching? 

Chainstitching is an embroidery technique where one continuous length of thread is looped onto itself to make a line. Designs are filled in by drawing overlapping circles or laying the thread down side by side until you reach the desired thickness.  
It was a popular way for embellishing clothing from the late 1800s until the 1980s when computerized embroidery machines became widespread. Think vintage workwear, western wear, or bowling team shirts.


What machines do you have?

I'm very lucky to have a handful of vintage/antique and rare chainstitch embroidery machines. 

  • 1930's Singer 114w103 - the machine I've had the longest. Sometimes it even accompanies me to pop ups and events. 

  • 1900-1930's Cornely L - my very fancy machine with lots of moving parts, I'm still working on getting this one up and running! 

  • 1940-1960's Cornely A2 Long Arm -  so much room for stitching on jackets and large items! I actually have two of these amazing machines but only one is set up at the moment. 

What Can You Embroider On? 

It's best to embroider on woven or felted fabrics (ie canvas or denim)...basically anything that isn't stretchy, is flat, and fits under my machine's foot. You can always sew a patch made on sturdy fabric to your stretchy fabric item.

How do I care for my chainstitched piece?
Dry cleaning is recommended for best results but machine washing on delicate or hand-washing with cold water should be fine. Lay flat to dry and don't bleach or iron.