In Spring 2005, Natalie launched a collection (for her company at the time, called Project Alabama) that featured photographs from her family history and community, heat transferred onto t-shirts. She then added appliquéd details and embroidery, including written words and embroidered lines of text.

The photo shown above was one of the images included in the collection. Taken about 1964, the photo pictures Natalie, her father, and a horse Natalie always called Queenie (though the horse’s true name has been lost to history). And while the embroidered shirt and photos have been misplaced, we found photos of similar shirts in our archives from the same collection.

*Photos of shirts from Natalie’s portfolio by Reyez Melendez Photography.

P.S.: With Father’s Day fast approaching, use our Unisex T-Shirt pattern from The School of Making to create your own t-shirt honoring your father, grandfather, or any of the men who helped raise you.  Share your stories with us by tagging @theschoolofmaking.