Alan is a freehand embroiderer who mainly creates pet portraits. Freehand embroidery is using a sewing machine but controlling all the stitches himself, nothing digital here! He often describes he work as ‘painting with thread’. Customers will send photos of their pets to Alan and he will create embroidered versions which can be displayed on embroidery hoops, mounted on boards and even on garments. Using embroidery skills, the portraits he sews, creates texture and a life like finish.

Alan discovered embroidery while studying Decorative Arts at Nottingham Trent University in 2015. Having never touched a sewing machine before, he instantly fell in love, developing his skills until he later went on the study a Masters in Textile Design Innovation in 2018. Alan initial embroidered woodland creatures, a love of his since a young age. After graduating, people started to contact him for commissioned worked of their pets, something which he never thought of. This became a side hustle for years, creating commissions while working full time jobs within the industry. Alan lost his full time job in 2022, but this was the best thing to ever happen to him. Overnight he rebranded his small business to Stitched by Alan and decided to focus on it full time, it was a sign.