4-H Sewing: Competition, and success!

After nearly three months - and a "push" before we took a family vacation to Disney - Anna finished her structured blouse! She loved sewing the buttonholes and adding the buttons, and was very proud of her finished product. But the test of her sewing would be the two competitions just days after we returned from vacation - the 4-H Fashion Revue, and the garment construction/sewing judging.

To our amazement, Anna won the Fashion Revue in her division. She was so excited. The original judging was held on a Monday before the fair started, and on Friday evening the sewists had their public show at the fairgrounds grandstand.

The day after the fashion revue judging, the sewists were judged on their construction techniques in an open judging, where they were told what they did well and what they could improve upon. The judge said Anna did an excellent job, but suggested she sew the buttons on differently by creating a thread shank. To create a thread shank, Anna will need to place a toothpick under the button to give space, sew the button several times, then remove the toothpick and wrap the thread around the thread under the button. The judge said this would make the buttons easier to use, and they wouldn't come off as easily.

But in the end, Anna won the garment construction portion of the contest as well, receiving a champion ribbon AND a state fair entry! "I'm glad I worked hard," she said, and is looking forward to seeing her blouse displayed at the Indiana State Fair in August!