Saturday, September 9th, 2023
Jefferson County Fair Park Activity Center, Jefferson, WI
The Wisconsin Make It With Wool competition is open to all Wisconsin residents and is for anyone interested in fiber arts fashion and creative design using wool or wool blend fabrics. Through personal creativity, contestants create sewn, knitted, crocheted, woven or felted garments and novelty items that promote the beauty and versatility of wool. Wisconsin Make it With Wool is sponsored by the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative and is guided by the National Make It With Wool Program (www.makeitwithwool.com).
Wisconsin offers participants two competitions to enter: the garment competition and the novelty competition.
In the garment
competition, contestants select wool fabrics and/or yarns, materials and supplies to construct a
garment and model that garment at the Make It with Wool Style Show. Contestants may spin
their own yarn, weave their own fabric and may receive instructions from parents, teachers, or
advisors. Garments are judged by a panel of judges before the style show. All garments
entered in competition must be completed after the previous year’s competition.
Winners of the Junior & Senior divisions go on to compete in the National Make It With Wool
Competition in Denver, CO, January 11-13, 2024. The Adult winner will receive a cash prize to
help cover the cost of shipping the garment for judging at the National Contest.
In addition to the garment competition, Wisconsin also holds a novelty contest for contestants to show off their creative uses of wool in non-garment and accessory items. Rules for each competition are below.
GARMENT COMPETITION RULES AND GUIDELINES
Who Can
Enter? (Ages as of January 1)
• Preteens- Ages 8 - 12
• Juniors- Ages 13 - 16
• Seniors- Ages 17 - 24
• Adults- 25 and older
• Made for
Others- Any age. In this division, the garment is made for another
person. The recipient must model the garment for the judges and again on stage in
the Style Show. The creator will answer the judges' questions and show the pattern.
What Can Juniors, Seniors & Adults Enter?
What Can Preteens & Made for
Others Enter?
Any garment, any number of pieces
from the above list. Winners of the Preteen and Made for Others divisions do not advance
to the National Competition.
What Fabrics/Yarns Can I Use?
Fabric and yarn requirements
are a minimum of 60% wool or specialty fiber for each fashion fabric or yarn used.
Specialty fibers include mohair, cashmere, alpaca, camel,
llama, vicuña and angora. Trims, facings, linings, interfacings and
underlining may be from fabrics other than wool.
What Are the Judging Criteria?
How Do I Enter The Garment Competition?
Test your fabric before construction of your garment (see IMPORTANT! paragraph above).
To participate in the Make It With Wool garment competition, the following must be sent to the National and State Directors
For the National Director
For each division being entered, the
following must be postmarked to the National Director by August 25, 2023:
Mail the above to:
National MIWW
c/o Karen Weight
480 South 300 West
Salem, Utah, 84653
For the Wisconsin Competition
For each division being entered, the
following must be postmarked to Terri Dallas by
August 25, 2023:
Mail the above to:
Wisconsin MIWW
c/o Terri Dallas
N5826 Wolf River Road
Shawano,
WI 54166
NOVELTY COMPETITION RULES AND GUIDELINES
Class A: Novelty Youth Wearable (Ages 17 & under)
Class B: Novelty Youth Non-wearable (ages 17 & under)
Class C: Novelty Adult Wearable (ages 18 & up)
Class D: Novelty Adult Non-wearable (ages 18 & up)
• Novelty items include, but are not
limited to: Slippers, purse, scarf, shawl, hat, gloves/mittens, belt, tie, pin, rugs,
quilts, wall hangings, table runners, or any other artistic creation using wool.
• Items may be sewn, knitted, crocheted, woven or felted out of wool or
specialty fibers.
* You may enter more than one entry for your age division.
*Novelty items do NOT need to be tested for wool content verification.
To enter the Novelty Competition, send the following to Terri Dallas, N5826 Wolf River Road, Shawano, WI 54166, postmarked by August 25, 2023:
Are there prizes in both the Garment and Novelty
competitions?
YES! In the garment
competition, Preteens and Made for
Others receive awards up to 3 placings. The first
placing Junior and Senior winners
will receive a trip to the national competition where scholarships and prizes are
awarded for the national winners.
The Adult winner receives a cash prize to help cover the
cost of shipping the garment for judging at the national contest.
Novelty winners receive awards up to 3 placings in each age division. Sewing machines, wool fabric, yarns, notions, equipment and other prizes are awarded at both the state and national competitions.
General questions about MIWW competition? Contact Lorrie Riemer,
262 512-0094 or [email protected]
Questions about MIWW entries? Contact Terri Dallas, 715 304-9483 or [email protected]
This beautiful queen sized quilt could be yours! The Wisconsin Make It With Wool (MIWW) program is selling raffle tickets with 100% of proceeds to benefit the program. The quilt was designed and constructed by Carol Battenberg, Johnson Creek; Wynn Wittkopf, Pewaukee; Becky Mehringer, Cambridge and was quilted by Patty Geishert of Deerfield.
The Wisconsin Make It With Wool program is generously supported by the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative, Jefferson County Farm Bureau and the Jefferson County Agri-Business Club. The quilt raffle drawing will take place at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival on Saturday, September 9 following the Style Show and Awards Presentation and will be held in the Activity Center.
Tickets are $1 each or six for $5 and may be purchased at the festival.
Wisconsin Make It With Wool representatives showed off their talents during the 74th annual National Make It With Wool competition as part of the 2022 American Sheep Industry Convention held Jan. 20-22 in San Diego, California. Winners were announced at the National Make It With Wool Awards Program following the banquet and fashion show. Seventy-nine contestants from 28 states competed in four age divisions: Junior, Senior, Adult, and Fashion/Apparel Design.
Elizabeth Colwell of La Valle participated in the Junior category. Colwell constructed a three piece ensemble consisting of a periwinkle blue and plaid reversible jacket, gray pants and cream Italian wool top. Marissa Sanchez of California won the Junior division with her houndstooth lined coat and apple green sleeveless dress.
Kimberly Westenberg of Watertown participated in the Senior category. Kimberly’s plum colored coat featured machine embroidery on the yoke with Swarovski crystals. Whitney Black of Utah won the Senior division with her black lined coat and tan dress with flounce hem and sleeves.
Wisconsin’s Adult representative, Becky Piette from Rothschild was awarded 1st runner up with her three-piece tailored suit including a jade green jacket, a herringbone vest and 3-pocket jeans. Kim Vogley of Washington won the Adult division with her two-piece ivory dress and coat.
In the Fashion/Apparel Design division, Maria Olsson of Mt. Mary University in Milwaukee won the division for college students majoring in fashion or apparel design. Her emerald green dress featured removable sleeves.
Additional prizes were awarded for handwork, needlework, outstanding use of mohair, machine embroidery and exemplary construction.
Make It With Wool is a national competition that starts at the state level. Contestants in the MIWW competition sew, knit, crochet, weave or felt their garments, which must be made from at least 60% wool fabric or yarn. Contestants are divided into age divisions including Adult (age 25 and over), Senior (age 17-25), Junior (age 13-16), Preteen (age 12 and under), Made for Others, as well as a novelty contest at the state level. State winners in the Junior, Senior and Adult Divisions advance to the national competition.
The Wisconsin Make It With Wool competition is held annually at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in September at the Jefferson County Fair Park. The competition is open to any Wisconsin resident interested in fiber arts fashion and creative design using wool or wool blend fabrics. Through personal creativity, contestants create sewn, knitted, crocheted, woven or felted garments and novelty items that promote the beauty and versatility of wool.
For more information about the Wisconsin Make It With Wool program, official rules and entry forms, visit wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com or contact State Director Becky Mehringer at 920-220-1026 or [email protected]