Lebanon County 4-H’ers win awards at statewide fashion and textile competition

A squad of Lebanon County youth made their way to State College last month and presented their handmade creations at the statewide Fashion & Textile Revue hosted by Penn State Extension.

Taking place July 30 in the Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus, the revue competition saw 48 Pennsylvania 4-H’ers present finished garments and textile products, and discuss how they were made and what was learned in the process.

Seven Lebanon County contestants attended this year, all of whom have been members of the 4-H Friends Club for the last five years or more.

In the Textile Revue, Madison Copenhaver took home the top honors.

In the Fashion Revue, Lebanon Countians dominated, taking three of the five top spots. Copenhaver also placed first in this competition, with Olivia Morrissey taking second place and Jolene Bomgardner joining them in the top five.

All of the participants made covetable garments, some taking months to complete, which are shown off in the photo above. Here’s your guide to these unique items, from left to right, with descriptions provided by the 4-H:

• Stella Klynoot made a cotton blend unlined jacket with contrasting bias binding on the interior seams.
• Lyndsy Zechman made a lined wool “moto” jacket with precise topstitching. She also won Best of Show for advanced sewing at the recent Lebanon Area Fair!
• Hope Wagner made a blue Swiss dot tiered, lined dress with puff sleeves. She also made a cropped white denim jeans jacket with loads of topstitching and jeans tack buttons.
• Mackenzie Stellmach created a color-blocked sweatshirt with topstitching, lined hood, silver grommets for the drawstings, and a pouch pocket.
• Olivia Morrissey stitched a tan wool knit dress with bishop sleeves and an olive green lined wool wrap coat with tan top stitching.
• Madison Copenhaver sewed a lined, bias-cut plaid wrap jacket, lined wool paper bag waist pants, and a merino wool knit t-shirt with short sleeves. Madison also created a cross-stitch picture (not shown) for the Textile Revue contest where she received first place.
• Jolene Bomgardner created her graduation dress from black knit and embroidered black mesh sleeves.

Their instructors include 4-H mentors Maureen Light, Carrie Rhinier, and Linda Siegel.

If you or your child are interested in joining the 4-H Friends Club, contact Siegel at (717) 274-1197. For more information about 4-H in Lebanon County generally, contact Martha Gregory at (717) 270-4391.

Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using the contact form below and we’ll do our best to get back to you.