Presentation Guidelines: Fabric and Fashion Design

Purpose/Objectives:

To develop leadership abilities and build character.
To build self-confidence and poise by developing:
1. skills necessary to organize and plan a presentation using a particular technique.
2. ability to select the most suitable sewing technique to achieve a quality product.
3. ability to present sewing information in an effective way to various audiences or groups, and
4. knowledge of and skill in the use of decision-making processes.

Eligibility:

Individuals may compete.

9-10 - 4-H'er must be 9 years old prior to January 1 of the current year and not have reached their eleventh burthday before January 1 of the current year.
11-13 - 4-H'er must be eleven years old prior to January 1 of the current year and not have reached their fourteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year.
14-18 - 4-H'er must be fourteen years of age prior to January 1 of the current year, and not have reached their nineteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year.

Resources: See Family and Consumer Resources Guide.

Rules/Regulations:

Suggestions/Helpful Hints:

A neat appearance in appropriate clothing attire for presentation delivery is important.
The types and usefulness of visual aids is determined by the type of presentation. Visual aids should support the presentation.

Presentation Ideas:

Emphasis should be on Apparel and related textiles.
Acceptable presentation topics do not include aesthetics, such as color coordination, proportion, line and design, etc.
Specific focus should include any one of the following subheadings:
- wardrobe selection and buymanship
- comparison shopping (choose one category, such as shirts, to compare shirts, jeans, pants, dresses, sweaters, jackets, etc.)
How to Judge Quality in a Specific Apparel and Textile Item
Care and Maintenance of Apparel and Textiles
- How to Select Storage Accessories for Specific Apparel and Textile Items
- Tips for Storing Out of Season Clothes
- How to Use Care Guide Labels in Caring for Clothes
- Best Practices for Laundering Clothes
- How to Repair a Specific Item, such as a zipper, ripped seam, hem, etc.
- How to Recycle a Specific Item, such as a shirt into a vest
- Pressing Techniques for a Specific Item, such as how to press pants
Textile Science
- Study of Fibers and Their Characteristics and Uses (select one fiber - cotton, wool, linen, silk, nylon, polyester, acrylic, acetate, rayon, etc.)
- Study of Fabric Finishes and Their Uses (plain, twill, satin, basket)
Clothing Construction
- Sewing Equipment and Its Uses
- Fabric Preparation and Pattern Layout
- How to Mark Garment Parts
- Pressing Tools and Their Uses
- Apparel Sewing Techniques - How to...
  - Construct a Dart, zipper, waistband, neck facing, pleats, gathers, collars, sleeves, etc.
  - Specific technique such as clean-finish, seam finishes, grade, clip and understich, using interfacing and lining.
- How To Work with Other Fabrics...
  - Napped Fabrics, silk-like fabrics, stripes, plaids, sheers, etc.
Clothing Entrepreurship
- Skills Needed To Run a Business
- Marketing My Product
- Learning How To Price My Product