National Craft Month: Sewist Laura Young

During March we’re featuring Kentucky State Fair exhibitors in celebration of National Craft Month!

Laura Young didn’t realize she’d started a new hobby until it was too late.

In October of 2020 Laura’s daughter hit a growth spurt, outgrowing her school uniform time and time again. As a solution, she decided to buy a sewing machine and let out the hems on her daughter’s skirts. She thought it would look better than hand sewing and over time save money on alterations. 

It was love at first stitch. Sewing opened up a world of possibilities, allowing her to design and create her own clothing. 

“I love the actual construction of sewing garments. It requires my complete focus, which means I tune out everything else going on in the world at the time, so it became a kind of therapy for me and I would spend hours sewing each day,” said Laura. “I feel like a clothing design engineer when positioning cutouts of material that are right sides together. It really is a lovely surprise watching a new pattern come together to form something beautiful.”

Interested in learning to sew

Laura recommends watching YouTube videos to get started. Her favorite is www.MadeEveryday.com because the instructor uses clear camera angles, provides detailed instructions and also offers both free and affordable patterns. After turning to YouTube, Laura dived into the vibrant sewing community on Facebook, joining groups like SLPCo and Serging for an Answer. 

For Laura it’s hard to pick a favorite project because she rarely repeats a pattern. Her latest project is always her favorite, but if pushed she’d choose a dress she made for her daughter that had the ultimate twirl factor. 

Blue-Ribbon Winning

In 2022 she entered her first Kentucky State Fair. She went three-for-three on her entries, earning a blue ribbon for her reversible Christmas apron as well as both red ribbon and honorable mentions in Fashion Sewing and Wearable Textile Arts. As soon as she heard she’d won, she hopped in the car with her daughter and went straight to the exhibit hall to take a picture with her blue ribbon entry. 

Laura is already planning for this year’s Fair, strategically picking a wider variety of categories and buying high-quality fabric in hopes that 2023 will be just as successful as her first year competing. 

For Laura, sewing isn’t just a hobby and passion. It’s therapeutic. In the chaos of the world, sewing allows her to focus on the task at hand, creating a beautiful garment.  

The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville KY. Entries will open early May and information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/. 

 

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