The Make It With Wool competition (MIWW) recognizes excellence and creativity in wool garment composition and construction. Each garment body must be made of fabric or yarn that is at least 60 percent wool. Judges evaluate entries based on the garment’s or ensemble’s appropriateness to the maker’s lifestyle, the coordination of fabrics and yarns with the design, the contestant’s presentation, the construction quality, and creativity.

The garments designed by seven of the national award winners were originally featured in Threads #176 (December 2014/January 2015) and now you can see them and appreciate their stunning design right here on our website.

Fashion/Apparel Design Co-Winner

Helena Stefanowitz
Southlake, Texas

MIWW 2014 was Helena’s first time in the competition, and she entered an ensemble from her senior fashion collection at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. The four garments-a coat, jacket, blouse, and skirt-are part of a collection, “Riders on the Storm,” inspired by rainstorms. Helena drafted the patterns, giving the coat and jacket necklines radial darts. She made the jacket and coat from pale blue lamb’s wool coating. The coat features a surface design of felted wool roving at the hem and collar, emulating tempestuous rain clouds. The jacket sports a peplum and bound buttonholes. Helena ties the plum tropical-weight wool jacquard blouse to the collection by giving it a single inverted box pleat at the neckline, and pairs it with a skirt of graphite-colored wool suiting. Helena says that participating in MIWW has pushed her to think of interesting ways to use different kinds of wool techniques.

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