Show Off Your Needlework at the Fair

It doesn’t have to be a knitted baby blanket or a silk lace shawl to win a blue ribbon at the Fayette County Fair.

A youngster’s crocheted origami animals won prizes in the Fair’s Needlework Division last year.

“We have categories for all sorts of handmade entries,” says Susie Jackson, coordinator for the Needlework Division in this year’s Creative Arts Department.

They can be fashioned from fiber, yarn or fabric materials, using various stitches, knots or weaving techniques and must be mostly done by hand – not machine.

“Most of our entries are usually knitting or crochet,” Jackson said. “But we welcome a wide variety. And we hope people who haven’t previously entered will bring items this year.”

It only costs $1 for a person to enter the Fair’s Needlework Division, regardless of how many items the person enters. Entries will be accepted from 4-7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, and Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Creative Arts Building on the Fairgrounds.

“All the rules and details are in the Fair Catalog,” she said. Both the Creative Arts and the Livestock and Agriculture catalogs are found online at fayettecountyfair.org. The 2024 Creative Arts Entry Form also is online or can be filled out when bringing an entry.

The Needlework Division has seven different categories. A grand champion and reserve champion ribbon will be awarded in each category where there are sufficient entries. Knitting and Crochet usually draw the most entries, each having a number of different sub-categories. Other categories are Embroidery, Weaving, Spinning, Feltwork and Other Needlework. Individuals can enter as many items in as many categories as they like.

“Most of the entries are from individuals,” Jackson says, “but we also have knitting groups around the county that sometimes enter group projects.”

One year, an entire Nativity manger scene was knitted by a local group. Another group entered a scene of iceskating snowmen. Often fair entries are stunning examples of needlecraft, she said.

A beaded lace shawl of blended silk in midnight purple was one such entry. Another was a stunning creamcolored cabled sweater.

Groups are Child, ages 8-12; Teen, 13-17; Adult, 1869; and Golden Age, 70 and above.