Story by Torie Richardson
Photos by Bridget Jones
Mad for Plaid, a fashion competition where teams of six competed for a $500 grand prize, was held by the Fine Arts Boosters January 31, but it is never too early to start preparing for next year. This story features the experiences of three students who have competed in past competitions.
![Fine Arts Boosters’ Mad for Plaid press release explains the pie chart’s information. Chart by Torie Richardson 1. Clever plaid “[T]he skirt can be altered, hemmed, embellished, refitted, or torn apart and reworked into an entirely different garment. Each team will receive two skirts but it is not necessary to use both.” 2. Cohesive look “[Besides the skirts], other pieces and accessories can be made, borrowed, purchased inexpensively at any thrift store or resale shop. We encourage teams to pool their resources and use what they have to create a winning STA fashion statement. Purchasing new retail items to complete your look is discouraged.” 3. Ready-to-wear “[Neatness] can be achieved any number of ways: Sewing by machine or hand, using hem tape, Stitch Witchery or other iron-on adhesives, or using items not typically associated with sewing such as colored duct tape. ... A brief trip to a crafts store will turn up many good options in addition to or instead of sewing. Teams may utilize any and all resources such as an aunt who sews, a mom who hems, or a dad who wields a grommet machine.”](https://www.dartnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Cycle-6-Pie-Chart2-copy1.gif)
Chart by Torie Richardson
1. Clever plaid
“[T]he skirt can be altered, hemmed, embellished, refitted, or torn apart and reworked into an entirely different garment. Each team will receive two skirts but it is not necessary to use both.”
2. Cohesive look
“[Besides the skirts], other pieces and accessories can be made, borrowed, purchased inexpensively at any thrift store or resale shop. We encourage teams to pool their resources and use what they have to create a winning STA fashion statement. Purchasing new retail items to complete your look is discouraged.”
3. Ready-to-wear
“[Neatness] can be achieved any number of ways: Sewing by machine or hand, using hem tape, Stitch Witchery or other iron-on adhesives, or using items not typically associated with sewing such as colored duct tape. … A brief trip to a crafts store will turn up many good options in addition to or instead of sewing. Teams may utilize any and all resources such as an aunt who sews, a mom who hems, or a dad who wields a grommet machine.”
1. Mad for Plaid is beginner-friendly.
Sophomore Siena Hutchison’s team “Spartan Tartan” won the 2013 People’s Choice Award with “no sewing skills whatsoever,” according to Hutchison.
“We just knew how to do a basic back-and-forth stitch,” Hutchison said.
2. Utilize beginner-friendly tools.
Stitch Witchery is tape that forms a strong bond between fabric when ironed, according to 2014 competitor and sophomore Bella Meisel.
“I would advise every [team] to use [Stitch Witchery] all the time,” Meisel said.
*Bonus tip from Meisel: “Make sure all excess Stitch Witchery is clear of the iron before starting!”
3. Make your design unique.
If Hutchison were a judge, the most important thing she would look for is “creative use of the plaid, because it’s such an important part of the competition.”
“[In last year’s competition], someone used the plaid as the back of their dress, which I thought was stunning,” Hutchison said. “Someone else used it as a bow.”
Junior Lizzie Sanders, who was the model for her 2013 team, also thinks creativity is an important part of the competition, but said, “make something comfortable, because you’re going to be in it for a while.”
4. Do not wait until the last minute to start.
Sanders said her team “had a couple of weekends where we sat down and worked.”
“It’s not something that you can just do in a day, but it’s not something too overly consuming of your time,” Sanders said. “It’s just a fun little project when you don’t want to do your math homework.”
However, Sanders estimates 20-30 hours of work of her design, and Hutchison said she wishes her team “would’ve started earlier.”
5. Past winning designs can give clues for what colors and techniques work well.
2013 winners Courtney Coppinger and Jill Campbell’s design was “really beautiful and it was really well-made,” according to Hutchison.
According to Meisel, “[Coppinger and Campbell’s design] was bright and colorful and that is why it won.”
“I think [Coppinger and Campbell’s design] was the most realistic,” Sanders said. “[The design was] something I could see someone actually wearing.”
6. Most importantly…
“I would say the stereotypical ‘have fun,’” Sanders said. “It should be like, ‘Let’s go, I’m wearing a poncho…this is awesome.’”
“And relax,” Meisel said. “It’s gonna turn out fine, just calm down.”
To those interested in Mad for Plaid, competitors agreed that anyone who wants to should compete.
“We never thought in a million years we would’ve won [the People’s Choice Award],” Hutchison said. “We just got stuff together and made it work.”
[nggallery id=729]
