4-H Stars: Sewing success

Katara is 12 and her parents are Tyrone and Laura Dickerson of Idaho Falls.

Katara joined the Bonneville County 4H Club called Sew What! The club is led by Kelly Mullinaux and assisted by Marilyn Culp and Anne Culp.

The club’s first meeting was in January and meets once a month on Saturdays at the extension office for six hours. Projects are selected that begin with basic sewing fundamentals and builds from there, Mullinaux said. And each project requires club members to fill out a detailed record book.

“Six hours is a long time but we get a lot done in that time,” Katara said.

So far the kids have sewn a pin cushion and an apron. Their most recent project was swing a skirt. They will make a T-shirt next and then pick a project for the 4H fair in August.

“I made an apron and it turned out really good,” she said. “Today, I’m working on a mid-length skirt and eventually I want to sew a dress, even though I know that will be really hard.”

Katara’s mom has already taught her girls some sewing skills at home. Recently, she helped Katara and daughter Elizabeth, 13, how to make a stuffed Peep for Easter.

It’s about a foot tall and has weights in the bottom so it stands up,” Katara said. “I want to sew more stuffed animals; like a dog, a cat and a guinea pig because I have a real guinea pig.”

In her spare time Katara likes to bake brownies and cookies, draw, read and write comic books about various characters who go on all sorts of adventures, she said. She also plays the piano and the flute.