The Greenup County Extension Office saw the opportunity to engage cloverbud youth in the county 4-H program. Extension partnered with Homemaker volunteers and identified sewing as a valuable asset and skill to educate the youth and provide a new opportunity in the county 4-H program.  “Sewing is a discipline that helps develop self-esteem, confidence, focus, patience, fine motor skills, problem solving, process thinking and visualization. Additionally, sewing encourages creative ability.”(The Creative Art of Sewing; www. NorthJersey.com; September 13, 2012.) 

4-H provided a day long camp that included learning basic sewing skills such as learning how to cut and pin a pattern, sewing machine basics, and making a pillow. Eleven cloverbud youth participated in this program. An end of program evaluation found that 100% youth increased knowledge of basic sewing skills and also demonstrated how to properly cut a pattern, how to pin a pattern, and sew using the guidelines. 

This program has led to an increase in interest in cloverbud programming and 4-H participation.