July 08, 1940

Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser

Detroit, Michigan, United States

An article announcing State Fair premiums.

Win Prizes at State Fair With Household Articles​

Another State Fair is coming - and with it a chance for women to exhibit and compete for cash prizes with their finest handiwork in all kinds of home arts.

The fair will open Friday, Aug. 30. Women's Day in the Woman's Department will be Sept. 4.

The time is short, so women who intend to enter exhibits will have to complete their plans - put the last touches on sewing, make the last experiments in cooking, and of course, send for a premium book.

To obtain a premium book write the Woman's Department, State Fair, Detroit. This book lists all the classifications for entries, the rules to be observed, and the prizes which will be awarded.

The field is so large that almost every imaginable homemaking skill is included in the classifications. The competition is open to Michigan women of any age. Each exhibitor is premitted to make only one entry in each class, but she may enter as many classes as she wishes.

An article that has been awarded a first prize in any previous fair can not be entered again, and exhibitors who received first premiums at the Michigan State Fair last year will not be permitted to compete for the same premium this year.

Otherwise, the competition is wide open to every woman in the state.

Division I, Cookery, is one of the largest. It includes breads, cakes, pastries, candy and a special group of foods made with honey. Division II is for canning and preserving. Division III for crocheting and knitting.

The Detroit News is offering a prize of $25 to the club, church society or other women's group whose members make and exhibit the best collection of handwork, not to exceed 10 pieces. Variety of exhibits, workmanship and beauty will be considered in making the award.

The Woman's Department is co-operating with the National Needlecraft Bureau in a special nation-wide crochet contest, with a grand prize of $250 plus a free trip to New York City and 40 other cash prizes. Any crocheted article made of mercerized crochet cotton which takes a first premium at the State Fair will be entered automatically in the national contest.

Articles outside the main classifications will also be exhibited in great number. There are prizes offered, for example, for candlewick bed spreads, needle point handbags, quilts, rugs, samplers, new and remodelled clothing, ceramics and metal work.

Women 70 years old or older are given special consideration in a group that includes embroidery, knitted, crocheted or woven bed spreads, braided rugs, and knitted sweaters and scarfs.

Always a favorite summer fabric among men, flannel now is receiving due appreciation from women also.

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.