Rali Burleson

(Originally published in SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW #88, April 2021. Written by Rita Farro.)
Rali Burleson, Bias-Cut Wool Coat Dress  (Burda 7587) Barbara Trainor Photography
Rali Burleson,
Bias-Cut Wool Coat Dress
(Burda 7587)
Barbara Trainor Photography

Make It With Wool Logo

Note from Rita Farro: When I started working on this issue, the focus was the Make It With Wool Contest. In its heyday, it attracted 19,000 contestants, and the top prize was an all-expense-paid round trip to visit the three fashion capitals of Europe. I contacted Rali Burleson, Director, Arizona Make It With Wool because she has done extensive research on the contest history. As a matter of fact, the PowerPoint she created, “Decades Of Wool Style,” does such a wonderful job of explaining the history of the Make It With Wool Contest, I soon realized all I had to do for this issue was give this link: https://tinyurl.com/34jjh35t Hey, that was easy! You’ve gotta love it when somebody does all the work for you, right? Rali also sent me pictures of this year's National Make It With Wool winners. Writing about the Make It With Wool Contest was writing about history. I felt like I was writing about the good old days and how great things used to be. Then, I realized I was missing the most inspiring, current part of this story, which was the woman behind the PowerPoint, Rali Burleson. Although, getting her to talk about herself was like pulling teeth. Click Here to read the full story.