Kaylyn Smith, a Baylor senior from Austin majoring in apparel design and product development, is in San Antonio today competing against other apparel designers in the national “Make it with Wool” competition.

Kaylyn and her original creation, the blue mohair coat she is shown posing with, won two awards in the Texas Make it with Wool contest last fall, including a cash scholarship.

The Make it with Wool competition has been held for the past 63 years, and contestants first compete at the state level. First place winners in the junior, senior and adult divisions go on to compete at the national competition.

Contestants are required to create garments made of specialty wool fibers, which includes mohair, cashmere, alpaca, camel, llama and wool. The purpose of the annual contest is to promote beauty and versatility of wool fabrics and yarns, to encourage personal creativity, to recognize creative skills, and to develop life skills. Judging criteria includes appropriateness to contestant’s lifestyle, coordination of fabric/yarn with garment style and design, contestant’s presentation, construction quality and creativity.

At the state competition, Kaylyn placed first and won a cash scholarship in the senior division, which provided her with an expense-paid trip to the national event. She also received an overall award given for the best mohair design.

These are not the only honors the promising young designer has won while at Baylor. She won second place and a scholarship at the national juried 2010 Fashion Group International Career Day competition in the four-legged fashion category, and placed third with a scholarship in the 2012 FGI Career Day completion in the mohair category. Kaylyn also was one of five students nationwide to be selected to compete in the Project Outdoor Retailer competition this past summer, and she received the Rising Young Professional award in 2012 from the Baylor Apparel Design and Product Development program.