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Cheryl Moline of Green creates rodeo and Western formal attire for women. She's the designer for local rodeo royalty like Miss Junior Rodeo Oregon Molly Stubblefield and Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Alicia Miller, right.
GREEN — You won’t see one of Cheryl Moline’s creations on more than one rodeo queen.
From deer hide on denim jackets to leather dusters, each piece of clothing is unique.
Moline, 58, of Green, began sewing Western apparel when a friend’s daughter wanted to show a horse in 4-H. She asked Moline if she would sew her daughter’s clothing for the event.
Moline told her friend, Brenda Poland, she’d never done anything like that before, but Poland assured Moline she could do it.
She was right, it turns out.
Word spread about the seamstress’s creative abilities, and Moline has since sewn some 100 to 150 pieces of Western attire. Her work has been worn by rodeo queens, including Miss Rodeo Oregon 2001 Desirée Hammett and 2005 High School Rodeo Queen Ashley Zeigler.
When Hammett went on to compete in Miss Rodeo America, she wore a designer suede skirt and shirt produced by Moline.
Moline said she tries to keep her prices low — at least 50 percent lower than store prices.
“I’ve tried to keep things where their parents can afford to have them do these things,” she said. “The girls learn so much from (competing.) It gives them self-esteem. They learn to speak in public. It gives them great skills.”
Moline said her original motivation to sew was to make extra money to do extra things.
Now, her husband, Steven Moline, is on disability retirement as he waits for a liver transplant.
“It’s become more of ‘I have to do this,’” she said.
She also started selling some of her items on eBay.
Nineteen-year-old Michelle Martin, 2006 Umpqua Valley Roundup Queen, needed a formal Western dress for appearances and a couple of flashy Western shirts for run-ins — when rodeo queens make their grand entrance on horses — and parades. She, too, was outfitted by Moline.
Her mom, Donna Eads of Melrose said, “I don’t think she charges enough for the quality of work that she does. She’s so creative, too. She can pull it all together and create whatever it is you have in mind.”
The reigning queen still sports the apparel for appearances and rodeos.
Eads said with Moline, not only do you get the value, but you get something unique because it’s made especially for the individual.
Moline said many young women provide pictures to give her an idea of what they have in mind. Using the pictures as a guide and working off of patterns, she creates something similar — but never identical — to the picture.
“Some other person has designed those and made those for someone,” she said.
She doesn’t want to copy someone else’s work, so she tells the girls that the final product won’t look exactly like the picture.
Her sewing expands beyond Western attire and formal wear.
Over the years she’s made baby blankets to give as gifts or sell at craft fairs. And with three granddaughters, she’s made several Halloween costumes. She’s also sewed swimming suits, evening gowns, and a few costumes for dancers for the Miss Douglas County Pageant.
Moline said she sees herself sewing for as long as she people need her and as long as she can do it.
“I love to see the girls when they get the dresses on. I always make sure that they love what they’re wearing, and it shows.”
• Reporter Jennifer Mathis can be reached at 957-4208 or via e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
From deer hide on denim jackets to leather dusters, each piece of clothing is unique.
Moline, 58, of Green, began sewing Western apparel when a friend’s daughter wanted to show a horse in 4-H. She asked Moline if she would sew her daughter’s clothing for the event.
Moline told her friend, Brenda Poland, she’d never done anything like that before, but Poland assured Moline she could do it.
She was right, it turns out.
Word spread about the seamstress’s creative abilities, and Moline has since sewn some 100 to 150 pieces of Western attire. Her work has been worn by rodeo queens, including Miss Rodeo Oregon 2001 Desirée Hammett and 2005 High School Rodeo Queen Ashley Zeigler.
When Hammett went on to compete in Miss Rodeo America, she wore a designer suede skirt and shirt produced by Moline.
Moline said she tries to keep her prices low — at least 50 percent lower than store prices.
“I’ve tried to keep things where their parents can afford to have them do these things,” she said. “The girls learn so much from (competing.) It gives them self-esteem. They learn to speak in public. It gives them great skills.”
Moline said her original motivation to sew was to make extra money to do extra things.
Now, her husband, Steven Moline, is on disability retirement as he waits for a liver transplant.
“It’s become more of ‘I have to do this,’” she said.
She also started selling some of her items on eBay.
Nineteen-year-old Michelle Martin, 2006 Umpqua Valley Roundup Queen, needed a formal Western dress for appearances and a couple of flashy Western shirts for run-ins — when rodeo queens make their grand entrance on horses — and parades. She, too, was outfitted by Moline.
Her mom, Donna Eads of Melrose said, “I don’t think she charges enough for the quality of work that she does. She’s so creative, too. She can pull it all together and create whatever it is you have in mind.”
The reigning queen still sports the apparel for appearances and rodeos.
Eads said with Moline, not only do you get the value, but you get something unique because it’s made especially for the individual.
Moline said many young women provide pictures to give her an idea of what they have in mind. Using the pictures as a guide and working off of patterns, she creates something similar — but never identical — to the picture.
“Some other person has designed those and made those for someone,” she said.
She doesn’t want to copy someone else’s work, so she tells the girls that the final product won’t look exactly like the picture.
Her sewing expands beyond Western attire and formal wear.
Over the years she’s made baby blankets to give as gifts or sell at craft fairs. And with three granddaughters, she’s made several Halloween costumes. She’s also sewed swimming suits, evening gowns, and a few costumes for dancers for the Miss Douglas County Pageant.
Moline said she sees herself sewing for as long as she people need her and as long as she can do it.
“I love to see the girls when they get the dresses on. I always make sure that they love what they’re wearing, and it shows.”
• Reporter Jennifer Mathis can be reached at 957-4208 or via e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
