The Lion Brand Yarn Company Helps The Martha Stewart Show Find An Audience of Poncho Makers

Manhattan, New York - September 15 , 2005 - After distributing well over 1 million of the Martha Stewart inspired "Coming Home" patterns, this hand made poncho has become a fashion legend. To pay tribute to this 21st century fashion phenom the producers of the "Martha" show asked Lion Brand Yarn to help them track down people who have made this legendary poncho. On Sept 13th a studio audience of 160 selected from over 5000 applicants will wear their hand made ponchos as members of the "Martha" studio audience for a "Live" taping in Manhattan. Every member of the studio audience will be wearing their hand made version of the poncho for this special "Poncho Show".

The free "Coming Home" poncho pattern was first released to the public over the Internet in March of 2005. It has become the most popular free pattern ever offered by Lion Brand Yarn. The Lion Brand Web site (http://www.lionbrand.com) continues to receive a n average of 1600 requests a day for the pattern . . It took less than five months for over 1 million copies of the pattern to be downloaded by knitters and crocheters around the world.

"It had been fun working with the people at the Martha! show to help them locate people who made the poncho and we we were astounded that 5,000 of our customers were willing to come to New York from all over the country," said Ilana Rabinowitz director of consumer marketing for Lion Brand Yarn. "This is a great way for us to acklowledge the people who made the "Coming Home" pattern so popular. We just wish there had been a way to accomodate everyone."
The Thursday edition of the free Lion Brand Newsletter (http://www.lionbrand.com/newsletterRequest.html) which is distributed to over 3 8 0,000 readers will have complete coverage of this specail event, including photos and stories from the taping.

Photos of the Martha show featuring the ponchos are available online at: http://www.lionbrand.com/marthaShow.html If you require Hi Rez images for publication, please contact Ilana Rabinowitz at ilana@lionbrand.com

About Lion Brand Yarn
Lion Brand Yarn Company, a 127-year-old entity, is America's oldest hand knitting yarn company. Founded in 1878, the company began operation in New York and has been a leading supplier of quality hand knitting and crochet yarns ever since. Throughout its history, Lion Brand Yarn has been at the forefront of yarn trends while consistently providing its customers with the highest quality product, service and inspiration.

Contact:
Ilana Rabinowitz
ilana@lionbrand.com