Public downloads 50,000, free, Martha Stewart inspired, poncho patterns in first 48 hours.

Manhattan, New York March 14, 2005 —- On March 12th at a little after 1 pm EDT The Lion Brand Yarn Company released the first free version of Martha Stewart's crocheted, "Coming Home", poncho pattern, on their Web site at http://www.LionBrand.com . Within the first 48 hours that the free pattern was available online, Lion Brand Yarn estimates over 50,000 copies of the pattern have been downloaded by visitors to the site. During that first 48 hour period, the free poncho pattern was featured on ABC's 'Good Morning America'. Following the broadcast, the Lion Brand Web site was so overwhelmed with additional request for the free pattern that it was forced offline for about 90 minutes.

"The demand for Martha Stewart's 'Coming Home' poncho pattern is just amazing." said Ilana Rabinowitz, director of consumer marketing for Lion Brand Yarn."To serve our customers better, we've increased the capacity of our Web site to handle the large number of requests for the free poncho pattern. People are sending this pattern to their friends at a rate that is 10X higher than any other free pattern we currently offer online. We've never seen anything like this before."

Because of the overwhelming demand for this popular crochet pattern, Lion Brand Yarn will also be offering a knit version of the poncho pattern, which will be available on their Web site, sometime next week.

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. Its Web site, www.lionbrand.com, offers over 500 free patterns, as well as instructions to teach people to knit and crochet.