Tara- Merchandiser/Blog Editor: August 2007 Archives

Hello again, Seeing as this is my second post and I have already introduced myself, I thought I would spread the word on the main reason I am here and doing what I love. Fellow bloggers, brace yourself for the introduction, I can be long winded. About 3 Christmases ago, my mom gave me a Teach Yourself to Crochet book and I tried, I really did. Cut to the chase... (as you previously read) crochet did not work out and I started knitting. Since I am familiar with Google and that you can learn anything on the internet, I started surfing for knitting patterns, tips and mostly videos. One of my first hits was Silvia's knitblog (deceptively named as she sews just as much), and the beginning of my star-crossed love affair with Amy Butler. See, Silvia had posted progress pictures of her Amy Butler Weekender Bag, and it was love at first site. I began to sew again. From there it was a downward spiral from which I have yet to emerge. I was helped along the way, and continue to receive support, from the following blogs that I want to share with you. I hope that others may find inspiration and encouragement to sew and create with fabric.

• Kris- Monkey Foot Designs: Kris sold me my first Amy Butler pattern and fabric and always answered my sewing questions.
• Jen- Beebee Mod: Fellow Yankee and makes the cutest kid clothes
• Erica Bunker- Erica B's DIY Style: If you want to know the latest trend, check here first. She has probably already made it!
• Tuesday- Done by Tuesday: A big fan of Japanese crafting, I won my first contest on Tuesday's blog!
• Last but not Least, Stacy- Stacy Sews: If ever there was an understatement, it is the name of Stacy's blog. It should at least have an under title like "Stacy, master of fabric, it jumps to do her bidding while she sits on her fabric throne she made herself and will be more than happy to share with you her tips". But most important she is a Jayhawk!

So these are just a few of my favorite blogs, I will share more as I discover them and hope that they make you just as happy as they make me.

On the fabric front I am super excited about all the new Home Decor fabrics we have in stock: Taffeta in the best colors, P Kaufmann and loads of new Promotional Dupioni Silk . I moving into my new house in a few weeks, so of course I have an eye out for couches, chairs, pillows and curtains. As much as I would love to cover my house in Amy Butler's Nigella, I am married and must reign in the color explosion that I envision. As a compromise I am thinking these fabrics:                  While I can reign it in, I cannot ignore my color compulsion completely. I will be sure to keep you all up to date with house decoration progress right here and with pictures in the gallery. Next up, Muslin Ottoman cover with hand embroidered redwork!

Tara Miller

AKA "pick-a-knit" rule.
I recently googled how to measure knit stretch and every configuration there of in hopes of find some info on how to accuratly measure the percent of stretch of knit fabric to insure that our customers are getting the most accurate product info. I could not find the info anywhere. By some good will of the internets gods, I stumbled across a forum discussing the "Pick-a-Knit" rule which guided me the rest of my way. Here is a simplifed location to get your info to determine the stretch of your knits.

1) Determine which direction is the stretchiest, this is the direction you want to measure. Typically, across grain is the stretchiest, but if I say it is a fact, there will be an exception. So test to be sure.

2) Grab a ruler or measuring tape and hold it on your knit in the direction of stretch. pinch the fabric at the Zero mark and at the 4'' mark and pull. Pull till you feel resistance, if you pull farther than that you are distorting the fabric. Make a note at where the resistance starts. you can use any spanse of measurement, 4'' is just a decent base measurement to use to make sure you are getting a true stretch

If you were able to pull the fabric 1'', 1''/4''=.25, than you have 25% of stretch. 2'' is 2''/4''=.5, 50% stretch.
You can use this equation:

• base number (we used 4'' above): Y
• inches of stretch: X
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I really hope this helps and that I explained it in a way that is easily understood. If you have any questions, please let me know
Happy Sewing,
Tara

Hello- my name is Tara Miller and I am a merchandiser here at Fabric.com. Let me tell you a little about my job and then fill you in on me!

As a merchandiser, my job is basically to make the fabric look pretty so you when you see it on the site, you want it. Its much like the window dressers in Macy's on 5^th Avenue. I commonly refer to this as "fancying about with fabric". When we receive our shipments of fabric in our warehouse, our receivers slice off a fair chunk and send it up to our offices for the merchandising team to process. This process consists of scanning the fabric to the best of its ability, photoshopping (slight wrinkles and adjusting colors) and entering all the info you see on the product page as well as arranging all the fabrics on the webpage. This means when you click on a collection you see order, color and prints, not a jumble. Processing one collection takes the better part of the day from when it hits my desk to when it gets into the store for you to purchase. The merchandising team consists of: Kristl Pelz (AKA Boss), Lauren Neuffer, Kathy Wallace and me.

Now about me: I am 28, a Yankee and love to make everything. I learned to cook and sew from my Mom. She made a fair amount of my clothes growing up and I have so great memories of picking out buttons with her at our local fabric store (I love buttons). I have been sewing off and on for 18 years. I never really took it seriously until 5 years ago. My first project was a rather complicated flapper costume for a friend. It turned out really well. I am also a self-taught knitter for 2 years and a somewhat crotchetier. I started with crochet and when my squares turned into trapezoids, I decided that maybe 2 sticks were in order. I quickly become addicted to knitting. I, like the greater number of computer savvy crafters, have a blog, www.gruenetree.com, where I post projects, pictures, tips and everything that won't fit here. I spend most of my free time (when my nose is not stuck in a book) making something, sewing or knitting. I also have 3 dogs and 1 cat (who thinks she is a dog) all rescued. I have a degree in History, worked in accounting and started at Fabric.com in February.

    I have a passion for fabric and Quilting Cotton is my favorite. I have not yet attempted a quilt, though some are on the horizon. I love to wear cotton; take a look at what I have already created from our quilting cotton.  The patterns you find in quilting cotton cannot be matched in typical apparel fabric, just check out our Retro & Mod section for some great prints. However, at the moment I am most excited about the Faux Leather that just went in the store yesterday;my favorites are the Celestial Blue (pictured) and Kiwi. I think this would be perfect for recovering garage sale chairs I plan to hunt this fall, headboards, pillows, or footstools. I will be sure to posts all pictures of my future Faux Leather projects in my album in our Gallery and announce them here.    

I look forward to getting to know you all as Fabric.com and this blog grows. I have many great ideas and events planned for this blog and am very excited to share them with our customers.