Welcome to winter.

We are experiencing a normal winter for us here in Northwestern PA, lots of snow, and as I write this, lots of cold. As of today we have received 189″of snow. Makes GREAT sewing weather!

We have good stock in the wool blend, and the 100% extra soft wool has been ordered. It will be ready late March. We have some limited stock of 100% regular interlock, and we are well stocked with several colors of wool jersey. If there is something special in the wools you are looking for, don’t hesitate to email me.

We have good stock in bamboo fleece, bamboo velour, and bamboo/hemp fleece. The bamboo loop terry is out of stock until mid April. We have some new colors in stock in bamboo velour, dark purple, lime green, ice blue, and chocolate. These colors of bamboo velour are a limited run, so if you are interested, better act soon.

We are expecting another huge shipment of new Flap Happy prints on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 which are really cute, top quality fabrics. Of course supply is limited, so get them while you can. The retro cars are due to ship this week, they are really a cute fabric, and once they are gone, we may not see them for a long time. Now available in a girl colorway.

Karen is currently running a Farbenmix pattern buy, if you are interested feel free to join us on our sewing forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturesfabrics/ We also run a lot of other specials there, be sure to join for greater savings!

As always, please don’t hesitate to  contact me, I am an email junkie.
Thanks,  the NF staff

This month  we are featuring cotton fleece and french terry. The
fabrics on sale have their own category called Fleece Sale.

Once we receive your order, it is printed and taken to the cutting area to be cut, packed and weighed. Then the package comes back to the office to get  a mailing or UPS label and is set out for the appropriate carrier to retrieve.

And then we look for more fabric, and the process starts over. Of course, none of this would happen with out the help, love and support of the kids, my husband and my Dad.

And you, thank you all so very much!

Knits: What to use them for, what the differences are, and some sewing tips for knits.

*  We are still experiencing a shortage of natural bamboo velour. The velour is in stock now, but it is not expected to last through January, if you are thinking of getting some, now is the time.

*  The wool blend is ready and waiting to ship. We have good stock and should continue to have stock through Valentines Day. The 100% extra soft interlock is about out, I may have a weeks worth on hand. We have ordered more and expect that April 1st.

*  We have a beautiful selection of wool jersey in both natural and colors, if you haven’t tried wool jersey before, now is the time. It is a very versatile fabric that works well for diaper covers, tops, dresses, and outer wear accessories.

-Jeanne

This month we are featuring an article on how to dye wool fabrics.  In order to be successful, wool needs a lot of heat to really absorb and hold the color.

When I dye wool, I felt it first then dye it. That is just my preference. Wash warm, rinse cold and dry hot. Do that twice. The blend will shrink a lot. Like about 13″ to the yard. I recently washed 3 yards and I was left with just a bit over 2 yards.

Here is what I do. I put the pot of water on the stove and add the dye. Stir in the dye and let it go a bit. Then I toss in the DRY wool. Stir it up and bring it to a boil. Really, a boil. You don’t have to stir a lot while waiting for the boil. I stir now and then, but nothing wild.

Once it is boiling, I add 1 cup of vinegar, while stirring like mad. (Be very careful not to have your pot too full, when you add the vinegar it will boil up a lot. I recently over boiled the pan and it shorted out the stove. My $50 longies almost became $200 longies). I stir about 5 minutes and then see if there is still color in the water. I take out a clear measuring cup full of hot water to see if it is clear. If it isn’t, I add more vinegar, stirring like mad again. It should clear after 5-10 minutes. If not, more vinegar. You can also let the pot cool on the stove, as it cools the water will clear.

After I am satisfied I throw it in the washer just to SPIN. Spin it out and toss it in the dryer for 15 minutes.

You can also use this method to set the color in wools that are not color fast when you get them. Simply omit the adding of the dye and you should have good result.

100% Wool and Wool Blend Interlocks and Jerseys

Colored Wools

We’re putting together a small tutorial for you on dyeing your wool interlock! It should be fun… Make sure you stay tuned for that!

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