With an exciting 2014 NFL football season already well underway (Go Eagles!!) quilters, crafters and die hard fans are buying up NFL fabric stock to make everything from quick-n-easy no-sew-fleece-throws to customized gifts rep’n the teams they (and others) love with visions of Superbowl 2015 wins dancing in their heads or if nothing less, some great games and stories along the way.
So what does all this mean for manufacturers and distributors like J&O Fabrics alike?
Demand! Demand! Demand! :O
Almost two weeks ago we posted our Coolest NFL Craft Contest Blog and as soon as our football fabric fans got word, they were off and running in the race to the win. With free money, free fabric and the chance at having their one-of-a-kind NFL themed handcrafts showcased for over 8,000 J&O facebook fans worldwide to see on the line, crafters are pulling out all the stops and the entries just keep pouring in. Even our voters are feeling the excitement and anticipation as the ‘likes’ mount up.
“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic man.
Steve Austin will be that man;
better than he was before.
Better, stronger, faster.”
– from the opening sequence to the Six Million Dollar Man
If you were going to build a better man where you begin? The muscles? The limbs? The brain? The… hair? The titular character from the television series Six Million Dollar Man had bionic limbs and an infrared eye with a 20:1 zoom capability. In saving him from a terrible plane crash, the government famously spent six million dollars to make special agent Steve Austin “better, stronger, faster”.
This time of year we at J&O Fabrics get swamped with calls from individuals looking for the perfect NFL & MLB fleece to make the ever so popular “no-sew-fleece-throws” as holiday gifts for die hard football and baseball fans, friends and loved ones alike. And while this inexpensive and easy-to-make gift is sure to please all by itself, why not go a step farther and use your remaining remnants to make a matching no-sew-fleece pillow as well? What better way for fans to snuggle up to the game then with their head resting just as warmly as their body wrapped up in their favorite team. If two yards of fleece is just enough for your throw, then add an extra 1/2 yard onto your fabric total to make the complete set. No-sew-fleece-pillows are just as easy to make and require less time to complete. Even by themselves, they make a great accent piece to an already fanned out sports bar or rec room. Just purchase a pillow form, cut to fit, and tie away! Even bring it to the stadium for a warm and toasty toosh as you show your team spirit!
Starting in late October, the calls for warm winter polar fleeces start pouring in at J&O Fabrics. Seems everyone from our urban retail specialty shops to our suburban housewives have the same idea in mind…creating unique one of a kind fleece outerwear, crafts and accessories for the upcoming season and satisfying the never ending demand from their friends, families and customers. From major league sport divisions like NFL, NBA and MLB, to college teams, military, and novelty prints, fleece is the fabric of choice when the winter winds start to blow.
Blankets are a great gift for your loved ones this Christmas season. And hand-crafted blankets or throws created with specific loved ones and friends in mind, are sure to please. You don’t need to have any sewing skills to create one either. With J & O’s wide selection of 100% poly-winter fleece and a pair of scissors, you can make a warm lightweight blanket for loved ones over seas, little ones at home, even for those less fortunate. A warm winter fleece blanket can make even the loneliest of souls feel loved.
