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An Update on the Stitches/XRX Story

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Recently I shared the news that XRX, the company behind the Stitches live and virtual events, had announced it would be filing for bankruptcy and was canceling all events. So far the actual filing doesn’t seem to have happened, and a search of the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website shows that XRX, Inc. is still in good standing, with its next annual filing due in June (the last one was filed June 17, 2022). The statement on their website says the company is “in the process of being dissolved” and that they are working with an as-yet unnamed bankruptcy attorney who should be contacted by creditors.

A virtual Stitches event wrapped up the day before the announcement that future Stitches events would not move forward and  teachers were not paid for those classes. There was also a virtual event happening in June that students have already paid for and teachers will not be paid for.

The next in-person event was slated for Minneapolis in August, so there are lots of victims here, including:

  • teachers who were planning classes, bought supplies, paid for travel and were expecting to be paid for the event
  • yarn companies big and small and other vendors planning to attend who might have paid for travel and who now have excess inventory without a place they were counting on to sell
  • students and others planning to attend who are out registration fees and travel expenses

While some travel expenses can be cancelled this far in advance without too much of a penalty, the main issue for students and others who wanted to attend the event is the registration fee, which likely would never be repaid by XRX.

There have been reports in the Screwed by Stitches Facebook group of people successfully getting chargebacks on their credit cards for these expenses. Even if the purchase was made outside the regular window for claims, it’s worth giving it a try because some credit card companies have been willing to consider the transaction date as being the date of the event rather than when the charge was made.

In that same group you will find lists of teachers and vendors who were scheduled to attend Stitches Midwest if you want to support them. I mentioned this in the first post, but if you are a vendor or teacher who has lost income from planned Stitches events that now aren’t happening, Knitty is offering free ads, and that’s another place the rest of us can go to support these members of our community.

LessonFace is offering reduced fees for teachers through August for those who would have been teaching at Stitches events and would like to use their platform. The offer is good on up to three three-hour sessions per teacher.

Jill Wolcott also has some great general advice on what to do when things go topsy turvy in the industry.

I’ll continue to update this story as there is more to tell.

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Comments

  1. I am wondering if I should worry about my personal data, on the online account I had with Stitches.

Have you read?

Eyelet and Mesh Sweaters to Keep Cool in Summer

Adding eyelets to a project is a great way to make it more wearable in the summer, and these mesh and eyelet sweater patterns are perfect for summer (and beyond!) for layering. 

The Inez Summer Sweater from Happy Love Co combines eyelets and dropped stitches (along with some garter and stockinette) to make a casual and fun summer sweater. The pattern is one size (56 inches or 142.24 cm) around, and is meant to be worn oversized. But it’s an easy enough pattern you could alter it to suit you without too much difficulty. It calls for worsted weight cotton yarn. 

Another fun project using dropped stitches in the Stella Blouse from Thelma Steimann. It calls for a fingering weight silk yarn and is worked on larger than expected needles and also uses dropped stitches. The pattern includes eight sizes, with a bust circumference ranging from 33.5 to 51.5 inches, or  85-131 cm. You can grab a copy on Ravelry.

The Design Studio Knits has a nice summer cotton tee that uses worsted weight yarn worked on larger needles so it has a mesh effect while still being worked in stockinette stitch. It’s worked in one piece and is another one size pattern, meant to fit an actual chest measurement ranging from 34 to 46 inches (that’s 86 to 117 cm). 

A similar look with a cropped shape and four available sizes comes from A Box of Twine. This one is a DK weight yarn knit on large needles and still has an oversized look (for instance the size small is 42 inches/106.68 cm at the bust). It’s worked flat so this is a great one for beginners. 

If you want something a little more structured, try the Pip Cardigan from Yoko Johnston. This sport weight cardigan has an allover eyelet pattern and options to close with a zipper or buttons. It’s worked from the top down and has six size options. This one is also oversized, with finished measurements ranging from 51.5 to 64.5 inches, or 131 to 164 cm). You can find this one on Ravelry. 

Or check out Endlessly by Amy Gunderson, a free pattern from Knitty. This pullover uses a cable and lace pattern that is easy to knit and to wear. It uses DK weight yarn and has nine size options. The chest measurement ranges from 34.75 to 66.75 inches, or 88.5 to 169.5 cm, and is meant to be worn with a little positive ease.