Stitch 'n Bitch is a phrase that has been used to refer to social knitting groups since at least World War II. Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitters Handbook, Published in 2003, was the first in a series of best-selling instructional books on knitting

Knitting

Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...

 and crochet

Crochet

Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by...

 all titled with the phrase Stitch 'n Bitch.

Knitting groups

Stitch 'n Bitch is a name used by knitting groups that meet on a weekly or monthly basis at locations throughout the world. This use of the term originates as early as the Second World War. In 1999, Debbie Stoller started a Stitch 'n Bitch group in NYC's East Village, which was open to anyone who wanted to come to knit along or learn to knit. In 2000, she wrote about her groups in BUST magazine, of which she is the editor-in-chief. Brenda Janish read the article and started the Chicago Stitch 'n Bitch group. That article inspired Vickie Howell to start the Los Angeles Stitch 'n Bitch group and later the Austin Stitch 'n Bitch group. Like Stoller's original group, today's Stitch 'n Bitch clubs are generally casual groups of knitters who meet in public spaces such as bars or cafes for socializing and sharing knitting advice. These groups are free or small fee required memberships and open to the public, and are listed in a directory of worldwide knitting groups that was started by Janish and today is maintained by Stoller: Official Home of Stitch 'n Bitch. As of 2010, the site lists over 700 such groups.

Book series

A 2003 book by Debbie Stoller, Stitch 'n Bitch : The Knitter's Handbook, sold almost 200,000 copies in the first six months of publication. The book states that Debbie Stoller founded New York City's first Stitch 'N Bitch knitting group. In January 2004, Newsweek

Newsweek

Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

 reported that Stoller's New York group had inspired spin-offs in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. A second book in the series, Stitch 'n Bitch Nation includes many vignettes from groups located across America as well as international locations such as England and Japan. A third book in the series, Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, is a primer on crochet, and the fourth book in the series, Son of Stitch 'n Bitch is a book of mens' patterns A fifth book is scheduled for publication in Fall 2010.

Sew Fast Sew Easy legal actions

In June 2005, Sew Fast/Sew Easy filed a trademark application for Stitch & Bitch to designate a line of knitting and sewing supplies. As of 2007 this application is suspended. In fall 2005, due to letters claiming trademark infringement

Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...

 from Sew Fast/Sew Easy's lawyers, knitting groups that had accounts with CafePress.com were forced to remove all items featuring the phrase "Stitch 'n Bitch". Local groups that communicated with each other through Yahoo! Groups

Yahoo! Groups

Yahoo! Groups is one of the world’s largest collections of online discussion boards. The term Groups refers to Internet communication which is a hybrid between an electronic mailing list and a threaded Internet forum, in other words, Group messages can be read and posted by e-mail or on the Group's...

 were similarly forced to remove "Stitch 'n Bitch" from the name and description of their group. Some groups were deleted, but most groups were able to change their name on Yahoo! to SNB. CafePress and Yahoo! do not evaluate merits of infringement claims, they just protect their interest by removing disputed content.

Debbie Stoller's legal actions

In May 2004, Stoller made four trademark applications regarding the term Stitch 'N Bitch:

• Relating to the book series authored by Stoller
• For a line of bags and cases marketed for knitting materials and supplies
• Relating to a knitting show on television
• For a brand of knitting kits

In July 2005, these four trademark applications were denied for being confusingly similar to that of Sew Fast/Sew Easy. In November 2005, Stoller filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Sew Fast/Sew Easy's trademark Stitch & Bitch Café. In August 2006, Stoller's four trademark applications were reinstated.

Boycott

In February 2006 a website was started at the internet address freetostitchfreetobitch.org, calling for a boycott on Sew Fast/Sew Easy. The boycott was covered in the summer 2006 edition of Knit.1 magazine and the fall 2006 edition of Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

Knitting. In 2008, after an agreement was reached between Stoller and SFSE, the call for a boycott was ended.

Settlement

In 2008, Sew Fast Sew Easy and Debbie Stoller reached a settlement in which Debbie Stoller retained the use of the mark in knitting while Sew Fast Sew Easy retains the use for sewing. Since then all four of Stoller's trademarks have now been registered.

External links

• Knitting groups: Stitch 'n Bitch Groups Worldwide - Contact information for local groups worldwide
• Debbie Stoller: Stitch 'n Bitch promotional web site - Book series