She's Saying: Don't Thread on Me

In her 2 1/2 years in Los Angeles, Cory Gatrall never could find a place to unleash her edgy sense of humor and shed the conservative constraints of her day job as a paralegal.

Then she happened upon, of all things, a knitting group.

"I see nose rings, that's a good thing," Gatrall said as she knitted a burgundy-toned striped scarf at her first meeting in a second-floor room at the Farmers Market.

The group offers a place for young women of like mind -- hip, irreverent -- to do what they love: knit, crochet and chat. Even the name -- Stitch 'N Bitch -- makes clear it's not your usual knitting circle. But lately, the relaxation has turned to anger and fulmination.

A small New York company called Sew Fast Sew Easy has launched a trademark battle against Stitch 'N Bitch circles across the country. Sew Fast owner Elissa Meyrich, who claims to have started the first such group in New York in 1997, says the others are infringing on her trademark for an online message board that incorporates the name.

"Here I am minding my own business, and then it becomes obvious to me that I have to be vigilant about what is mine and belongs to me," Meyrich said in a phone interview from New York City. "People, you can copy things all the time, but don't copy my trademarks."

Meyrich's company has told groups in Chicago and Cleveland that they were infringing on her trademark. On Jan. 13, Yahoo, at Meyrich's instigation, sent cease-and-desist letters to knitting circles who list under that name on the Internet portal.

The letters sent some of the groups into a panic, but many vowed they would not submit. The knitters insist that Meyrich neither founded the movement nor owns the name, which some say dates to the 1920s.

For them, their group's name is more than just a title. It's the coat of arms for a craft revival that celebrates its own irony. Forget the maiden aunt putting together an ill-fitting sweater for her favorite nephew. Enter the gay/lesbian/straight/punk/Goth/hipster/ex-corporate exec who's just finished knitting a fuzzy pink-and-black hat emblazoned with skull and crossbones.

"We're not a bunch of grandmas out here," said Jamie Scout, who leads the Albuquerque chapter. "I know it sounds so silly, but it's changed a lot of people's lives. It gives a sense of community for these people."

Rebellious Stitchers are rallying around knitting guru Debbie Stoller, who in November began a legal battle to strip Meyrich of her trademark.