For decades, Jo-Ann Fabrics and the “Big 4” sewing pattern companies (Butterick, McCall’s, Simplicity, and Vogue) were the backbone of mainstream sewing in the US. They were the gateway drug for learning to sew, and often the first stop for cosplayers both new & experienced. Most cities had a Jo-Ann Fabrics, and – let's be totally honest – plenty of cosplayers have spent exorbitant amounts of time trawling its aisles. So, fast forward to 2025, where these giants of the craft world are now bankrupt, sold off, and liquidated.

How we got to where we are today is complicated, but the root of the problem – to no one's surprise – is shady capitalism.

The Big Box Approach

Jo-Ann Fabrics started in 1943 as a single store in Cleveland, Ohio, run by two families. Over the years it grew steadily, and by the late 1980's the chain had leaned hard into the “big-box” strategy — the same approach used by Walmart, Michaels, and other retailers.

Instead of focusing on a handful of local shops, Jo-Ann expanded aggressively, opening hundreds of large-format stores across the country. Each store carried not only fabric and patterns, but also craft supplies, seasonal décor, and later even home goods. The idea was: the bigger the store, the more customers.

For a while, this worked. Sewing was still popular, malls were booming, and Jo-Ann became the go-to stop for creatives. Their huge footprint made them a household name. But the strategy had downsides that didn’t become obvious until later:

- High overhead costs. Running giant stores full of inventory is expensive. Rent, utilities, and payroll all ballooned.

- Location challenges. Many stores were in suburban strip malls that later saw less foot traffic as shopping habits changed.

- Slow to adapt. A sprawling, old-fashioned retail structure made it hard to pivot quickly to online sales or modern customer experiences.

By the 2000s, when online shopping and indie craft brands began taking off, Jo-Ann was stuck with thousands of oversized, expensive stores. Instead of being flexible, they were weighed down by the very strategy that once made them strong. 

Enter Private Equity

Before we can talk about how Jo-Ann's unraveled, we have to have a brief economics lesson. Private equity (PE) is a type of investment where firms pool together money from wealthy investors and pension funds. Their strategy usually works like this:

1. Buy Out a Company. PE firms target companies that are struggling or undervalued (like Jo-Ann or the Big 4’s parent companies). They buy them outright, often using borrowed money.

2. Load with Debt. Instead of paying for the company themselves, PE firms use the company’s own assets as collateral, leaving the company saddled with the debt.

3. Cut and Squeeze. To make sure the debt gets paid back — and to boost short-term profits — they slash costs. That often means layoffs, reducing product quality, closing stores, or cutting investment in innovation.

4. Flip or Fail.  If profits look good on paper, the PE firm sells the company again at a higher price. If not, the company limps along until bankruptcy. Either way, the PE firm usually extracts fees and profits, while the business itself is left weaker than before.

Think of this entire process like house flipping. For the PE firm, this can be very profitable. For the company in question, it’s often disastrous.

Jo-Ann and the "Big 4": Parallel Stories

Jo-Ann Fabrics was bought in 2011 by Leonard Green & Partners for $1.6 billion. That deal loaded Jo-Ann with debt. Even during the pandemic craft boom, when sales surged, the company couldn’t reinvest in updating stores or improving online shopping — too much money was tied up in paying interest. By 2024, Jo-Ann had filed for bankruptcy.

The Big 4 pattern brands — Butterick, McCall’s, Simplicity, and Vogue — were shuffled through a similar process. They were bought by CSS Industries in 2016, then folded into IG Design Group, a UK-based company better known for gift wrap and party goods than for sewing. Under corporate ownership, patterns were treated like a financial line item, not a cultural cornerstone. When IG Design went bankrupt in 2024, the Big 4 were sold off to a liquidator — a signal that the new owners weren’t interested in revitalizing them, just selling off whatever value remains.

Different companies, same outcome: debt, cost-cutting, neglect, and eventual collapse.

Why Sell to Private Equity in the First Place?

If private equity so often ends in bankruptcy, why would big companies agree to these buyouts? The answer is short-term relief.

For Jo-Ann, selling to PE in 2011 meant a big cash payout for shareholders and executives, plus the promise of new capital to expand. For the Big 4’s former owners, selling to CSS/IG offered an exit strategy from a shrinking market. In both cases, leadership was thinking in terms of the next few years, not the next few decades.

Private equity appeals to struggling companies because it looks like a lifeline: instant money, a flashy new strategy, and the hope that a “professional turnaround” team will save the day. But what PE really brings is a financial model that prioritizes investors over the long-term health of the business.

Where We Sew From Here

The downfall of Jo-Ann Fabrics and the Big 4 pattern companies wasn’t really about people giving up on sewing or crafting – it was about what happens when beloved creative institutions are treated as financial assets instead of community cornerstones. Private equity didn’t nurture these businesses. It instead hollowed them out, focusing on short-term profit while neglecting long-term investment.

And when that happens in creative industries, the damage runs deep. Stores close, variety shrinks, and the heritage of decades-old brands gets lost. For many sewists, including cosplayers, these companies were once the entry point into the craft. Their collapse leaves a noticeable gap in the mainstream ecosystem.

But here’s the good news: sewing itself isn’t dying. In fact, it’s thriving in new ways — through indie pattern designers, local fabric shops, creative reuse centers, and online communities. The craft world is becoming more diverse, more innovative, and more community-driven than ever.

What You Can Do to Fill the Gap

As makers, we’re not powerless in this shift. There are steps we can take to ensure the livelihood and integrity of our crafts:

- Shop small. Support independent fabric shops, local quilt stores, and indie pattern designers. Every purchase helps keep these businesses alive and ensures craft products are being maintained and innovated by people who know and love sewing.

- Share resources. Swap fabric with friends, organize pattern-trading meetups, or post supplies you’re not using in local groups. Here at CUT/SEW, we're organizing a fabric, cosplay, and material swap into our Crafter Party event at conventions around the country.

- Use creative reuse centers. These nonprofits collect leftover materials and sell them affordably, keeping fabric out of landfills while making crafting more accessible. Find your local reuse center here.

- Build community recycling platforms. Whether it’s a neighborhood swap bin, a Discord server for sharing supplies, or a sewing circle that exchanges scraps, these grassroots systems help keep materials flowing and reduce waste.

The Takeaway

When we invest in each other instead of waiting for giant corporations to do it for us, we build a craft economy that’s more sustainable, resilient, and exciting than anything Jo-Ann or the Big 4 pattern companies could have managed.

Jo-Ann may have unraveled, but sewing is alive and well. By choosing to support small businesses, share what we have, and create local systems of care, we can ensure that the future of sewing is built on creativity and community, not corporate spreadsheets.