April 1, 2025 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Crafters often leave behind unfinished projects. Physical conditions like arthritis, poor eyesight, or dementia can make it impossible to keep working. And sometimes crafters die before they’re able to complete the quilt, sweater, or other handiwork they started.
Avid knitters Masey Kaplan and Jen Simonic realized they both had the experience of finishing projects that other people had left behind. In 2022, they started Loose Ends, a nonprofit that matches people whose loved ones have left behind textile projects with crafters who are willing to finish them.
In less than three years, Loose Ends has recruited more than 35,000 people who are willing to finish projects other crafters leave behind.
In some cases, the items have been unfinished for many years, and there can be guilt associated with not being able to finish them, Simonic says. Receiving the finished project from a Loose Ends volunteer is a powerful experience.
“The effect of the object is pretty overwhelming. A lot of tears, a lot of grateful people,” she says. “It’s been overwhelming on the finishers, too. They really connect.”
Less than three years after it started, Loose Ends has facilitated the completion of more than 3,500 projects. So far, crafters’ willingness to volunteer has outstripped the number of people who know about the effort and have sought help finishing a project. The group has a database of 35,000 crafters in 75 countries who are willing to finish projects.
Joann Fabrics helped support Loose Ends. Last year, it ran a rounding-up campaign that raised $250,000. The company also provided yarn, fabric, and other materials for some of the projects. In February, the company announced that it was closing all its stores. In the midst of its second bankruptcy, it ran another checkout appeal that raised nearly $80,000 for Loose Ends in less than two weeks.
A big part of the organization’s mission is to ease grief, but Loose Ends also seeks to build community, Simonic says.
“We’re showing people that there are people out there that will help them regardless of who they are, regardless of what they pray to, and regardless of their politics,” she says. “That’s really important to us. So everybody’s welcome.”
