A not-for-profit company known as Granny’s Finest is shutting down operations after seven years of selling hand knits to the general public, business broadcaster RTL Z said on Thursday.

Almost 900 ‘grannies and granddads’ had knitted scarfs, hats and jumpers for the foundation and the Bijenkorf was among its outlets, the broadcaster said.

In a letter to knitters, the organisers say that they have been advised to file for bankruptcy. ‘This means we have to stop the great adventure that has been Granny’s Finest,’ the letter says.

The letter lists a number of reasons why the company failed: it was too seasonally-based, logistics costs were high and the production process too slow.

Founder Niek van Hengel declined to give further details to RTL Z apart from to say the company has not yet filed for bankruptcy. The webshop is still online.

Fellow founder Jip Pulles, who came up with the idea as a graduation project, also declined to comment.

Granny’s Finest is a non-profit foundation and the knitters were not paid for their services. Scarves sold for around €60 and blankets for €134, RTL Z said.

The foundation was established in 2011 with 20 knitters – the idea was to give people living in pensioners homes something to do with their days and to counteract loneliness.