
04 Feb How to Host a Make Along
If you want to engage your community, hosting a Craft Along or Make Along (MAL) is a great way to create conversation, nurture creativity, and build relationships with new and loyal customers. At Stitchcraft, we’ve supported many Knit Alongs (KAL), Quilt Alongs (QAL), and Crochet Alongs (CAL) and strategized for the more generalized craft alongs or MALs. In this post, we’ll share the basics and best practices for hosting your own MAL.
The Basics of a Make Along
A make along is a creative gathering where everyone works on the same or a similar project at the same time. Think of it as a sewing bee or knitting circle, but with a modern twist—and sometimes, the magic of Wi-Fi. MALs take place across a stretch of time, anywhere from one month to a year, depending on the project and goal. Participation is often encouraged with the promise of prizes, whether in the form of gift certificates or products. Prizes are distributed at the end of the craft along to a participant or selection of participants.
The Benefits of Hosting a Make Along
Whether it’s virtual or in-person, a make along fosters creativity, builds community, and gives participants a chance to learn from each other while having fun. MALs can help grow your newsletter list by requiring participants to register in order to receive instructions for the craft along project. MALs drive sales by introducing crafters to new products and designers, while also positioning your business as a trusted center for community.
The Different Types of Make Along
Craft alongs and make alongs exist across the spectrum of the crafting community. Sometimes crafters know exactly what the finished product of a craft along looks like; sometimes the finished product is a mystery, with clues released over a pre-determined period of time.
Quilt designers and quilt shops host block-of-the-month programs (BOM), where quilters work on one quilt block a month and finish within 6 months or a year with enough blocks to make a quilt. The American Quilter’s Society regularly hosts monthly quilt alongs. Thimbles Quilts in Lockport, Illinois hosts “Thimbles Clubhouse,” an annual block-of-the-month program with monthly meetings featuring food, drinks, show & tell, door prizes, and demonstrations and tutorials.
Yarn shops, fiber producers, and knitwear designers host knit alongs and crochet alongs to make garments and accessories like sweaters, shawls, and socks. Sarah Schira of Imagined Landscapes hosts a holiday “December Mystery Knit Along,” where knitters receive the pattern for a knit mystery gnome over the course of December, with additional small patterns, holiday recipes, and pieces of a storybook released every day.
If you own a paper goods store, you might target scrapbookers with a themed page or a mini album. Whatever craft you specialize in, make sure the project is approachable in terms of skill level, time commitment, price point, and materials. Beginner and advanced beginner-friendly projects will attract the largest crowd of crafters.
What’s Needed to Host a MAL
Before launching a make along, there are several factors to consider. MALs require time, effort, and maintenance, so prepare beforehand by considering the following:
- Project – What will crafters make during your MAL? Consider how long you would like to run the make along and the type of project suitable for your timeline. With the exception of a block-of-the-month, we recommend projects that require 4-8 weeks.
- Known or Mystery – MALs can feature a known project, or a mystery project (as in mystery knit alongs, or MKALs). With mystery make alongs, crafters know what they’re making (for example, a triangular shawl in three colors), but not necessarily what it looks like.
- Materials – What do crafters need to participate in your MAL? Make alongs provide an opportunity to create kits that contain everything participants need to join in the fun. With a block-of-the-month or QAL, you might build kits with various fabric options (colorful, neutral, patterned, solid). With a KAL or CAL, you might choose various color pairings for a multicolor design. You can also allow crafters to build their own kits from a selection of materials you choose.
- Pattern Distribution: How will participants receive instructions for your MAL? Is the pattern part of a kit you’re offering? Is the pattern exclusive to your MAL? In the case of a mystery make along, will crafters receive the pattern in full once the MAL launches, or will you break down the pattern into separate clues to be distributed across your timeline (see below)?
- Platform – How will participants share their projects with you and each other? Decide where participants can gather to ask questions, seek advice, and share their progress. You can host a dedicated Facebook group for your business, ask crafters to tag your business in their make along photos on Instagram, create a dedicated topic in your Ravelry group for participants to join, or, if the make along is also an in-store event, schedule regular (monthly or weekly) in-store meetings for participants to attend.
- Timeline – How long will the MAL last? A block-of-the-month might last 6 months to a year; a quilt along, knit along, or crochet along might last 4-8 weeks. Determine a firm start and end date. In the case of a new or mystery pattern, participants shouldn’t receive instructions for the pattern until the start date.
- Prizes – Are you offering a prize to participants? Decide how many prizes you’d like to distribute, and what you will offer as a prize. You can offer a gift certificate to your store, products like fabric or yarn, or a selection of products in a gift basket. Decide whether participants must use specific materials (see Materials above) to be eligible for prizes.
Encouraging Participants to Join Your MAL
Make alongs are a great opportunity to build your newsletter list. Create a landing page that asks participants to sign up for your newsletter to join the MAL. You can then create a newsletter to distribute the project instructions to participants when the make along launches or, in the case of a mystery make along, create a series of email automations to deliver the clues across a timeframe.
If the pattern for the project is already available, you might only require participants purchase specific materials from you to be eligible for the prize pool. They can then download or purchase the instructions on their own.
Brown Sheep Company hosts an annual mystery shawl knit along every spring. Participants register for the Brown Sheep Company newsletter to sign up for the MKAL and purchase special yarn kits. The designer of the shawl breaks up the pattern into four individual patterns, which release to participants via the Brown Sheep newsletter as “clues” once a week for four weeks. After the final clue is released, knitters have a few weeks to finish their knitting and share their photos to the Brown Sheep Company Crafters Facebook group for prizes.
Hosting Your MAL
In-person make alongs are great if you’ve got the space and your audience is local. There’s nothing like gathering in the same place with a bunch of creative folks, surrounded by fabric, yarn, and the occasional snack or drink. However, virtual make alongs are perfect for connecting with a broader audience and boosting accessibility. Platforms like Zoom, Facebook Live, a Facebook Group, or Instagram Live make it easy to gather crafters from anywhere. You can even record any live sessions for those who can’t make it.
As mentioned above, a dedicated Facebook group provides a great forum for crafters to share their projects, no matter where they’re located. We recommend creating a Facebook group for your business as a general best practice (see our tips for launching a Facebook group!). The Embroiderers’ Guild of America hosts an EGA Stitch-a-Long group on Facebook. Each month the Stitch-a-Long administrators release a PDF to the group for a free embroidery project and stitchers share photos of their project across the month.
Both formats have their perks. In-person events allow for hands-on help and immediate camaraderie, while virtual events let participants join in their pajamas. The choice depends on your audience and what works best for you as a host. If you’re feeling adventurous, why not try a hybrid approach? Host a small group in person while streaming the event online for others to join, and offer participants the option to post their MAL photos to your Facebook group and to Instagram (tagging your business in the process!) so that crafters are eligible for the prize pool via several formats. This will also help boost engagement with your business online and create great user-generated content!
Promoting Your MAL
Use social media, newsletters, and community bulletin boards to spread the word. Share sneak peeks of the project to build excitement, and don’t forget to emphasize how fun and approachable the event will be. Encourage participants to register for your newsletter to RSVP and invite their friends. The more, the merrier! You might even create a hashtag for the event so everyone can share their progress and finished projects. Encourage participants to tag your business on Instagram when posting photos about the make along (their choice of materials, colors, tools, etc). Nothing builds FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) like seeing others having a blast crafting.
Offering Special Discounts
Entice crafters to join your knit along by offering special discounts on materials used for the make along. This might mean a percentage off of kits you create, free shipping to participants who are joining virtually, or offering the pattern for free with purchase of the materials.
Brown Sheep Company usually offers free shipping on kits or yarn for their MKALs. Thimbles Quilts offers 15% off of all Kimberbell purchases for the year if you join their annual Kimberbell Club. Imagined Landscapes offers a special discount code for 10-15% off of the mystery gnome pattern, with the larger discount offered to newsletter subscribers first.
Create a Comfortable Space From the Get-Go
When the big day arrives, make sure to engage your participants from the start. Kick things off with an introduction and maybe a funny story about your own crafting mishaps. Icebreakers can also help everyone feel more comfortable. As you guide the group through the project, keep your instructions clear and your tone upbeat. Celebrate progress, no matter how small, and encourage everyone to share their work. Virtual participants can post photos with the event hashtag and tag your business, while in-person crafters can show off their creations on the spot. Either way, make sure everyone feels included and supported.
Keep the Fun Going
Don’t let the fun end when the craft along wraps up. Continue nurturing interactions on your Facebook group—not everyone will finish the project by the deadline, so it’s important to continue encouraging crafters. Participants can share updates and cheer each other on. Plan follow-up events to keep the momentum going. You could host a virtual showcase of finished projects or offer another craft along with a new theme. Sharing participants’ completed work on your blog or social media (with their permission, of course) is a great way to celebrate their efforts and inspire others to join in the future.
Wrapping It Up
Hosting a make along isn’t just about teaching a project; it’s about building a community of crafters who inspire and support each other. MALs are also about bolstering your product sales, growing your newsletter list, and positioning your business as an inviting communal space for all crafters. Whether you’re a seasoned shop owner or a newbie looking to connect with your audience, make alongs are a fantastic way to bring people together. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your make along today, and get ready to watch your creative community thrive. Looking for more ways to market your craft along? Stitchcraft Marketing is here to help as your full-service agency of crafters for craft-based business; contact us today!
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