Recently I decided to start a local sip and stitch group here in my hometown. We had our first meetup last month and it went really well! I wanted to write up a quick post to share with you guys how I went about organizing my sip and stitch so you could organize one in your town!
Goal
My goal for the sip and stitch was to create a space for makers in our town to get together and enjoy two hours of yarny goodness. I wanted to make a little escape from our daily adulting and responsibilities where we could relax with like-minded folks and unwind (pun intended). I know I’m my most relaxed when I’m crocheting and thought other makers probably felt the same way.
Location
The first thing I started thinking about was where I wanted to have my sip and stitch. I knew I wanted a place that was aesthetically nice and would help set the tone I was going for. I wanted it to be private, so there wasn’t a lot of hustle and bustle around us and I wanted a place that would allow drinks (since it’s a SIP and stitch). I got very lucky when Native Bagle Co bought a bigger space for their business. It was completely renovated, very well lit (important for crafting) and the set up was perfect. There is a big table in the middle of the shop where we could all sit together instead of being separated at a bunch of different tables. Native Bagel also closes at 2:00 in the afternoon, so there wouldn’t be anyone there at 6:30.
Start thinking of places in your town that you think would be perfect for a sip and stitch. I know our Michales has a craft room, that would be a good place. Maybe your church has a community room you could meet at or maybe there’s a well-lit coffee shop! Anyplace with a private room would work perfectly!
Once you make a list of possible venues, start reaching out to the different owners. Explain to them that you are wanting to start something special for the makers in your community and how you think their space is perfect!
Time
According to my Instagram analytics, my target audience is mostly women from ages 25-44. A lot of women in that age range are moms and wives, so I wanted a time that would be most convenient for them. I was going to do 6-8pm, but the traffic in our town is HORRIBLE at that time so I pushed it back to 6:30-8:30. This would give the daddies time to get home to watch the kiddos and mamas time to eat dinner and get everyone settled in before she left.
When you go to set your time, make sure you think of your target audience, their lifestyles, and take account for traffic in your area.
Marketing
Marketing your sip and stitch is super important if you don’t know one will even know you are having one! I made a Facebook group, a Facebook event, and designed and printed a flyer to hang up in a few local shops where my target audience might be spending their time. Encouraging people to share the group and event on Facebook is a good way to start spreading the word.
I designed my flyer in Canva. I set it to Legal paper dimensions making it 8.5″ wide and 14″ tall. I thought this would make the flyer stand out a little bit so people would be more likely to read it. I also put a “snap and save” image on the flyer with the picture of a little camera encouraging people to take a picture of the flyer so they can keep it saved on their phones. 
I also purchased the URL ACraftySipandStitch.com from GoDaddy for $1 for the first year. I forwarded it so when people go to the URL it takes them to the Facebook page since I don’t have an actual website. GoDaddy makes this super simple, here is a link to a quick tutorial on how to forward your URL.
Branding
I wanted the sip and stitch to be a branch of my business, so I branded it to match the A Crafty Concept brand. I designed the logo but taking my ACC logo and manipulating it a little bit. I thought putting it in a coffee cup was a cute touch (again playing off the word sip) and I added different “tools of the trade” to show that’s it not just for crocheters. I named it by playing off my business name, A Crafty Concept to A Crafty Sip and Stitch, and I used my same color palette for the flyer. This step isn’t 100% necessary unless you are wanting it to be connected to your business as I did.
Final Thoughts
Overall, our first sip and stitch went really well! There were 9 people there, including me and 3 of them were total strangers! Next time I will be sure to bring some extra supplies with me, just in case someone forgot a WIP or wanted to try something new. I also encouraged the group to post about it on social media so we can continue to spread the word and grow. I have been slacking on the Facebook group front, just because it’s beanie season and things are crazy town right now, but it would be smart to stay active over there! Share relative local news (like our local yarn shop was hosting a free knitting class), make call-to-action posts to get people involved (let’s show everyone what we’re working on, post a pic of your recent WIP in the comments) and share any fun blog posts or free patterns you might come across! One day I will get better at using Facebook for my business lol.
That’s pretty much it for setting up a sip and stitch in your local town! I really hope this has inspired you to organize a group in your area. It’s basically like Instagram in real life lol. It’s a great way to meet people in your community, be involved in your community and it has so much potential to be even more! You could start a project with your sip and stitch group and all of you make and donate afghans to a local nursing home, or premie hats to a local hospital. You could hold a raffle for a basket of handmade goodies to help raise money for a local family in need, the possibilities are endless! If you have any questions, as always, feel free to comment below. I am happy to help in any way I can.
Happy Crocheting
❤️Ashley