Social media for craft and hobby shops: a practical guide for 2026

Crafters look for ideas first and supplies second. A finished make, a project they could try this weekend or a technique explained clearly will bring them to your shop more reliably than a photo of a shelf.

Pinterest is where many makers save projects for later, and Pinterest says catalogs let merchants upload products as product Pins, with a business account, a claimed website and a product feed. YouTube suits longer tutorials, Instagram suits finished makes and new yarn or fabric, and Facebook groups suit local makers and workshop bookings.

Source: Pinterest Business help: Get started with retail catalogs, checked 15 October 2026

Three or four posts a week works for most shops. Make the samples you would make anyway, and photograph each stage.

• Monday: a finished make, with a list of the supplies and where to find them in the shop.
• Tuesday: a 30-second technique, such as a cast-on, a stitch or a glaze.
• Wednesday: new stock, with colours, weights and prices.
• Thursday: a customer make, with permission and credit.
• Friday: this weekend's workshop or club night, with places left.
• Monthly: a make-along or a seasonal project, such as Christmas decorations.

Patterns are the area most craft shops get wrong. The Intellectual Property Office's copyright notice on knitting and sewing patterns, updated in January 2021, says that making and selling an item from a pattern will not usually infringe copyright, but that pattern terms commonly say the pattern is only for personal or non-commercial use, so selling items could breach the contract. It also says you cannot pass on or sell copies of a pattern you have bought, and that downloaded patterns are equally protected, including when emailed on to someone else.

On photos, the IPO says photographing a finished item may infringe copyright only if the item is a work of artistic craftsmanship, and that clothing will commonly fail to meet that test. Still, credit the designer of any pattern you show, and never post pattern pages or charts in full.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and change, so check with your local Trading Standards service, regulator or a lawyer before you post claims, prices or offers you are unsure about.

1. Credit the pattern designer and link to where the pattern can be bought.
2. Never post photos of full pattern pages, charts or instructions.
3. Check pattern terms before running a class or selling samples made from it.
4. Ask before reposting a customer make, and tag them if they agree.

Source: GOV.UK (IPO): Copyright notice, knitting and sewing patterns (updated January 2021), checked 15 October 2026

Workshops fill your quiet evenings and make great content. Post the full picture: what people will make, skill level, what is included and the total price. In the UK, the CMA says a social media post can be an invitation to purchase and that mandatory charges should normally be included in the total price, so if every attendee pays a materials fee, include it.

Photos from a workshop are popular, but ask everyone first. Some people do not want to appear online, and children need a parent's permission.

• Post the date, time, level, what is included and the total price.
• Say how many places are left, and update the post when it sells out.
• Ask at the start of each session who is happy to be photographed.
• Share the finished makes rather than faces if anyone is unsure.

Source: CMA: Providing clear and accurate information about prices (summary), checked 15 October 2026

Yarn bundles and kits make good giveaway prizes. In the UK, the ASA says a social media prize draw must state its significant conditions, including a closing date, in the post itself, that winners must be picked at random with evidence kept, that every entry method must be trackable, and that a single social media announcement is unlikely to be enough to show the prize was awarded.

Meta says a promotion on a Page must comply with applicable laws and must not require or incentivise participants to share, repost or tag others, and that Meta will not help you run it. Ask people to comment or answer a question instead.

• Put the closing date, eligibility and how the winner is picked in the post.
• Use a random picker and keep a screenshot of the draw.
• Never ask people to tag friends or share to enter on Facebook or Instagram.

Sources: ASA AdviceOnline: Promotional marketing, prize draws in social media, checked 15 October 2026; Meta: Pages, Groups and Events Policies (promotions), checked 15 October 2026

Google's policy bans offering incentives for reviews and selectively asking happy customers for them, and the FTC's 2024 rule bans incentives conditioned on a review saying something positive or negative.

Disclosure: this guide is published by Zolyp, an AI social media manager. Zolyp plans a calendar around your content pillars, writes and designs each post, and schedules it to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You start in review-everything mode, so nothing goes live without your approval. Pinterest is one of the platforms Zolyp publishes to, and you can add your own photos of makes and stock to any post. Zolyp does not check pattern terms or image rights, so confirm both before you approve a post. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: plan the month's workshops, new stock and one seasonal project.
• Week 2: photograph samples and stock in one session.
• Week 3: share customer makes and a technique video.
• Week 4: reply to reviews, check which posts filled workshops and plan next month.

Sources: Maps user-generated content policy: Prohibited and restricted content, checked 15 October 2026; FTC: Final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024), checked 15 October 2026