GoSadi Make-Alongs: A Guide to Set-up and Hosting Best Practices
This Best-Practices Guide shows you what you'll see at each stage of hosting a Make-Along on GoSadi — from setup through community engagement — and what your guests experience when they join. We also give you tips for getting the most out of your Make-Along.
Creating Your Make-Along
When you create a Make-Along, you fill in several sections that shape its appearance and your group’s access to it.
Visibility Options
You have four visibility choices that determine who can see and join your Make-Along.
Open
Anyone can discover your Make-Along on the Discovery page
Anyone can join without approval
Best for maximum reach
Private
Anyone can discover your Make-Along on the Discovery page
Potential members must apply to join
You approve or deny applications
Best for curated groups
Invitation-Only
You receive a unique invite link
Only people with your link can join
Your Make-Along doesn't appear on the Discovery page
Best for closed groups (email subscribers, private Facebook groups, etc.)
Testing
For designers running pattern tests
Similar to invitation-only
Marked as "test" in the interface
Pattern Selection
When you select a pattern:
GoSadi automatically pulls the first photo from your Pattern Listing
You can replace it with your own custom graphic
Your custom graphic should showcase what you're making and inspire people
Details Section
This is where you add:
Yarn links (include affiliate links if you have them)
Inspiration or salient details about what you're making
Important milestones or prizes
General Make-Along details
Anything you want members to know upfront
Host Tools
Once your Make-Along is created, you see a Host Tools section at the top of your Make-Along page.
What's in Host Tools:
Invite Link - Copy and share this with your community
Manage Members - See who's applied (for private Make-Alongs) and approve or deny them
Member List - View everyone who's joined
Edit Settings - Change details, visibility, or archive the make-along
What Guests See
Guest With a GoSadi Account
When they click your invite link:
They see "You're invited to join the Make-Along"
They see the Make-Along name and details
They click to accept the invitation
They're added to your Make-Along immediately
Guest Without a GoSadi Account
When they click your invite link:
They're prompted to create a GoSadi account
They can create a free account or paid account (to link to Ravelry or access other features)
After creating their account, they see the invitation popup again
They accept and are added to your Make-Along
NOTE: Both free and paid accounts can join and participate in Make-Alongs.
Discover Tab Views
For Hosts
When you're in the Community section and viewing make-alongs:
Discover
All public Make-Alongs you can join
Doesn't show Make-Alongs you're already hosting
Hosting
All Make-Alongs you're currently hosting
Shows your active and upcoming Make-Alongs
Joined
All Make-Alongs you've joined (as a participant)
Shows Make-Alongs where you're not the host
Past
All Make-Alongs that have ended
Shows both hosted and joined past Make-Alongs
NOTE: Your Make-Alongs don't appear in the Discover tab if you're the host. You see them under Hosting.
Community Engagement in Your Make-Along
First Post Best Practices
Your first post sets the tone for engagement. Post it as soon as your Make-Along launches.
Good first posts:
Welcome message with enthusiasm
Prompt for people to share their yarn choices
Ask people to post photos or details
Create a thread topic for initial engagement
EXAMPLE: "Welcome to our Make-Along! Show off your yarn choices in the replies below. Tell us what you're making with and why you picked it!"
How Threading Works
When someone replies to your first post:
Their reply appears in a thread under your post
Other members can see the thread
More people can add to the thread with their own replies
The conversation stays organized within that thread
EXAMPLE: You post "Share your yarn choices!" Someone replies with their yarn photo and says "I'm using Asylum Fibers DK." Another member replies in the same thread: "I love that yarn! I'm using it too."
Multiple Threads
You can create separate threads for different topics:
Thread 1: "Show your yarn choices"
Thread 2: "Mid-project check-in"
Thread 3: "Finished object celebration"
Each thread keeps conversations organized and easy to follow.
Viewing Your Make-Along Members
When you go to your Make-Along page, you see a member list showing:
Who has joined your make-along
How many people are participating
Each member's profile
NOTE: For private Make-Alongs, the Manage Members section shows applications that are waiting for your approval.
Best Practices Summary
Set yourself up for success:
Create your first post before your Make-Along launches (or immediately when it starts)
Ask questions to spark engagement
Use threads to organize conversations by topic
Monitor your member list and approve applications (if private)
Reply to comments to keep the energy going
Create multiple threads as your Make-Along progresses
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