Makers with a shop
A maker sells their own work from a shop of their own, online and in person.
Yarn, fabric and craft supply shops
Yarn and fabric sell online and in the shop, by colourway and dye lot. Classes fill up from your calendar.
The shop, its staff and its teachers work in one Magpie team.
Get started free
This combination of five Magpie areas fits a yarn or fabric shop.
- Store
- Store sells yarn, fabric and notions online, in every colourway and dye lot.
- Calendar
- Calendar lists classes and knit nights, with RSVPs up to a capacity.
- Forms
- Forms takes the sign-ups and the fee for a paid class.
- Newsletter
- Newsletter tells subscribers about new yarn, fabric and classes.
- Social Media
- Social Media schedules posts about new colourways and finished projects.
Each colourway and dye lot is its own item, with its own stock.
Store is the shop's online shop. A yarn's options, such as Colourway and Dye lot, make each combination an item. Each item has its own stock. A knitter buying for a sweater can order every skein from one lot.
Fabric can be priced by the half metre, and customers order as many as they need. A sale at the counter is recorded as an order.
Classes and knit nights go on a public calendar, up to the seats you set.
Calendar gives the shop a public calendar of its classes and knit nights. You turn on RSVPs and set a capacity. The event's page says when it is full.
The event's page and the calendar can show how many people are going. Sharing an event starts a social media post about it.
A paid class takes its fee as people sign up.
Forms builds a sign-up page for a class, with questions such as their experience. A paid Form charges one amount, paid by card on Stripe's page.
Each response shows Paid. You close the Form when the class is full, and the responses are kept.
New yarn, fabric and classes reach your subscribers by email.
Newsletter gives the shop a sign-up page with double opt-in. Checkout can ask buyers to subscribe too. You write each issue, send yourself a test and schedule it.
A sent issue has a web copy, which can start a social media post. The newsletter's page counts the subscribers and the copies delivered.
New colourways and finished projects go out on your accounts at their time.
Social Media posts to the shop's Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn at the time you choose. For Instagram, Magpie reminds you and opens it with the post filled in.
Instagram's shapes are cropped around a focal point you set on each photo. Promote on Social Media, on a product, starts a post with its name, address and photos.
Three more areas cover the rota, a makers' board and the books.
- Staff Scheduling
- Staff Scheduling plans the counter shifts and the teachers' class nights.
- Message Boards
- Message Boards gives your makers a public board for a knit-along or a quilt-along.
- Accounting
- Accounting keeps the books, with sales, payments and supplier bills in them.
A new yarn goes from the mill's delivery to a sold-out class.
Each step starts from what the last one made.
The delivery
A purchase order to the mill is received, and each dye lot's stock goes up.
The listing
The new colourways go live in the online shop.
The news
The newsletter tells subscribers, and a post goes out with the photos.
The class
A sock-knitting class goes on the calendar, with a paid sign-up Form.
The sign-ups
Knitters pay by card, and you close the Form when it is full.
The yarn
Each knitter orders the class yarn online and picks it up at the shop.
The knit-along
The class carries on between sessions on a public Message Board.
Setting up takes five steps.
Add your products
You add each yarn with its colourways and dye lots, and each fabric. Help: Create products, options, and inventory.
Add your suppliers
You add the mills and wholesalers you order from. Help: Suppliers and purchase orders.
Offer pickup
You add local pickup with the shop's address and times. Help: Collections and shipping.
Start your newsletter
You name the newsletter and open its sign-up page. Help: Start and configure a newsletter.
Connect Stripe
You connect your Stripe account, so customers can pay by card. Help: Connect Stripe to receive money.
Plans
A shop with staff fits the Team plan, one price for up to 25 members. It has room for 5,000 calendar events and higher newsletter limits.
Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each payment. On a paid Form for a class, Magpie's fee is 1% of each payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.
Other shops and makers have pages of their own.
Clothing boutiques and gift shops
A clothing boutique sells new stock online and in the shop, in every size.
Etsy and handmade sellers
A handmade seller runs a shop of their own beside Etsy.
Questions yarn and fabric shops ask
Can I sell yarn by colourway and dye lot?
Yes. A yarn has options, such as Colourway and Dye lot, and each combination is an item. Each item has its own price, stock, SKU and barcode. A knitter chooses the lot, so every skein in the order matches.
Can I sell fabric by the metre?
Yes. You price a fabric by the half metre or the metre. The customer orders as many as they need, and each order takes that many from stock.
Can I sell kits, such as yarn with a pattern and needles?
Yes. A bundle sells several products as one, at its own price. Each sale takes stock from every part. When a part runs out, the kit shows as sold out.
Can I take sign-ups for a paid class?
Yes. You make a Form for the class that charges one amount. Each person answers its questions and pays by card on Stripe's page. You close the Form when the class is full. Magpie's fee on a paid Form is 1% of each payment.
Can people RSVP to a free knit night?
Yes. You put the evening on the shop's public calendar and turn on RSVPs. You can set a capacity, and the event's page says when it is full. People RSVP while signed in to Magpie, and can sign up from the event's page.
Can customers be told when a colour is back?
Yes. When an item with counted stock sells out, its product page asks for an email address. Magpie sends one email when it can be bought again. You see how many people are waiting.
Can I order from the mills in Magpie?
Yes. Each supplier has its lead time. A purchase order goes by email or as a PDF, and Add low-stock items fills it. Receiving it adds the stock at its cost, and makes the supplier's bill.
Can customers collect web orders in the shop?
Yes. You add local pickup with the shop's address and pickup times. When you mark an order ready, Magpie emails the customer the address, times and any instructions.
How do we record a sale at the counter?
You choose New order, pick the items and record how the customer paid. The order is created paid, and the items leave stock.
Can our knit-along group talk between classes?
Yes. A public Message Board can be read without an account. Anyone signed in to Magpie with a handle can post, reply and vote. You and the board's creator can remove any post or comment.
Can we sell gift cards?
Yes. A gift card sells fixed amounts and, if you choose, a custom amount. The buyer can have it emailed to someone on a date they pick. The holder spends it in your online shop.
What does Magpie take from our sales?
Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. The rest goes to the shop's own Stripe account.
Put every colourway online.
Create a Magpie account and add your first yarn.