What are they? I’m sure you have seen these in the store and wondered where and when they are used?
Below is a handy little guide to stitch markers.
Ring or closed stitch markers
Say you are knitting a pattern and you are told to pm or place a marker. This is where these handy little guys come in. They are essentially a closed ring that you simply slip onto your knitting needle in the prescribed place. They usually act as a reminder of the end of the row, a place to make repeated increases or decreases or to mark specific places in the pattern especially in complicated patterns like lacework. Also very handly if you have a large number of stitches to cast on and you keep losing track. Just slip a stitch marker on the needle after every 10 or twenty stitches and you have a very easy, visual way to tally. They come in a variety of form, the most common is a simple round plastic ring.
Open ended or split stitch markers
These little guys are also in the shape of a ring, but is open on one end, usually ending in a point. Open ended markers have a dual function. They can be used like ring stitch markers by slipping them on the needle at the prescribed place. However they are most commonly used in crocheting in the round. In crochet, you only have one working stitch on your hook. This means that a ring stitch marker cannot be used to mark the end of the round. The pointy end of the open ended stitch marker allows them to be slipped right into a stitch in the completed round, marking the end of the round.
Another very useful place to use open ended stitch markers is in counting rows. Again, when knitting or crocheting a multitude of rows, is it often difficult to keep track and you find yourself counting and recounting. These little guys can be slipped through stitch every 10 rounds, again acting as a very visual marker for rows.
Locking stitch markers
These stitch markers look a bit like a clothes pin or lock where the open end can clip into the body of the marker, locking it in place. They are used in a similar fashion as open ended stitch markers with the main advance being that they can’t fall out.
Custom stitch markers
Most crafters will start off the standard stitch markers purchased from their local yarn store. However, as time goes on, you tend to buy yourself nice needles, nicer projects bags or even custom stitch markers. They are most commonly in the shape of a ring stitch holders but have beads or beautiful decorations dangling from the end. Certainly a more posh way to count stitches! Etsy is a very good place to hunt down some custom stitch markers.
Misc
So you find yourself without stitch markers and have no time to go to the store to buy some? In a pinch, safety pins, small key rings or even a bit of string will do the job. Maybe not as glamourous but hey, when you need it, use what you have!
What do you use for stitch markers? Share you favourites on Instagram or our Facebook page.
And if you are learning to knit, don’t forget to visit Sheep and Stitch where Davina will be teaching you to make 4 amazing projects to impress friends and family. Start now and you will have completed 4 Christmas presents! Sounds like a win win to us!