Cozy season is here, which means snuggling up on the couch with your favorite show and your latest knitting project. It’s the dream night in when you’re knitting the body of a stockinette sweater or working a few rows of easy knitting - your brain’s free to check out while your hands stay busy. But when your knitting pattern involves quite a lot of increases, decreases or instructions to remember, your relaxing binge watch gets interrupted by picking up your phone, finding where you are in the pattern and checking what you're supposed to be doing next. Urgh, annoying, right?
This is exactly where stitch markers come in handy. Knitting patterns are telling you to use them for a reason! They’re not just cute accessories, although it has to be said they can be that too. Stitch markers are useful reminders that help you keep track of important points in your knitting project, whether that’s the beginning of a round or marking where you need to increase, decrease or do some other useful knitting instruction.
What are stitch markers used for in knitting?
Stitch markers are small rings or clips that you place on your knitting needle or attach to your knitting itself to mark a specific spot. They’re a bit like a bookmark for your knitting, and you can use them for lots of jobs when following a knitting pattern so you don’t have to count every stitch or remember everything yourself.
Stitch markers have loads of uses, like:
Marking the beginning/end of a round so that you know where each round starts when knitting in the round
Marking the right or wrong side of your knitting project, which can be useful when knitting flat, especially if both sides of your knitting project look similar (like garter stitch or seed stitch)
Marking where increases and decreases happen so it’s easy to remember where shaping happens
Separating pattern repeats to make it easier to keep track of individual sections
Dividing a big number of stitches into smaller sections, which is invaluable when casting on or working through knitting projects like shawls that have a lot of stitches.
Basic and decorative stitch markers are great for all these jobs, but instructional stitch markers go one step further and actually tell you which knitting technique you need to use at a particular point in your project.
Simple round stitch markers to help you keep track of your knitting without breaking the bank! These stitch markers will fit knitting needles up to US 10.5 or 6.5mm. Each set comes with 20 stitch markers, go for an assorted set (5 of each color) or keep it simple with one color: pink, blue, orange, or green.
How do instructional stitch markers make knitting easier?
Instructional stitch markers have a knitting abbreviation or instruction engraved or printed on them, giving you a visual reminder of what to do when you reach that point in your knitting.
At Chippy's Knittery, I’ve created a range of wooden instructional stitch markers because I know how useful they can be. I’ve even put together a set specifically with sweater knitters in mind, which includes all the different markers for KFB, SSK, K2TOG, M1L, and M1R, along with progress keepers marked BOR, RS, and WS.
If you love knitting but prefer to allow your brain to switch off, I think they make such a difference in following your knitting pattern. Instead of stopping to check which increase you're supposed to work, you can look at the marker you've placed at that point in your project.
If you're the kind of person who loves to knit but hates constantly referring to the pattern, our Instructional Stitch Markers are the answer to all your problems. These little markers will keep you on track and help you knit like a pro. They're lightweight but durable and will make any project a little easier!
Choose from the following stitch marker: KFB (knit front and back), SSK (slip, slip, knit), K2TOG (knit two together markers, two M1L (make one left), M1R (make one right), BOR (beginning of row), RS (right side) and WS (wrong side).
For a progress keeper, choose the lobster or lever clasp. For stitch markers, the small ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 8 or 5mm, making it perfect for those delicate projects. The medium ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 13 or 9mm, which is perfect for your mid-sized knitting projects. And the large ring fits knitting needles up to size US 17 or 12mm, making it the perfect choice for those chunky knit projects.
You can use instructional stitch markers for shaping your sweater
Like when knitting a top-down sweater, for example. In a raglan yoke, your knitting pattern will tell you to increase on either side of each raglan line to shape the yoke. Depending on the design, you’ll probably use M1L and M1R increases, so you can place your instructional stitch markers on either side of each raglan line to remind you which increase to do. When you reach each one, you just slip it across your needle and work the increase, no problem.
Obviously, you'll still need to read your knitting pattern initially and understand what you’re doing and how to work the relevant stitch. But once you’re set up, having those instructions right there in your knitting will keep you on track and knitting your sweater like a pro.
Instructional stitch markers can be really useful for beginner knitters, too.
If you're relatively new to knitting, abbreviations like M1L or SSK can be hard to remember. Instructional stitch markers can help you connect those abbreviations with the point in your project where you need to use them. You’ll still need to learn what each technique involves, but having a visual reminder right there in your knitting can make it easier to follow along.
They're also handy as you become a more confident knitter and start working with knitting patterns with more shaping, repeats, and instructions to remember.
If you're the kind of person who loves to knit but hates constantly referring to the pattern, our Instructional Stitch Markers are the answer to all your problems. These little markers will keep you on track and help you knit like a pro. They're lightweight but durable and will make any project a little easier!
This set comes with one KFB (knit front and back) marker, one SSK (slip, slip, knit) marker, one K2TOG (knit two together) marker, one M1L (make one left) marker and one M1R (make one right) marker.
For a progress keeper, choose the lobster or lever clasp. For stitch markers, the small ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 8 or 5mm, making it perfect for those delicate projects. The medium ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 13 or 9mm, which is perfect for your mid-sized knitting projects. And the large ring fits knitting needles up to size US 17 or 12mm, making it the perfect choice for those chunky knit projects.
And there are lots of other tools to help make following a knitting pattern easier
Instructional stitch markers aren't the only way to make following a knitting pattern easier. If your project involves lots of rows, repeats or shaping, row counters and numbered progress keepers can take even more of the mental math out of your knitting.
Row counters
I love our colorful row counters for keeping track of how many rows or pattern repeats I’ve knit so I don’t need to rely on memory, or a tally on the back of a piece of scrap paper or something! They’re super useful for colorwork or lace knitting, where you might be working the same set of rows over and over again. They’re also handy when working the decreases on the sleeve of your handknit sweater. Pop a numbered row counter on your needles each time you work a decrease and you can easily keep track of how many repeats you have left before you’re ready to knit the cuff.
Hey there, knitters! Ready to make sure you never lose your spot in a pattern again? Then check out our row counter – the must-have tool for every stitchin' queen or king!
Our amazing knitting tool now comes in different sizes to fit all your needs! So, if you're a small project kind of person, our small size row counter is perfect for you! It fits up to size US 8 knitting needles, making it just right for those more delicate projects.
For those of you who like to go big, our medium size row counter is just the ticket! It fits up to US 13 knitting needles, which means it's perfect for all your mid-sized knitting projects.
If you're a fan of larger needles, fear not – our large size row counter is here to save the day. It fits up to US 17 knitting needles, making it the perfect choice for those chunky knit projects that you just can't resist.
Not only is our row counter super practical, it's also really easy to use. Just slide it onto your needle, and move your needle through the next hoop every time you complete a row. And with its clear, easy-to-read numbers, you'll always know exactly where you're at in your project.
So if you're ready to take your knitting to the next level, grab one of our row counters today – in whichever size tickles your fancy!
Numbered progress keepers
Our numbered progress keepers are another way to help you follow a knitting pattern by keeping track of rows or repeats when working on your project. I like to use them when I have a really large knitting project with lots and lots of stitches. Because they go up in larger increments, they’re ideal for counting blocks of stitches when casting on or sets of rows when knitting the body or sleeve of a sweater, for instance.
Pair them with a set of instructional stitch markers, and you have a handy knitter’s toolkit that takes away some of the mental load of knitting, leaving you free to stitch and enjoy the process!
Are you tired of losing your place while knitting? Our progress keepers are here to save the day! And now, you can customize your progress keeper to fit your needs with our selection of lobster clamps and jump rings.
For a progress keeper, choose the lobster clasp or lever clasp – it's easy to use and adds a touch of whimsy to your project. And if you're looking for a stitch marker, any size jump ring will do the trick. We offer different sizes of jump rings to fit your knitting needles perfectly. The small ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 8 or 5mm, making it perfect for those delicate projects. The medium ring fits knitting needles up to a size US 13 or 9mm, which is perfect for your mid-sized knitting projects. And the large ring fits knitting needles up to size US 17 or 12mm, making it the perfect choice for those chunky knit projects.
So whether you're knitting a delicate lace shawl or a cozy winter sweater, our progress keepers and stitch markers with lobster clasps, lever clasps, or jump rings are the perfect tool to help you keep track of your progress. Get yours today and take the hassle out of knitting!
Spend less time checking your pattern and more time knitting
The point of all these knitting tools isn't to replace your knitting pattern. You’ll still need to refer to it from time to time to make sure you’re on the right track, but a few well-placed instructional stitch markers and a couple of useful knitting tools really do make following a knitting pattern easier. They can do the work of remembering what stitch comes next, so you can spend more time just knitting. And who doesn’t want that?!
