All About Stitch Markers in Crochet

By Rachel Choi – 21 Comments

Stitch markers are really helpful in keeping track of a particular place in your work. A marker can be a scrap piece of yarn, safety pin, paper clip, plastic ring, or just about anything else that can easily be placed into the loop of a stitch.

Markers in the Round
If you are working in the round markers are used to keep track of where the round ends and the next round begins. When you crochet around in a circle, it is very easy to lose track of where to stop and start a new round if you don’t use a marker. To place a marker, just insert it into the loop that is on your hook to mark the beginning of the round. At the end of every round, you should move the marker and put it into the new loop that is on your hook. You know you are at the end of the round after you make a stitch into the stitch right before the stitch with the marker in it.

Markers for Sewing
If you are reading a pattern, it may tell you to place a marker so that you can refer back to that location in your work later. Often times this will be a place where you will need to sew together with another part of your work.

Markers as References
Markers can have a unlimited amount of functions. They can be used to help you count stitches if you place then every 10 or so stitches. Markers can even be used to indicated where you are suppose to increase, decrease or do a set of stitches.

Do you have a question or info about stitch markers to share?

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21 Comments

  1. Jo says:

    I am probably not the first to do this, but I have discovered that a lever back earring works great for a stitch marker. It has a little hook to catch the stitch and the lever is spring loaded, so you can flip it up all with one hand! Give it a try.

  2. Cami says:

    Sorry to be a stickler, but the English teacher in me must mention that “lose” (in paragraph 2, line 2) is only spelled with one “o”. It’s one of those pesky typos that spell-check doesn’t get! :o)

    Thanks for the informative article!

    • Rachel says:

      Thanks for pointing that out Cami! All fixed 🙂

    • Marny CA says:

      LOL … I know what you mean!

      My pants are loose when I lose weight.

      Losing weight makes my pants loose.

      Ahhhhh, the fun of English.

      No, I don’t know everything. I peeked at the peak when my curiosity was piqued.

  3. Vicky says:

    I keep several safety pins handy and use them for everything from counting rounds, stitches, and to hold the loop when putting my work down. Great topic!

  4. Elizabeth says:

    I used bobby pins (for hair). They’re not the best, but they’re what I have on hand…I never use them for my hair anyways.

    I love this web site! Thanks for all your effort and for sharing. 🙂

  5. Bookworm says:

    I’m almost wondering if I’m doing something wrong. Everybody seems to put the stitch marker in the first stitch of the round, I put it in the last. It’s a little confusing for some patterns where the positioning of the marker is important in the pattern. But so far everything has worked.

    • Rachel says:

      Hey Bookworm, I think they functionally work the same way, if you put the marker into the beginning of your round or the last stitch. The only thing that makes it different is that if the marker is in the beginning stitch then you will not make your last stitch into it, you would stop right before the stitch with the marker in it. If the marker is in your last stitch, then you would make your last stitch into the stitch with the marker in it.

  6. Evie says:

    Like Elizabeth, I often use bobby pins, but I am careful to use rubber-tipped ones. As soon as the rubber tips fall off, I stop using it on yarn and thread.

    Like Bookworm, I always mark the last, rather than the first, stitch. But, as Rachel points out, I don’t think it makes much of a difference.

    Jo’s tip about the lever-back earring is new to me. I’ll watch for some cheap ones.

  7. Thérèse says:

    Excellent! Excellent! I love it when you read something and it all makes sense straight away! Thanks for the ideas! I will now go and hunt for some small safety pins.

  8. Haether says:

    Rachel, thank you for an extremely clear explanation of the benefits using stitch markers & HOW exactly to use them! This is very helpful as are all of the other postings that you put in “layman’s terms” 🙂

  9. […] you first start to crochet, try to make it a habit of counting your stitches carefully and using crochet stitch markers to assist […]

  10. Fleurdelis says:

    Stitch markers are my best friends, so I treat myself when I have a 1/2 price coupon from the craft store. I use the pink, blue and white round ones that come in a green package. Yes, they are a little expensive but worth the 1/2 price. I use them for all the examples that Rachel has given above, plus counting and dividing the stitches on the chain when you first start a project. They make nice stocking stuffers.

  11. […] here until the end of the pattern, do not join at the end of a round.  Use stitch markers (see All About Stitch Markers for more info) at the beginning of each round if […]

  12. […] Hacky Sack Note: This pattern does not use joins at the end of each round. Use stitch markers (see All About Stitch Markers for more info) at the beginning of each round if […]

  13. […] headache relievers when you crochet. Not familiar with stitch markers? Check out this quick post: All About Stitch Markers in Crochet. A stitch marker can be anything from plastic rings you buy at the store, a spare safety pin, or […]

  14. Bethintx1 says:

    Great suggestions! Here is my 2 cents!
    1. I use post it notes to mark my place on a pattern.
    2. I also take an index cars and staple a piece of each color of yarn and mark it color A, Color B, etc. this way when it’s time to change colors in a pattern, there is no doubt which color comes next.

  15. Anne says:

    Rachel, thanks so much for the great article on stitch markers. I’ve not used them before and have made a few projects in the round and see how it would have been fantastic to use them if I’d only known! I’m pretty much an advanced beginner and I’m definitely learning from all the mistakes I’ve made.

    Jo’s suggestion for the lever backed earing base is fantastic! I make jewelry and have oodles of them lying around.

  16. […] 1: ch 2, 8 sc in 2nd ch from hook: 8 sc Round 2:Do no join, use a stitch marker here if needed (see All About Stitch Marker in Crochet for more info) , 2 sc in first sc and in each sc around: 16 sc Round 3: Do not join, 2 sc in first 2 […]

  17. Squirrely Girly says:

    I read somewhere to use bobby pins – the closed ones, not the open ones – for stitch markers, and I have used them since I started working in the round. I have some of those closed ring ones and they don’t work. 🙁

  18. carol marti says:

    when crocheting a round flat circle, show me with a marker, where to put the marker when making a turning stitch and starting the next row.
    I can’t figure out in what stitch to start in the next row when I don’t turn.

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