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Working in rows · Beginner

Using stitch markers

A stitch marker is a small clip or ring that opens, hung in a stitch to mark a place you need to find again. In crochet it most often marks the first stitch of a round. It also marks the ends of a row, counts off a long chain, shows where an increase goes, and holds the loop when you put the work down.

How to work it

  1. Choose a marker that opens

    Use a marker with an opening: a locking marker, which closes like a safety pin, or a split ring. A closed ring, the kind that sits on a knitting needle, cannot be taken off a crochet stitch again. A safety pin, a bobby pin, a paper clip or a short length of yarn in another color does the same job.

  2. Hang it in the top of the stitch

    A stitch marker, a small ring with an opening, hangs in the top of the stitch just finished: it passes through the V at the top of that stitch, under both strands. The loop on the hook, beside it, is not marked.

    Finish the stitch you want to mark. Its top is the V that lies next to the loop on the hook. Put the marker through that V, under both of its strands. The loop on the hook is not that stitch: it becomes part of the next one.

  3. Mark the first stitch of a round

    Two rounds seen from the front. A stitch marker hangs in the first stitch of the outer round, and the loop on the hook stands beside it: the round is complete, and the next stitch goes into the marked stitch.

    Working in rounds, mark the first stitch of the round as soon as it is made. Work round until you come back to the marker: the stitch before the marked stitch is the last of the round. Take the marker out, work the first stitch of the next round into the stitch it marked, and hang the marker in that new stitch.

  4. Mark the first stitch of a row

    The second row is nearly finished. A stitch marker hangs in the first stitch of each row: one at the right edge, in the new row, and one at the left edge, in the row below. The marked stitch of the row below is the only one not yet worked into: the last stitch of the new row goes there.

    Working in rows, hang a marker in the first stitch of each row. When you work back along the next row, the marked stitch is where the last stitch of that row goes. Two markers are in the work at once, one at each edge. When the last stitch of a row has gone into a marked stitch, take that marker out and hang it in the first stitch of the row that follows.

  5. Count a long chain

    A chain of twenty stitches, seen from farther away. A stitch marker hangs in the 10th chain and another in the 20th, each with its number beside it. The slip knot and the loop on the hook are not counted.

    On a long starting chain, hang a marker in every 10th or 20th chain as you make it. If you lose count, count on from the last marker and not from the beginning.

  6. Mark an increase or a repeat

    Where increases are set at even distances, as in a flat circle, put a marker in each stitch where an increase goes. You then need not count the stitches between them on every round. A pattern writes this as pm, place marker.

  7. Hold the loop when you stop

    The hook is out of the work. The loop that was on the hook stands open at the end of the row, and a stitch marker is clipped through it, so that the loop cannot pull out. The yarn to the ball runs off the top edge.

    When you put the work down, take the hook out and put a marker through the loop that was on it. The loop cannot then pull out if the yarn is tugged. To start again, take the marker off and put the hook back into the loop.

At a glance

Used for
finding where a round begins when rounds are worked in a spiral; keeping the edges of rows straight while you are learning; counting a long starting chain in tens or twenties; marking the stitches where increases or repeats go
In a pattern
pm means place marker.
Kind to use
One that opens: a locking marker or a split ring.
What can stand in
A safety pin, a bobby pin, a paper clip, or a scrap of yarn in another color.
Moved up
A marker for the start of a round or a row goes into the new first stitch every time.

A scrap of yarn marks a place in two ways. Pulled through one stitch, it marks that stitch like any other marker. Laid across the work before the first stitch of a round, it is caught between two stitches; brought over the work again at the start of each following round, from back to front and then from front to back, it leaves a line that shows where every round began. Use a smooth yarn in a color that stands out.

A marker at the start of a round also shows a mistake while it is still close. If you reach the marker before the round has its full count, or the count is full before you reach the marker, a stitch was gained or lost in that round and nowhere else.

Tips

  • Move the marker at the same moment every time: as soon as the first stitch of the new round or row is made.

When it goes wrong

I cannot get the marker off the stitch.
It is a closed ring, the kind made for knitting needles. For crochet use a marker that opens, so that it can be slipped off the stitch.
My rounds end up with the wrong number of stitches.
Mark the first stitch of every round and count as you come back to the marker. The marker shows where the round ends, which a spiral does not show by itself.
My rows get narrower.
The last stitch of the row is being left out. Mark the first stitch of each row: on the way back, the marked stitch is where the last stitch goes.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Questions

Where does a stitch marker go in crochet?
Through the V at the top of the stitch you want to mark, once that stitch is finished. To mark the start of a round or a row, that stitch is the first one.
Do I need to buy stitch markers?
No. A scrap of yarn in another color, a safety pin, a bobby pin or a paper clip marks a stitch as well.
Can I use knitting stitch markers for crochet?
Only the kind that opens. A closed ring cannot be taken off a crochet stitch.
What does pm mean in a crochet pattern?
Place marker: hang a marker in the stitch the pattern names.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

Tools