How to make beaded stitch markers

On Wednesday, we took a look at lace knitting, for which stitch markers are a real help. Of course, you can get plain ones fairly cheaply – they are basically little plastic rings that you slide onto the knitting needle between the two stitches you want to mark. As you knit past those stitches, you slide the marker across onto the other needle.

But it’s much more fun to make your own! Plus, you can have lots of different ones to mark different sections, the start of a round, and so on.

To make your own stitch markers you’ll need:

• hard craft wire or beading head pins (like those used for dangly earrings)
• beads
• pliers
• wire cutters
• a form to bend the wire round – round-nose pliers are great if you have them, but if not you can use a pen or piece of dowel. The form should be bigger than you usual knitting needles, to allow you to slip the marker easily from needle to needle.

If you’re using wire, cut a length and bend the very end into a small tight loop. This will hold the bead in place, and if you wish you can attach another ‘drop’ to the loop to make a very dangly stitch marker!

Thread a bead or beads onto the wire, and make a sharp bend about 1cm above the topmost bead.

Using your pliers to grip the wire, bend it around the form to make a loop which meets where you made the bend.

Pulling steadily with your pliers, wrap the end of the wire around the wire between the bead and the loop. Trim off the end if necessary, and use the pliers to pinch and tuck the end in as much as possible so it won’t snag your knitting.

Slide the whole thing off the form, and you have a lovely handmade stitch marker

You may also like:

1. How to make a coiled wire pendant
2. Beaded embroidery – make a beaded felt applique
3. Silver wire heart pendant