I’ve been having so much fun hand-crafting stitch marker sets and mini-sets for Tallgrass Knitting (my Etsy shop)! Years ago I wrote a couple of posts about DIY stitch markers. Since then I’ve learned quite a bit and I’ve changed how I make stitch markers as I find what I love best and what makes the nicest markers. So, this is the perfect time to share what I’ve learned with you!
The first step is to gather the jewelry findings for each set. I’ve found that I much prefer using simple earring head pin wires along with matching jump rings for my sets. I use the smaller 4 mm jump rings to connect the wired beads to the larger jump rings. The larger jump rings work perfectly as solid, no-snag stitch markers. I work hard to track down matching findings for each set. Pictured above you can see matching platinum findings and matching antique bronze findings.
The next step is fun! I’d forgotten how much I enjoy working with beads. Pulling together the bead combinations for each new stitch marker sets can have me digging through beads for hours. If you’re buying your beads online, two of my favorite sources are Fire Mountain Gems and Shipwreck Beads. They both also carry all the tools and findings.
The main tools I use to hand-wire are pictured above – round nose pliers, diagonal cut nose pliers and a jump ring opener/closer tool. I also have bent nose pliers and flat nose pliers but I find I don’t use them nearly as often so you could skip getting a full jewelry pliers set to start.
I always craft my largest unique stitch marker first. For each piece I need to cut the wire head pin and then carefully curve it. Deciding how short to cut the wires is definitely an acquired skill! Plus you may find that your first attempts to bend the wires into solid curves without kinks or twists that mar the beauty of the beads or worse catch on knitting projects are problematic. So, you’ll want to be sure you have extra head pin wires on hand before you start in case you need to start over a few times as you learn what works best for your hands and tools.
After getting the anchor piece just right, it is time to connect it to the larger jump ring to complete your first stitch marker. You can definitely work with jump rings without the opener/closer tool. But this tiny ring makes a world of difference for consistency in my work and also to help avoid strain on my fingers and hands.
Next I cut and curve the other wires to complete the set of stitch markers. For each marker I go through the same steps using the 4 mm smaller jump ring to attach the beaded wire to the larger jump ring. As I complete each step, I take the time and care to be sure there are no wire ends poke out that could possibly snag a project.
I always include 6 stitch markers in my Full Sets or 3 stitch markers in my Mini-Sets. If this looks like something you would like to try for yourself, I hope walking you through my steps will help you get started.
If you’d rather leave the beading to me, this link will take you directly to Tallgrass Knitting (my Etsy shop). Or I’ve written a blog post about the shop here. Either way stitch markers make a great treat for yourself or a great gift for other knitters in your life!
