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# 💬What do you do when you can't find a stitch marker?

[Louise Tilbrook](https://substack.com/@louisetilbrook)

Jun 24, 2026

🌿 It is a universal truth that no matter how many stitch markers a knitter may possess, they will still find themselves lacking one at a crucial moment. 🌿

Seriously, where do the little blighters go to?

Ordinarily as I go about my day I find them in pockets, on the floor, on the kitchen table.

But just as I need one - in the middle of a complex stitch pattern or a fish lips kiss heel turn (if you know you know) there isn’t one to be had.

Luckily, we knitters are ingenious types - [see my last post](https://open.substack.com/pub/everydayknitter/p/we-have-pointy-sticks-and-we-arent?r=3li7j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) - and we can make do with a variety of substitutions. I’m not above using my wedding ring as an emergency stitch marker on trains - any port in a storm as far as I’m concerned.

### What's your go-to stitch marker replacement?

- Safety pin or bulb pin
- Piece of waste yarn
- Hair elastic
- Other - specify in comments

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