What Does pm and sm Mean in Knitting

pm means "place marker" and sm means "slip marker." These two abbreviations always work together: you place a marker at a specific point in your knitting, and then every time you pass that point again, you slip the marker from one needle to the other without working it. Markers are simple tools — rings, clips, or even a loop of yarn — but they're essential for keeping track of complex pattern structures without counting every stitch every row.

What Stitch Markers Are

A stitch marker is any small object that can sit on your needle between stitches, or clip through a stitch to mark its position.

Ring markers sit on the needle between two stitches. They travel along the needle as you knit, staying in place relative to your work. Use these for marking pattern repeats, raglan points, or any position that stays fixed relative to the needle.

Locking markers (also called split ring markers or stitch holders) clip through the actual stitch fabric. They don't travel on the needle — they stay in one physical spot on the knitted fabric. Use these for counting rows (place one every 10 rows), marking the right side of your work, or flagging specific stitches you'll come back to.

You can improvise markers with a short loop of contrasting yarn, a paper clip bent open, or a small safety pin. For needle-based marking, anything that fits over your needle works.

How to Place and Slip a Marker

pm (place marker): At the point in your pattern where pm appears, slide a ring marker onto your right needle. Continue knitting. The marker now sits between the stitch you just worked and the next stitch.

sm (slip marker): When you reach a marker on the left needle (at the beginning of the next row or when you arrive at that position again), slide it from the left needle to the right needle without knitting it. Then continue with the pattern. The marker stays in position, dividing your stitches at the same point round after round.

Markers don't get knitted — they just travel. If you accidentally knit a marker into a stitch, you'll know immediately because it won't move and your stitch count will be off. Pull it out and replace it between stitches.

When Patterns Use Markers

Pattern repeats: If a stitch pattern repeats every 12 stitches, placing a marker every 12 stitches lets you count only within each section, not across the entire row. When your stitch count doesn't add up within one section, you know the error is local.

Raglan shaping: Seamless raglans use 4 markers to divide the body into yoke, front, two sleeves, and back. You work increases on either side of each marker every round. The markers keep the raglan lines perfectly aligned without counting every stitch from scratch each round.

Buttonbands and borders: If a pattern says "k5, pm, work in pattern to last 5 sts, pm, k5," the markers separate your border stitches from the body pattern. You know to work the border stitch count on each side without counting into the main body.

Neckline and armhole position: A marker at each underarm point lets you work shaping from a fixed reference point rather than counting in from the edge each time.

Using Different Coloured Markers

If your pattern has multiple markers of different types — one for beginning of round, four for raglan lines, two for lace motif repeats — use different colours for each type. Many marker sets come in four colours for this reason. Assign a colour to each function (e.g., red = beginning of round, blue = raglan) and note it at the top of your pattern.

A beginning-of-round marker that looks identical to a pattern repeat marker will confuse you at 11pm when you're on round 47 of a complex yoke. Colour coding costs nothing and saves a lot of frustration.

How to Improvise Markers

If you don't have markers on hand, cut a 4-inch length of contrast-colour yarn and tie it into a loop slightly larger than your needle diameter. For locking markers, use a short piece of yarn threaded through the stitch — tie loosely so it doesn't distort the fabric.

Avoid using anything with a rough edge that could catch on the yarn. A paperclip works on smooth yarn but can snag on fuzzy fibres like mohair or bouclé.

Common Marker Mistakes

• Forgetting to slip the marker. If you knit past a marker position without slipping it, you'll notice when your pattern instruction says "sm" but there's no marker. Count back and find where it ended up — it's probably sitting in the stitches a few rows down, still clipped in place if it's a locking marker.
• Placing the marker at the wrong point. Re-read the instruction: "pm" goes after the stitch just worked, between it and the next stitch.
• Using markers too small for the needle. A marker that barely fits will catch on every stitch. Use markers clearly larger than your needle diameter.

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• What does w&t mean in knitting
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