Despite my severe problems with counting, I decided to make some custom alphabet markers–on unopenable jump rings–after seeing these beauties while checking out what yarn I might like to pick up at their trunk show (even the Big Guy picked out some yarn–and he was not the only male person there, either). What I liked about these particular markers was that the beads were glued in place over the ends of the jump rings, which means snag-free knitting.
On Optical Delusion, I need twenty markers, which I decided to do as A through T so they would all be absolutely unique. Using unique markers solves several problems, as I explain at length on the project page. I had initially cut little pieces from a slat of a cheap vinyl miniblind (bought to make waterproof labels for the book’s swatches before wet blocking), punched holes through them, labeled them with a Sharpie, then hung them on my (openable!) light-bulb markers. They worked, but since OD is in garter stitch, they had to be flipped to the front after turning at the end of every row–even the rows that are only two stitches long. Their length (1.25+ in/3.5+ cm) was awkward too. (In stockinette, I could have kept such long markers at the public side of the work all the time, and they’d never be in the way.)
So I decided to buy some alphabet beads and make some custom jump ring markers. Here’s how I did it.
I picked 9 mm rings, based on the largest needle size I thought I’d ever have a chance of using and not realizing that’s the outside diameter. The alphabet beads are a bit over 0.25 inches in diameter (about 6 mm).
- I opened the jump ring by putting the tips of needle-nose pliers inside the ring, then spreading the pliers’ handles apart (that is, I did NOT twist the ring). I quickly learned to leave the gap small to start with. (top left)
- I put the bead on one end of the ring (top center), then tried to slide the bead so the other end of the ring would just slip into the other end of the bead’s hole. Sometimes I couldn’t get both ends of the ring inside the bead. Making the gap bigger didn’t really help, as that only made it harder to squeeze the ends back toward each other, so I tried putting the bead on the second end, then sliding it toward the first end. That trick almost always worked. My last resort was to slightly widen the gap between the ends of the ring.
- I squeezed the ring back closed, but before I tightened it as much as was safe (to avoid cracking the bead), I turned the bead so its flat side was perpendicular to the plane of the ring (so the finished marker looked like a capital T from the side).
Notes
With the bead perpendicular, I can fit a size 7/4.50 mm needle through the marker (dark needle, on top of strip magnet to holder marker upright). With the bead face parallel to the ring, I can only get a size 3/3.25 mm needle through it (light needle).
If the ring had opened asymmetrically, it was sometimes impossible to re-close the ring, so I’d start over with a new ring.
I decided to not glue the beads, as they seemed reasonably sturdy. If they come apart as I use them, then I’ll go to the trouble of gluing them.
How can I tell the M from the W? Most fonts usually have capital Ms with their outer edges parallel, while capital Ws usually do not. These beads follow that rule. (And now you know why businesses’ signs sometimes look funny: an upside-down M or W is being used as a W or an M.)
The D and W are purple because there were no red Ds or Ws in the bag.
I usually try to have some contrast between my yarn and needles, and between my yarn and markers. Now, in my second half-century, I also need the contrast between the paint color and the plastic, so I picked the two darkest colors (the bag also had blue, pink, and yellow beads).
One Final Thing…
If I accidentally run a lifeline through a marker, I probably won’t notice until the next time I come to it. Since the entire pattern is short rows, I might not come to that marker for what is technically fifty rows. This was of course not a problem with my openable markers, so…we’ll have to see how well I do running those lifelines!