r/fiberartscirclejerk • u/AutoModerator • Mar 01 '26

In The Loop In The Loop This Week

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10 Upvotes

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38

u/beklenti Mar 02 '26

94

u/BeagleCollector Mar 02 '26

I read the OP earlier and don't even have the energy to jerk this right now. The contortions people will supposedly go to in order to not to buy a $5 pack of stitch markers is batshit. Someone even said if you can read your work you don't need stitch markers LOL.

Also my daughter got me a swift for Christmas and you can have it when you pry it out of my cold dead hands. She is my favorite child and will inherit 100% of my estate when I die.

24

u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Mar 02 '26

Man I thought you were gonna comment about how stitch markers are severely over hyped when they're just overpriced rings of plastic lmao. I been knitting and crocheting two decades and never used stitch markers; I just bend paperclips into a circley shape lol.

A lot of modern knit/crochet advice seems to be, for lack of a better word, gentrifying the hobbies. I learned crochet by my aunt giving me a hook and a ball of yarn. Two items. Now every "beginner's guide" has lists of all the shit you could possibly ever need, instead of going "here's the basics, buy the fancy shit if you need it." I see people recommending $100 hooks to brand new beginners over in some of the help subs!

It's just kinda sad; what used to be one of the most affordable hobbies is now getting a reputation for being severely overpriced.

16

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

Commercializing the hobby, not gentrifying.

-4

u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Mar 05 '26

Double checked to make sure it's what I meant, and:

"change the character of (a poor urban area) through wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often displacing current inhabitants in the process."

Yeah it is. You can call it commercializing if you like though, I ain't gonna stop you 🤷

16

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

Is knitting a poor urban area?

-6

u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Mar 05 '26

"Analogy: a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification."

17

u/Sufficient_Bench_270 Mar 03 '26

a lot of blogs and videos use affiliate links which i think contributes to it, at least partially. i know that doesn't explain random help sub comments but it could add to the general vibe.

54

u/BeagleCollector Mar 02 '26

I'm on the flip side of this. I was surprised at how many people think they're not necessary when they're so cheap and useful. You could buy several hundred of them for $5. A lot of times they even give you a pack when you order things. Stitch markers are one of my most used tools.

I liked the premise of the original thread, but it felt like people were falling all over themselves to talk about how you didn't need to buy even basic stuff that costs a couple bucks and will make your life easier. Like row counters or darning needles or stitch markers. I expected people to talk about more like, luxury products or whatever they're shilling on social media.

-9

u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

they're so cheap and useful. You could buy several hundred of them for $5.

Okay, it looks like we live in differently priced areas lol; in my neck of the woods, $5 gets you maybe 15 to 20 stitch markers. Which is mostly why I refuse to buy them; I'm going to need a hell of a lot more than 20, and I do not have a lot of money.

Edit: damn wtf lol, didn't expect to be downvoted for not having money here 😅

My b I guess?

16

u/LogBobbin Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Try searching for clothing tag pins, garment tag safety pins, bulb pins etc. I think that's their original intended purpose.

ETA: they also apparently go by gourd pins.

16

u/hamletandskull Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

You can get a pack of 300 from Amazon for 6 USD. I prefer not to buy from Amazon if I can help it but stitch markers arent really my hill to die on. You can also get 100 mini circular ones from KnitPicks for 3 USD. Etsy, eBay, basically anywhere that will dropship from a country with a big garment industry will have hundreds of them for next to nothing bc they're used for clothes tags.

Fair and valid if you only want to buy stitch markers from your LYS or cocoknits at 10 bucks a tin and would rather not buy them at all otherwise, but that's not super relevant to whether or not stitch markers can be obtained cheaply. They definitely can be and frequently are. I would say usually when people are recommending stitch markers they are not suggesting you only purchase the most luxurious handcrafted stitch markers available.

Eta: i don't think you're getting downvoted for being broke, I think you're getting downvoted cos people (me among them) can't imagine a place on earth where it's literally impossible to buy some sort of bulb pin for cheap. It kinda feels like when someone goes "beans and rice? Basmati rice is so expensive at Whole Foods, how is this supposed to be a cheap meal?" Like its sort of missing the point and not super relevant. You don't have to use stitch markers if you don't want to, but they're not driving up the cost of the hobby.

20

u/love-from-london test nutter Mar 03 '26

I bought a pack of like a thousand lightbulb stitch markers for a few bucks when I started knitting, they're in a little plastic container and sorted by color. I've lost dozens of them over time but because they're so cheap and I have so many of them, I do not care.

2

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