stitch mark

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A small mark or gap left in fabric or another surface by a line of sewing thread.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a stitch mark' or 'several stitch marks'.

   Patterns

   • leave a stitch mark
   • a row of stitch marks

   If you pull the thread too tightly, it can leave a stitch mark on the front of the cloth.

   The old curtain had faint stitch marks where the hem used to be.

   She unpicked the seam carefully so that no stitch marks showed.

2. 2nouncountablespecialist

   In knitting, a small removable marker placed on a needle to show a point in the pattern.

   Grammar: Countable and often used in the plural: 'place stitch marks every ten stitches'.

   Patterns

   • place a stitch mark
   • move a stitch mark

   Put a stitch mark at the beginning of each round so you do not lose your place.

   When the pattern says to increase, slip the stitch mark onto the right needle first.

   I use a different color stitch mark for the start of the round.

Word forms

Common combinations

leave a stitch mark

Cheap thread can leave a stitch mark even after you wash the shirt.

faint stitch marks

You could still see faint stitch marks along the sleeve.

place a stitch mark

Place a stitch mark after the first twenty stitches.

remove the stitch marks

Remove the stitch marks once the shaping is finished.

Synonyms and how they differ

stitch hole

Stitch hole is more negative and suggests a visible hole rather than a neat mark.

needle mark

Needle mark is broader and can refer to any mark made by a needle, not only by thread.

Word family

stitch noun

A single loop of thread made by a needle.

stitch verb

To sew something with a needle and thread.

stitching noun

The line of stitches on a piece of cloth.

Commonly confused: stitch mark or stitch marker?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stitch mark”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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