Stitch markers

[untonuggan]

I realize I'm probably opening up a whole kettle of fish by asking this, but I am new to knitting and wonder whether it's worth it to bother buying stitch markers. Right now I'm just using a loop of a contrasting scrap yarn as a stitch marker. It can be a little cumbersome, but I don't have to worry about losing it (can always get more small bits of yarn). Annoyingly, the acrylic yarns tend to fray a bit.

I've read that it's much smoother and faster to use the commercially made stitch markers, but I do wonder (a) if that is just slick marketing, (b) about the wasted plastic/shipping/processing costs to the environment, (c) about what happens when I lose the expensive little things.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: Thanks for all the suggestions and input, folks! I think I will go crazy if I try to respond to every reply, so I'll just say thanks here!

Comments

[aunty_marion]

I use that sort as well, for on-the-needle markers. I get mine from Claire's Accessories, and they cost something like £3 or £2.50 for 100. They show up well against anything (well, nearly - I'm knitting a shawl that has all the neon colours in it, so nothing shows up perfectly!).

For in-the-knitting markers, I use the little Clover 'safety-pin' type. They're helpful for marking - as I am at the moment - the centre stitch between paired yarn-over increases, or the centre decrease, when working a mitred corner; or for marking the top/bottom of a pattern repeat, the start of a round on socks, and so on.