sm — Slip marker (Abbreviation)

sm stands for "slip marker" — the instruction to carry a previously placed marker (see pm) across onto the other needle undisturbed, keeping it sitting in exactly the same relative spot for the new row or round.

Not the same action as slipping a stitch

Despite the similar wording, sm doesn't involve any stitch at all — it's purely moving the small physical marker object itself across, distinct from sl (slip a stitch), which moves an actual stitch unworked. Confusing the two in a busy pattern reading is an easy, if uncommon, misstep worth being aware of.

What happens if you forget to slip a marker

Skipping "sm" and instead knitting straight through where a marker sits effectively drops the marker off the needle entirely (or leaves it stranded several stitches behind where it should be) — since a ring marker has no way to hold its position on its own once you've knit past it without moving it forward, a missed sm instruction usually means retrieving the dropped marker and manually repositioning it at the correct point, checked by recounting stitches from a known reference.

Where it shows up

Immediately after reaching a marker's position on a row or round, paired with whatever action the pattern wants at that specific point — "sm, k1, m1l" is a common combination at a raglan seam, sliding the marker across before working the increase right next to it.

Related abbreviations

• pm — place marker, the instruction that originally sets the marker sm later moves
• m1l / m1r — increases commonly worked immediately before or after sliding a marker

FAQ

Does sm ever involve doing anything to the stitches on either side of the marker? Not on its own — sm strictly means moving the marker itself across; any stitch action near the marker (an increase, a decrease) is written as its own separate instruction, worked before or after the sm step.

Is it possible to lose track of exactly where a marker should sit after several rows? Yes, especially on a long project — recounting stitches from a fixed reference point (a cast-on edge, a seam) periodically confirms a marker hasn't drifted from its intended position due to a missed sm somewhere earlier.