Row counter (hand knitting)

A row counter for hand knitting is a tally counter for counting rows or courses worked, for counting stitch pattern repetitions, or for counting increases or decreases of the number of stitches in consecutive rows. The first commercially produced one appeared on the market in the 1920s after the general public started regularly knitting from unfamiliar printed and complex patterns. Design variations include on-needle barrel-shaped counters for straight-needle work, stitch-marker counters for knitting on double-pointed and circular needles, complex counters which attempted to assist with decreases, increases and lacework, stand-alone hand-held counters in imitation of the hand-tally, pendant counters worn round the neck and online software for iPhones.

Until the early 19th century, in Europe and the United States, groups of localised professional hand knitters specialised in a few well-known patterns in which keeping a tally of rows was barely necessary, since the pattern and expected size of the work were known by heart. From the early 19th century, when printed patterns were introduced for the recreational knitter, and until the early 20th century, woollen yarn had clear stitch definition so that rows were easily seen and counted, and a mental tally could be kept. However knitters could tally by moving objects from one pocket to another, or bracelets from one wrist to the other. For lace knitting and complicated increases, a knitter could write five-bar gate tally marks around the margins of a printed pattern.

The earliest on-needle row counters seem to have appeared in the UK between 1920 and 1939, when complicated printed patterns increased in popularity among the working population. In the 1920s a 1 inch (2.5 cm) grey-brown enamelled unit was manufactured with two rotary dials on the front showing tens and units, and slots on the back for sliding onto a knitting needle. The front was flat and shaped like a figure-8, but was heavier than the back so that the unit hung downward from the needle, making the numbered face difficult to read. A similar bakelite unit was manufactured by Abel Morrell for sale in the US in the 1930s.

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