My current highly sophisticated method of counting is making a little tick mark on a piece of paper. I tend to lose the paper or put the project down to work on something else and get lost a little.
I am thinking about buying a counter- are they helpful? Which ones are the best and most useful?
I do have counters, but, they’re the really cheap kind…The little plastic ones that fit on your needles. They do come in handy, but, it gets annoying having to turn the dial after each row so sometimes I just make pencil marks on paper. I would LOVE it if there were a counter that had a foot press! After each row just press a little peddle with your foot and it clicks it on up to the next number…ahh, that would be the life :teehee:
I did see one recently at my LYS that looks handy…I think it was made by Clover, I could be wrong, but, it’s more like a necklace…You wear it around your neck and it has a little clicker thing you press each time you start a new row. I’d like to try that one out sometime.
I suggest going to your LYS, or even online and start by browsing the different counters to see which one you like best.
I have the Clover Kacha-Kacha… I like it a lot, except that there’s no way to lock it at a particular number so it doesn’t accidentally advance if it gets bumped while in a knitting bag. Or if you drop it on the floor! Not that I’m speaking from personal experience… Now was I at 10 or 11 rows…?
I have a green Clover Kacha-Kacha counter that I love. It has a lock that will prevent you accidently advancing a row and has a doo-hickey at the top that I have run a ribbon through so I can wear it around my neck. Here’s a tiny little picture. (I hope you can see it)
I just put a marker, then counter the rows myself.
I have tried counters and don’t like them.
I wish someone could develop one u put on the end of your needle and it changes itself automatically. Electrical
Thanks
Kathy
My son ALWAYS gets my plastic counter and advances it! I have given it up and I put my pattern in a plastic page protector and I use a china marker to make a tick mark on the plastic sleeve for each row. That way I don’t loose the paper scrap and I can rub the marks off when I’m done and use the page protector (and pattern) again.
I don’t like counters I much prefer the tick marks on paper. Here’s my thoughts on the subject…
Counters - it’s easy for someone, especially kids, to come up and say ‘what’s this?’ and give it a few turns. It’s easy to forgot to turn it yourself and you are always second guessing if you did turn it and counting your rows by hand anyway to see if you goofed.
Paper and pencil - I don’t usually mess up when I use them although you can of course, but with it right there beside me I rarely do. I can easily keep track of specific parts of the pattern like increases, decreases, etc. When alternating inc and plain knit rows I do like this -
inc- lll
k -ll
If I get up to do something I know I need to do the plain knit row next. If they both have 3 ticks then it’s an inc row. I never put my knitting down in the middle of a row.
To prevent losing the paper I keep a specific notepad just for my knitting.
Okay, not what you asked, but my two cents…:shifty:
I like the little round kind because they can go on the needle. (When I’m doing magic loop or a flat item on a circular needle, I just stick it onto the “free” needle and then when I’ve gone one time around, I can just pass it over to the other needle so I can continue.)
As others have said, what I don’t like is that you have to turn the little dial by hand. I also have a red “clicker” from Clover, and I like being able to just “click” it. It scores in the ease of use department, but I miss not being able to attach it to the needle. My ideal counter would go on the needle, but advance with a click or squeeze, rather than with a twist.
Another vote for the green Clover mini Kacha-Kacha from another Denise!
In addition, it is easily operated with only one hand.
I’ve used barrel, pegboard, regular Kacha-Kacha, marking the pattern copy, and paper and pencil. For straightforward row counting, I find the mini Kacha-Kacha easiest to remember and use. For a complex series of operations, though, nothing can beat marking the pattern or pencil and paper!
I use the ones that slide on the needles. I put on one the needle I am knitting the stitches on and one onthe working needle. If the counter is at the end where the yarn is coming off, it is the next row to do. If it is at the end of the knitting where there is no yarn coming off of it, it is the row just finished. Once I started doing that , I never lost track of what row was next if I put it down between chart rows. One chart I am working from has a 48 stitch row count to begin with but once established , it starts with row 9 of the pattern. The other chart I am working from at the same time is only 10 rows So I need at least 3 row counters to keep from getting confused
I use the counter that fits on the needle and I just recently bought the one that is for circular needles.
My youngest likes to turn mine - sometimes I have to guess or go count rows to find out where I am.
I also use the pencil/paper method, however I use a post-it note (they come in different sizes) I write down the rows -especially helpful when you are increasing/decreasing every several rows. I’ll write down the amount of rows that I have to work and cross off for each row completed. I stick the post it note to my pattern and then I have it the next time I pick up my knitting. I have also found it helpful when I knit a second item from that pattern - it reminds me of what I’ve done.
I also try to stop knitting on an even number row or at a certain point in the pattern if the pattern repeats.
I have one that you put on your needle and turn after each row, but it is kind of a pain. I have a Clover one now, which I like very much. I like to hear the click after each row, it makes me feel like I have accomplished something. 
Sometimes, I just use good old fashioned pen and paper though.
I have a very simple one you can put on the needles…although I just set it beside me. I need more though, for those patterns that have 2 or more stitch patterns that don’t have the same number of rows. I think I’ll also get some that you can either click up or push a button or something.
The pattern I’m doing now (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaf-lace-scarf), I’m using the row counter to count the rows of the pattern, then making a mark on a paper for each repeat of the stitch pattern I finish. Works for me!
I have the red and green Clover counters. I like the green one because it locks when I’m not using it. I’ll also use pencil and paper.
This one is my favorite. Clicking is easy to do one-handed (I need two hands to do the little ones that go on your needles), and I LOVE the locking thing–don’t have to worry about it it accidentally advancing.
I tried a counter once but somehow it just didn’t work for me – I seemed to keep forgetting to advance it when I got done with my row. My latest method works well tho – I count out X number of M&Ms (candy corns, caramels, whatever) and then eat one at the end of each row. Somehow I don’t forget and it’s a nice yummy reward too!
I have the kind you put on the needle and turn and a clicker that hangs around your neck that came free with a magazine. I like the clicker the best but as people have pointed out before my kids also love to come up and say what is this and start clicking away. So i still have to know what row I am on.
I think by far the best method is to try and be organized like Artlady and have a notebook. before I started my sleeves for the CPH I knew how many pattern repeats I needed so I wrote the pattern down where I needed the increases etc and ticked it off as I got to it. Also doing both sleeves together ensured that both were matching.
So my favorite way is buy a pretty notebook and pen just for your knitting bag and make it your friend.
I use a little spriral note pad that I keep in my knitting bag to keep track of the rows I’ve done.
I thankfully can look and count my stitches for the most part now by increases/decreases etc. The only time I normally need a row counter is for lace, I also sometimes just use a saftey pin every 10 rows to mark the last stitch every 10 or something. Super cheap.
My favorite counter though is that little pinke one from clover. it is like an off-white and then the dials on the side are pink. It ‘clicks’ into place unlick the boye red and blue ones which don’t stay on a number very well.
I would end up wondering why my count said I had 100 rows done and I hadn’t even finished one.