Knitting Abacus by Ablet

THE REVIEW

Stitches West, how I love thee. My family and I attend every year, trolling the show room floor and just luxuriating in all the lovely yarns and seeing what people have to offer. When I came across a booth that had a bunch of bracelets hanging from the walls, I was a bit mystified – where was the roving? The gorgeous dyed yarns? The bespoke needles? Who sells BRACELETS at a yarn convention?

Two minutes of conversation cleared up all the confusion. While pretty enough to wear just as a bracelet (and I do), these are row counters! These ingenious little devices wrap securely around your wrist, and as you complete a row, you move a bead down. They are sold in two- and three-column versions, so you can count up to 999 rows. Fully adjustable, they fit all wrist sizes between 6-9″.

INITIAL REACTIONS: I bought the 3-column abacus. The bracelet is quite easily adjustable. My weight tends to fluctuate due to health factors, and I’ve been able to make this smaller and bigger and keep it quite snug and comfortable. The beads feel firm on the ribbons, and they don’t slide independently.

THE TESTS:  My first test of the Knitting Abacus was on a basic project where I had to really track my row counts. I put the abacus on my wrist, finished a row and slid a bead. I made my way through 40 or 50 rows and was really pleased that the action remained consistent and that even taking off and putting the bracelet back on multiple times, I never had a question about what row I was on.

I’ve been using the Abacus for about six months now, and these results have held true. When I made the initial purchase, I was concerned that the beads might loosen up on the ribbons and start to slide more independently, but I can’t detect any loosening of the ribbons at all. I also find that I love having the three-column version, even though most of my patterns don’t break 100 rows. Instead, I use the two right columns for tracking row counts and the left-most column for tracking pattern repeats. Additionally, I had a week where I lost my abacus, and I had to go back to a previous row counter. I had no challenges using my old counter before I bought the abacus, but using it opened my eyes to how much more efficient I am with the abacus – with just a flick of my fingers, I’m tracking my work without having to put down my knitting. My work flows easier and I’m still able to track where I am in my pattern.

Additionally, these are designed well so that you can easily track your ones column versus your hundreds column. I learned to be cautious that I put the abacus on the same way every time by deciding which side of my wrist I wanted the clasp on and which beads pattern I wanted in the Ones column. Since then, no confusion.

One challenge that I have with the Knitting Abacus pertains to the strength of the magnets. They are really strong, and the good folks at Ablet will recommend that you slide the magnets against each other to remove the bracelet, rather than just pulling them apart. This worked well for me generally, but even with this, I still had the clasp break entirely. My recommendation is to glue a piece of felt or something similarly slim on one side to desensitize the magnets just a little bit. I believe that this will resolve the issue and let you get your full value from this tool.

Overall, this is a core staple for me now with all my knitting. If Ablet figures out the magnet issue, this easily goes to a 5 DPN review.