From time to time there are discussions about the use of line counters in conjunction with measuring yardage.
For a series of reasons that TH once spent more than hour explaining I have always found the McMorran Yarn Balance to be the most accurate tool for estimating yardage and in many cases. And it has the added value of math I can easily do in my head.
Caveat Emptor: Presently I do not sell, but personally own and occasionally all except the Boye product. We have sold, and my first choice is the McMorran Yarn Balance. And yes, we are hoping within the month to have an imperial (lb/oz) version available.
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There are several difference styles of Yardage Counters – often found in the Fishing section of a Sporting Goods department – used to measure fishing line as it is reeled onto the spinner.
All the devices I have seen have quite an issue with handling yarn beyond accuracy is an issue even in industry situations which is why measuring by weight is usually much or active (averaging plus/minus 10%) and why I included YPP (Yards Per Pound) in my yarn label reference chart and will soon add some additional lines that may be helpful to others.
Until recently, among the most common is probably the Berkeley Line Counter
Keep in mind that these devices were not originally designed for use with yarn and when used for wire and for fishing line are usually quite accurate.
Recently, Simplicity – Boye has been offering a variation and I have not used it. I suspect it will be victim of the same issues any YARNandTHREAD have stretch and that is at the heart of the “issues” when using any of the meter/counter devices. My suspicion is based on the Amazon reviews for this product.
Nancy’s Knit Knacks used the DIY idea that weaver (including Nancy and Wheat) had been using for years and put it into another tool for their wide ranging tools and accessories for yarn users. As you can see, it incorporates both the Berkely meter and some yarn control to help with the consistency for the best possible result. There are other versions with a meter mounted – usually sold thru shops that cater to production and other hand weavers. I do consider
Nancy’s Yardage Meter to be fairly priced because of the quality of their workmanship.
While I can say from experience with the more expensive models sold thru sporting goods suppliers, that these work reasonably well with thinner, (Fingering – sock) smooth yarns but it gets interesting from sport on up; if I did not already these, I would probably not buy them again. .
In the interest of comparative pricing – The McMorran falls into the $25 to $30 range – but it does mena you will also need a scale that measure in fractions of an ounce to get the best possible result. Fortunately reasonably priced scales are not as hard to find as they once were.
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Enjoy The Making
Wheat
