The following pattern is for a row keeper bracelet with separator. The bracelet is made up of two i-cord strands. As you work each row of your knitting project, slide 1 bead from one strand past the separator. When all 9 beads have been moved, mark the tenth row by sliding 1 bead from the other strand past the separator and returning the 9 beads from the other strand to the beginning of the row. It’s like using an abacus: one strand is the ones column, and the other is the tens column.
Materials
a small amount (two strands) of Fixation or Esprit
(93% cotton & 7% elastic, dk/sport weight)
2 3.25 mm circs or dpns
9 plastic pony beads
9 wooden crow beads
If you only have pony beads, use pony beads instead and read note below.
a twist tie or a 4-inch length of fishing line
tapestry needle to weave in ends
Note: this yarn is really stretchy, and the stretchiness of the finished fabric depends in part on how much tension you knit with. for this project, I used a moderate amount of tension though the work was more relaxed than stretched.
Instructions
Bracelet
String 9 pony beads on one strand and 9 crow beads on the other.
Wrap a single strand of yarn around one of the needles 5 times.
Using the second needle, knit across 4 sts without dropping the old sts off the first needle. You now have two needles in the work. The first one will remain idel.
Rows 1-6: Sl2, k2.
Rows 7-10: Same as Rows 1-6 only using two strands of yarn, instead of one.
When you finish Row 10, do not turn work. Instead, slide work to the opposite end of the needle. At the beginning of Row 11, the working yarn should be farthest away from the tip of the left-hand needle.
Row 11: With one strand, k2. With the other strand, k2. Slip all 4 sts back to the left-hand needle. You’re forming two separate i-cords, so make sure you always use the first strand for the first two sts and the second for the last two.
Repeat Row 11 until bracelet is 7 inches or about half an inch shorter than the diameter of your wrist.
Note: if all your beads feel/look the same, make one i-cord slightly longer than the other. tie a knot into the longer i-cord near the base, where it branches from the other one. When you use the bracelet, you can use that knot to distinguish one set of beads from the other.
Slip your twist tie or fishing line through the first 2 sts. Pull those stitches off the needle, and slide the beads down the yarn, over the twist tie, and onto the i-cord. When all 9 beads are on the i-cord, put the sts back onto the needle.
Slip the twist tie or fishing line through the other 2 sts, and string the beads onto the i-cord in the same way.
When all 4 sts are back on the needles, Rep Rows 7-10, then rep Rows 1-6.
Kitchener or three-needle bind off the sts from the first needle and those from the second.
If you don’t feel comfortable with either, use a third dpn or the idle end of one of the circs to collect all the sts as follows: * sl1 from one needle, then sl1 from the other * untill all 8 sts are on the same needle. Break yarn; put tail on tapestry needle; run tapestry needle through all 8 sts twice, both times starting at the same end of the work. Remove knitting needle.
Weave in cast-on and bind-off ends, and snip off other tails.
Separator
Wrap 3 sts onto one needle, and use the second needle to knit across the row without dropping the old sts off the first needle (as before). When you finish, you have two needles in the work. The one with the wraps will remain idel.
Slide the work to one end of the needle so that the working yarn is on the second st, not nearest the tip.
Row 1: K2, sl2 back to left needle.
Rep Row 1 until the i-cord tuve is about 2 inches long.
Wrap separator around bracelet, and join cast-on and bind-off ends, using one of the methods described above. the separator is a doughnut, and the bracelet goes through the doughnut hole.
Slide the separator along the bracelet until it is over the two i-cord strands. Threading the tapestry needle with the cast-on or bind-off tail, sew a few stitches threw the middle of the separator. Be careful not to sew through the bracelet. You want the separator to slide around, but you want it to keep one i-cord strand above the other.
Weave in tails.
Slide beads to one end of the bracelet. Position separator in the middle. and start counting rows.
