I don’t know how many wool-holders, with gauges, there ever were. I have four more types (in addition to beehives).

Above
These are hard plastic. On the bottom they say BEX Made in England. The needle slits are for sizes 7 to 14. There is no other information.

I don’t know how many colours were made. Three of these have their original cord straps, and are completely undamaged. They must have been very robust. I have read that these are older than any of the wool-holders with plastic straps as plastic ribbon was was not invented until the mid 1940s.

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These two are not exactly alike but I think they are from the same manufacturer. Underneath the yellow one it says Needle Gauge Patents Applied For; the red one says Needle Gauge Patent No. 108383, so is obviously of a slightly later date, after the patent had been granted. Both have needle slits from 5 to 12. They appear to be made from different types of plastic.

They open into two equal sized parts, unlike all my other wool-holders which open near the top or near the bottom. The hole, for the wool to go through, is on the side.

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Three acorns. The red and dark green are exactly alike. They say Needle Gauge Made in England U-PLAS. the holes are sizes 9 to 14.

The lighter green says Needle Gauge Regd Made in England but there is no manufacturer’s name. The arrangement of holes is the same as the others and the strap is similar.

Above
These are a very different type. The plastic is flexible and the bottom is attached by a hinge. It fastens with a tiny knob which fits into a slot.

Underneath it says Needle Gauge H.W. 1257 NB WARE MADE IN ENGLAND. This is the same manufacturer as the beehives but with a different model number. The company that made them was NB Mouldings.

Both have their original plastic ribbon straps. The hole sizes are 6 to 14.