When I was 18 ( am 63 now) I worked in a department store... the fabric department... I was supposed to be saving money for college tuition but alas I spent it all on fabric to make clothes for college (my poor parents). Anyway, yes, I used one of those thing-a-ma-jigs to count fabric yardage...push the lever forward to make a beginning cut in order to cut/tear the fabric from the bolt.