Converter
Yarn weights and needle sizes, which needle for which yarn.
The weight number on a yarn label to the needles, hooks and gauge it suits, and any needle or hook in millimetres to its US size.
The yarn
Needle or hook size
All weights
| Weight | Knit gauge, sts per 4 in | Needles, US | Hooks, US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 Lace | 33 to 40 | 000 to 1 | Steel 6, 7, 8; regular B-1 |
| 1 Super fine | 27 to 32 | 1 to 3 | B-1 to E-4 |
| 2 Fine | 23 to 26 | 3 to 5 | E-4 to 7 |
| 3 Light | 21 to 24 | 5 to 7 | 7 to I-9 |
| 4 Medium | 16 to 20 | 7 to 9 | I-9 to K-10½ |
| 5 Bulky | 12 to 15 | 9 to 11 | K-10½ to M-13 |
| 6 Super bulky | 7 to 11 | 11 to 17 | M-13 to Q |
| 7 Jumbo | 6 and fewer | 17 and larger | Q and larger |
Needles for that yarn
-
Also called-
Needles, metric-
Knit gauge, stockinette-
Crochet hooks-
Crochet gauge, single crochet-
- needle, US-
- hook, US-
These are the Craft Yarn Council's guideline ranges, the system behind the weight number on US yarn labels. A pattern's own gauge always wins: knit or crochet a four-inch swatch and change needle size until it matches.
Reading a yarn label
The skein symbol with a number from 0 to 7 is the weight category. Next to it most labels give a suggested needle and hook size and a gauge, such as 18 stitches and 24 rows to four inches on a 5 mm needle. That gauge is a starting point: tension differs from hand to hand, and the same yarn on the same needle can come out a stitch wider or narrower per inch.
Why the sizes do not line up neatly
- US needle numbers are a separate scale from millimetres, and some metric sizes have no US number at all: 3 mm and 7 mm needles, for example.
- Hook letters and needle numbers only sometimes agree: an H-8 hook and a US 8 needle are both 5 mm, but an I-9 hook is 5.5 mm while US 9 needles come in 5.25 and 5.5 mm.
- Steel crochet hooks run the other way: the higher the number, the smaller the hook.
- When in doubt, buy and talk in millimetres. It is the one size printed on almost every needle and hook.
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