It’s time to start a new project! We choose our yarn, with some very cool colors, then we check out the label to find which size needles that the yarn calls for. Next to the corresponding little symbol, you can see there are three different numbers listed. So, which needles or hooks do I use? In this post, we’ll explain how to correctly read the label and avoid any mishaps J
The image above shows you one of our yarn labels, and now we’ll tell you what each of the listed sizes mean.
Knitting Needles
The yarn label lets us know which size needles we should use. This size refers to the thickness of the needle, not its length. (Needles can also come in different lengths, which is especially handy if we’re knitting projects that have lots of stitches or just a few, like with scarves.)
So why are there different numbers? This is because each number refers to a different sizing system. In Europe, the size is given in millimeters. In the United States, the size is a number between 0 and 50. Then in the United Kingdom and Canada, size is a number between 18 and 000.
Here’s a conversion table to help you correctly interpret the sizes:
| Knitting Needles | ||
| Europe / mm | United States / US Size | United Kingdom and Canada / UK Size |
| 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 2.25 | 1 | 13 |
| 2.50 | – | – |
| 2.75 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | – | 11 |
| 3.25 | 3 | 10 |
| 3.50 | 4 | – |
| 3.75 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 4.50 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 5.50 | 9 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 6.50 | 10 1/2 | 3 |
| 7 | – | 2 |
| 7.50 | – | 1 |
| 8 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | 13 | 00 |
| 10 | 15 | 000 |
| 12 | 17 | – |
| 13 | 17 | – |
| 15 | 19 | – |
| 19 | 35 | – |
| 20 | – | – |
| 25 | 50 | – |
Alt=muestra agujas de crochet
The same goes for crochet hooks. Depending on the country you’re in, the hook size will be given in one system or another. Here’s a conversion chart for that 😉
| Crochet Hooks | ||
| Europe / mm | United States / US Size | United Kingdom and Canada / UK Size |
| 0.50 | – | – |
| 0.60 | – | – |
| 0.65 | – | – |
| 0.70 | – | – |
| 0.75 | 14 | – |
| 0.80 | – | – |
| 0.85 | 13 | 7 |
| 0.90 | – | – |
| 1 | 12 | 6.5 |
| 1.10 | 11 | 6 |
| 1.25 | – | – |
| 1.30 | 10 | 5.5 |
| 1.40 | 9 | 5 |
| 1.50 | 8 | 4.5 |
| 1.60 | 7 | 4 |
| 1.75 | – | – |
| 1.80 | 6 | 3.5 |
| 1.90 | 5 | 3 |
| 2 | 4 | 2.5 |
| 2.10 | 3 | 2 |
| 2.20 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 2.55 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | A/0 | 14 |
| 2.25 | B/1 | 13 |
| 2.50 | – | 12 |
| 2.75 | C/2 | – |
| 3 | – | 11 |
| 3.25 | D/3 | 10 |
| 3.50 | E/4 | 9 |
| 3.75 | F/5 | – |
| 4 | G/6 | 8 |
| 4.50 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | H/8 | 6 |
| 5.50 | I/9 | 5 |
| 6 | J/10 | 4 |
| 6.50 | K/10 1/2 | 3 |
| 7 | – | 2 |
| 8 | L/11 | 0 |
| 9 | M/13 | 00 |
| 10 | N/15 | – |
| 12 | O/16 | – |
| 12.75 | 17 | – |
| 15 | P/19 | – |
| 16 | Q | – |
| 19 | S/35 | – |
As you can see, it’s quite simple to read the yarn label, and with our wooden knitting needles and crochet hooks, there’s nothing to stop you 😉 We hope you share your new projects with us on social media using the hashtag #weareknitters.
