Knitting Needle Sizes & Confusion

September 6, 2009| Lindy| 0 Comments | 9:00 am

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Knitting Needles sizes are fairly straightforward in the sizes that one uses for DK, worsted weight and bulky yarns. (Size US 4 and up). But it is a much different story when it comes to small diameter needles used to knit fingering, lace and other finer weight yarns. This can be very confusing – I just discovered that there is a significant variation in the sizing labels for some of these needles.

Let’s start with the standard “US” sizing – which uses a numerical designation for knitting needles, from “0000” up to 35 – with the needle diameter increasing as the numerical designation increases. Seems like a fairly straightforward system – until you run across US size 1 & 2 needles that are different diameters. If you never use a knitting needle smaller than US size 4 (which has a diameter of 3.5 mm), this will not be a problem for you. IF, however, you get into knitting socks and lace using much smaller diameter needles – it may cause you to pull out your hair.

Fortunately, most knitting needles sold today also come with their diameter size stated as well as their US size. What I have currently in my assortment of circular knitting needles are as follows: US Size 0 (2.00 mm); US Size 1 (2.25 mm), US Size 1 (2.50 mm), US Size 2 (2.75 mm), US Size 2 (3.00 mm). These needles have all been purchased in the last 10 years. I have seen patterns referencing size 1.5 needles, so I am guessing that the size 2 (2.75 mm) needle may also be a 1.5, but it’s difficult to tell for certain. Just a word of caution to those using patterns calling for these US sizes of needles – make certain your metric diameter matches the pattern (if it’s stated) and BE SURE to check your gauge!

I found two websites that have charts comparing the US sizing to the metric diameter:
http://www.fibergypsy.com/common/needles.shtml
http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?store=/stores/eyarn&faqKey=97

Point to remember: Gauge is the measurement of the number of stitches per inch you get with a particular needle – this is more important than using the size of needle stated in a pattern. Always do a swatch for gauge!

1 thought on “Knitting Needle Sizes & Confusion”

Amanda (SparkeeSpud) says:

September 8, 2009 at 8:25 am

Yeah I’ve decided the ‘US’ way of measuring anything is a bit screwed up. Knitting needles are just another example…

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Completed WIP’sCompleted WIP’s

I’ve finally finished some projects!

The knitted bunny is done. It turned out a little lopsided, but it’s rather cute.

Knitted Bunny on Teddy Bear Blanket

The lace scarf for my DIL is done. This is a lovely pattern. I especially like the three-stitch slipped stitch edging on this scarf. This is a technique I will keep in mind for future projects.

Lace Scarf

Update on Progress with SFS Team-Knit SocksUpdate on Progress with SFS Team-Knit Socks

SFS_TK_Heels1 I knitted the heel and had about half of the gussets done on these socks when I decided that I did NOT like the way the picked up stitches for the gussets looked. They weren’t tight enough and appeared to have small holes along the picked up edge. Frustrating, VERY frustrating – especially since these socks must be knit to very high standards. I don’t know if the problem is the way I picked up the stitches – or if I pulled the yarn too tight. I have found that the Regia Stretch yarn used for these socks can be overstretched – it is a very stretchy yarn.

I put the socks in “time out” over the Christmas holidays – just too stressful to deal with them given all the other demands of the season. Last week, I pulled them out, put in lifelines at the instep and the end of the heel turn and then frogged them back to the point where I need to pick up the gusset stitches. 🙁

I plan to tackle the picking up of the gusset stitches this week, paying special attention to how the stitches form as they are picked up…and trying to avoid overstretching the yarn…I will let you know how it goes.

FO: Plain Vanilla Socks in Serenity Sock YarnFO: Plain Vanilla Socks in Serenity Sock Yarn

I have finished my Plain Vanilla Socks knitted in Serenity Sock Yarn (Premier yarns), colorway Amethyst. This is the yarn that I wrote about in a previous post: “A Study of Pooling in a Variegated Sock Yarn”. As I discovered in my study of how this yarn pools, by using 54 stitches on size US 2 (2.75mm) needles, I got a “striping” effect as the yarn pooled. You can see the result in the picture above.

Serenity Sock Yarn is a variegated yarn with color changes that are fairly short and don’t necessarily produce stripes when the number of stitches increases. The yarn itself has a nice soft feel to it and it knits up nicely, but I did experience a tendency of the yarn to split at times. The yarn is 50% Merino Wool, 25% Bamboo and 25% Nylon and has sufficient stretch for a well-fitting pair of socks. Anyone planning on using this yarn should definitely knit a swatch with the number of stitches they are planning to use for their socks to see if it knits up in a way that they like.

There was a pattern printed on the inner label that called for a gauge of 9 spi on US 2 (2.75mm) needles. The pattern is based upon 64 stitches. Now, I got an spi of 6.25 on US 2 needles, which is a significant difference and I cannot speak to how it would pool at the stated gauge of 9 spi. I know that I knit more loosely and guess that in order to obtain 9 spi, I would have to use US 0 (2.25 mm) or US 00 (1.75 mm). I really prefer to knit socks on a little bigger needles. These socks were for me to wear around the house and they fit my feet perfectly.

As for the pattern used for these socks — I really didn’t use one. I knit a 3 X 1 ribbing for 1.5 inches, then switched to stockinette stitch and knit until the cuff measured 6.5 inches. I did a short row or mitered heel and then knit the foot and toe in stockinette and grafted the toe when I had 9 stitches remaining on each side of the sock. I used the Magic Loop method and knit the socks two at a time.