Knitting Needle (& Crochet Hook) Sizing Chart
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes.
Here’s a basic knitting needle sizing chart. There are many different systems for measuring the diameter of knitting needles and crochet hooks. I have tried to include the most common ones, along with crochet hooks and yarn weights. See the table below:
- Metric (millimeters)
- European/Canadian Sizing (the larger the number the smaller the needle, the smaller the number the larger the needle)
- USA Sizing (they go down to size 0000 and likely even smaller, and as the numbers get larger the diameter also grows).
- Japanese Sizing (which seems to be similar to the USA Sizing in that they count up from 0, but the numbers are different)
- Crochet hooks (in both their letter and number sizes).
- General Yarn Weights (included as reference for the different needle/hook sizes)
| Knitting Needles | Crochet Hooks | Yarn | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metric (AUS / NZ) | (UK & CAD) | (USA) | (Japan) | Letter | Number | Name | Number |
| 0.50mm | 24 | 0x8 | - | - | - | Lace/ Fingering |  |
| 0.75mm | 22 | 0x6 | - | - | - | ||
| 0.875mm | 20 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0mm | 19 | 0x5 | - | - | - | ||
| 1.125mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.25mm | 18 | 0x4 | - | - | - | ||
| 1.50 mm | 17 | 0x3 | - | - | - | ||
| 1.625mm | 16 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.75 mm | 15 | 0x2 | - | - | - | ||
| 2.00mm | 14 | 0 | 0 | - | - | ||
| 2.25mm | 13 | 1 | - | B | 1 | ||
| 2.50mm | 13 | - | 1 | - | - | Sock/ Fingering |  |
| 2.75mm | 12 | 2 | 2 | C | 2 | ||
| 3.00mm | 11 | - | 3 | - | - | ||
| 3.125mm | - | 3 | - | - | - | ||
| 3.25mm | 11 | 3 | 4 | D | 3 | ||
| 3.50mm | 10 | 4 | 5 | E | 4 | Sport/ Baby |  |
| 3.75mm | 9 | 5 | - | F | 5 | ||
| 4.00mm | 8 | 6 | 6 | G | 6 | DK/Light |  |
| 4.25mm | - | 6 | 7 | G | - | ||
| 4.50mm | 7 | 7 | 8 | - | 7 | ||
| 4.75mm | - | - | 9 | - | - | Worsted/ Afghan/ Aran |  |
| 5.00mm | 6 | 8 | 10 | H | 8 | ||
| 5.25mm | - | 9 | - | I | - | ||
| 5.50mm | 5 | 9 | 11 | I | 9 | ||
| 5.75mm | - | 10 | 12 | J | - | Bulky/ Chunky Weight |  |
| 6.00mm | 4 | 10 | 13-14 | J | 10 | ||
| 6.50mm | 3 | 10.5 | 15 | K | 10.5 | ||
| 7.00mm | 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 7.50mm | 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 8.00mm | 0 | 11 | - | L | 11 | ||
| 8.50mm | - | - | - | - | - | Super Bulky |  |
| 9.00mm | 0x2 | 13 | - | M-N | 13 | ||
| 9.50mm | - | - | - | ||||
| 10.00mm | 0x3 | 15 | - | N-P | 15 | ||
| 10.50mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 11.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 11.50mm | - | 16 | - | P | 16 | ||
| 12.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 12.50mm | - | 17 | - | - | - | ||
| 13.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | Jumbo |  |
| 14.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 15.00mm | - | 19 | - | P-Q | 19 | ||
| 16.00mm | - | - | - | Q | - | ||
| 17.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 18.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 19.00mm | - | 35 | - | S | |||
| 20.00mm | - | 36 | - | - | - | ||
| 21.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 22.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 23.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 24.00mm | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 25.00mm | - | 50 | - | T-U-X | - | ||
| 35.00mm | - | 70 | - | T-X | - | ||
You never know when you are going to need to figure out how to convert needles and hooks of different sizes! Print a copy of this chart using the free pdf chart in the link below and then you can post it on your fridge or pop a copy into your knitting bag :).
Can you think of any reference charts or materials you would like to see?
If so email me and let me know what I am missing and I will try to add it the next time I have some time to spare! 🙂