Metric
Old UK
US
2mm
14
0
2.25
13
1
2.75
12
2
3
11
-
3.25
10
3
3.5
-
4
3.75
9
5
4
8
6
4.5
7
7
5
6
8
5.5
5
9
6
4
10
6.5
3
101/2
7
2
-
7.5
1
-
8
0
11
9
00
13
Generally, for knitting thinner yarn, thinner needles will be required. For double knitting, 3.25 and 4 will usually be specified in the knitting pattern. For four ply, 2.75 and 3.25 are the norm. (In each case, the thinner pair of needles is used for ribbing.) However you may find that for a lacy pattern, bigger needles are used to get an open effect. If your tension is different from that given in your knitting pattern you can change your needle size slightly to compensate. Don’t vary this too much or you will change the texture.
LENGTHS
if you are buying new needles, you can often get them in different lengths. You may find longer needles easier for big, heavy pieces of work such as adult knitwear or baby shawls (less bunching of the stitches), and shorter ones more comfortable for baby clothes - and sitting in a small armchair!
CIRCULAR NEEDLES
These are used for ‘knitting in the round’, which means fewer seams but is a lot less common than using two straight needles. A circular needle is actually one long one, with two pointed rigid sections at either end and a flexible wire inbetween. I have used them for baby shawls, as they are very long and can hold hundreds of stitches.
FOUR NEEDLES
A set of four needles is often used for sock knitting - another way of knitting ‘in the round’ to avoid an uncomfortable seam. These are short needles with points at both ends.
CABLE NEEDLES
You need one of these to knit cables or do any aran style knitting. A cable needle is short, double-pointed and sometimes has a bend in the middle. It is used to pop a few stitches on temporarily at the front or back of the work, enabling you to ‘twist’ a few stitches into a diagonal or circle shape. It’s really easy but looks impressive! The bend stops stitches slipping off.
METAL, PLASTIC, WOOD, BAMBOO
Knitting needles are generally made of metal, which is durable and the stitches slide along nicely. However, many knitters like the feel of wood or bamboo. Plastic which tends to be a bit bendy is often offered for children.
LENGTHS
if you are buying new needles, you can often get them in different lengths. You may find longer needles easier for big, heavy pieces of work such as adult knitwear or baby shawls (less bunching of the stitches), and shorter ones more comfortable for baby clothes - and sitting in a small armchair!
CIRCULAR NEEDLES
These are used for ‘knitting in the round’, which means fewer seams but is a lot less common than using two straight needles. A circular needle is actually one long one, with two pointed rigid sections at either end and a flexible wire inbetween. I have used them for baby shawls, as they are very long and can hold hundreds of stitches.
FOUR NEEDLES
A set of four needles is often used for sock knitting - another way of knitting ‘in the round’ to avoid an uncomfortable seam. These are short needles with points at both ends.
CABLE NEEDLES
You need one of these to knit cables or do any aran style knitting. A cable needle is short, double-pointed and sometimes has a bend in the middle. It is used to pop a few stitches on temporarily at the front or back of the work, enabling you to ‘twist’ a few stitches into a diagonal or circle shape. It’s really easy but looks impressive! The bend stops stitches slipping off.
METAL, PLASTIC, WOOD, BAMBOO
Knitting needles are generally made of metal, which is durable and the stitches slide along nicely. However, many knitters like the feel of wood or bamboo. Plastic which tends to be a bit bendy is often offered for children.
just knitting a handy guide for all hand knitters!
Thinnest sizes are at the top of the chart.
Knitting Needles
British needles these days are metrically sized for thickness - though you may, like me, have some ancient pairs which have old numbers on the knobs. If you buy from a UK charity shop you might get them with old numbers, too. Many patterns still specify both old and new needle sizes, which is helpful, but here is a conversion chart anyway - and I’ve given American sizes as well because they are different again! NOTE that 2mm (14) is the thinnest size). If you are buying second hand, you may not be sure whether the number on the knob is metric or not! On a metric needle you may see 3mm specified, sometimes just 3. This guide should help, as you can see that small metric numbers are thin whereas on old UK needles a small number indicates very thick.