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This chart lists the most common metric equivalents for U.S., "Old U.S." and "Old U.K" needle sizes. Different needle manufacturers may vary from the exact sizes shown; however, ranges of contemporary U.S. needles are generally as shown in the "Contemporary U.K./U.S. Metric Range" column.
"Old U.S." sizes are frequently seen in old yarn company leaflets; since the sizes run opposite of contemporary sizing (under the "Old U.S." system, the finest needles have the highest size numbers) the giveaway is a sock pattern (or other pattern using fingering-weight yarn) that calls for size 13 needles! Note that the metric measurements of U.K.sizes differ, so it may be important to know the source of your pattern.
Source for the "Old U.S." column is a needle gauge from Boye Needle Company that is reproduced in Complete Guide to Modern Knitting and Crocheting by Alice Carroll, published 1942 by Wise & Co. Source for all other information below is "My Valuable Yarn Guide" (no author or publisher info appears on this publication).
This chart is lengthy; you may need to scroll down several times to find the size you are looking for. To make navigation easier, wait until this page has finished loading. Then these links will quickly take you down to specific points on the chart:
| Chart begins
with .5 mm (U.S. size 8/0) |
Go
to 2.0 mm (U.S. size 0) |
Go
to 4.5 mm (U.S. size 7) |
Go
to 8.0 mm (U.S. size 11) |
|
Contemporary |
Contemporary U.K./U.S. Metric Range |
European Metric Range |
"Old"
U.S. (Taken from a Boye Needle gauge reprinted in a 1942 publication) |
U.K. |
|
8/0 |
.5 mm |
.5 mm |
N/A | 24 |
|
6/0 |
.75 mm |
.75 mm |
N/A |
22 |
|
N/A |
N/A | .875 mm (?) | N/A |
20 |
|
5/0 |
1.0 mm |
1.0 mm |
18 (steel dpn) |
19 |
| N/A | N/A | 1.125 mm | 17 (steel dpn) | N/A |
|
4/0 |
1.25 mm |
1.25 mm |
16 (steel dpn) |
18 |
|
000 |
1.5 mm |
1.5 mm |
15 (steel dpn) |
17 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
1.625 mm (?) |
N/A |
16 |
|
00 |
1.75 mm |
1.75 mm |
14 (steel dpn) |
15 |
| 2 mm |
2 mm |
0
(standard
needles) 13 (steel dpn) |
14 |
|
| 1 | 2.25 mm | 2.25 mm | 12 (steel dpn) | 13 |
|
1 |
2.5 mm |
2.5 mm |
1 (standard needles) |
N/A |
| 2 | 2.75 mm | 2.75 mm | 2
(standard
needles) 11 (steel dpn) |
12 |
| 2 | 3 mm | 3 mm | 3
(standard
needles) 10 (steel dpn) |
11 |
|
3 |
3.25 mm |
3.5 mm |
10 |
|
|
4 |
3.5 mm |
3.5 mm |
4
(standard
needles) 9 (steel dpn) |
N/A |
|
5 |
3.75 mm |
3.75 mm |
5
(standard
needles) 8 (steel dpn) |
9 |
|
6 |
4 mm |
4 mm |
8 |
|
| N/A | 4.25 mm | 4.25 mm | 6 (standard needles) | N/A |
| 4.5 mm |
4.5 mm |
7 |
||
| N/A | 4.75 mm | 4.75 mm | 7 (standard needles) | N/A |
|
8 |
5 mm |
5 mm |
8 (standard needles) |
6 |
| N/A | 5.25 mm | 5.25 mm | 9 (standard needles) | N/A |
|
9 |
5.5 mm |
5.5 mm |
5 |
|
| N/A | 5.75 mm | 5.75 mm | 10 (standard needles) | N/A |
|
10 |
6 mm |
6 mm |
4 |
|
|
10 1/2 |
6.5 mm |
6.5 mm |
10 1/2 (standard needles) |
3 |
| 7 mm |
7 mm |
2 |
||
| 7.5 mm |
7.5 mm |
1 |
||
| 8 mm |
8 mm |
0 |
||
|
13 |
9 mm |
9 mm |
00 |
|
|
15 |
10 mm |
10 mm |
000 |
|
|
17 |
12.5 mm |
|||
|
18 |
14 mm |
|||
|
19 |
15.5 mm |
|||
|
35 |
19 mm |
|||
|
50 |
25 mm |