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All About HOOKS - Part 2 - Sizing
Hooks - general info | Hooks 1 | Hooks 2 | Hooks 3 | Hook Sizes |
All About Hooks - Part 2 - Sizing
©2006 Sandra Petit,
http://www.crochetcabana.com
Here's an idea of which
hook you might use for which yarn type according to the Standards and
Guidelines for Crochet and Knitting (Yarn Weight System section) compiled by the
Craft Yarn Council of America.
| Yarn | U.S. hook size range |
| Sock, Fingering, Baby | B-1 to E-4 |
| Sport | E-4 to 7 |
| D. K. | 7 to I-9 |
| Worsted, Afghan, Aran | H-8 to K-10 1/2 |
| Chunky, Craft, Rug | K-10 1/2 to M-13 |
| Super Bulky | M-13 and larger |
It's my opinion based on what I've seen on the yarn labels, plus my personal experiences, that if you use a hook that is too large for the yarn you're using, you will have a very "holey" piece. If that is what you're going for, that's fine. If you use a hook that is too small for your yarn, you will have trouble keeping it on the hook and your work will be stiff.
If you use a thinner yarn, but want to use a larger hook, try using two strands rather than one. I once worked a double strand of fingering yarn using I think it was an H hook. Those tiny hooks are hard on my fingers. I used a very soft yarn and it was a pleasure to work with. Came out nice and soft and thick.
The chart below may help you determine what that letter hook you're holding might be. Sizes are approx. as they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and from catalog to catalog, which is what I used for reference. Lengths vary depending on what type of hook you're buying. Brittany and many other wood hooks are longer than the aluminum Bates and Boye hooks etc etc. (Bates are shorter than Boye)
Letter Hook Size |
Number |
MM |
A |
? | 2.0 |
| B | 1 | 2.25/2.5 |
| C | 2 | 2.75/3.0 |
| D | 3 | 3.25 |
| E | 4 | 3.5 |
| F | 5 | 3.75/4.0 |
| G | 6 | 4.0/4.25 |
| 7 | 7 | 4.5 |
| H | 8 | 5.0 |
| I | 9 | 5.5 |
| J | 10 | 6 |
| K | 10 1/2 | 6.5 |
| L | 11 | 8 |
| M | 13 | 9 |
| N | 15 | 10 |
| O | 12 | |
| from Turn of the Century | 13 | |
| P | 16 | 15 |
| Q | 16 | |
| S | 35 | 19/20 |
| T | 22 | |
| U | 25 | |
| V | 28 | |
| W | 31 |
T through W are difficult to find. I found some on Ebayat one time. Turn of the Century also has some larger hooks and MoEZ (see below) are large though they don't use the letters to assign them. Of course I am sure there are other dealers I haven't found yet.
Here are the steel hook sizes. U.K. sizes from Purple Kitty Yarns and verified at other sites. Suggested Thread sizes from About.com .
Hook |
MM - U.S. |
U.K. Hook |
Suggested Thread |
| 00 | 3.5 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3.25 | 0 | 5 |
| 1 | 2.75 | 1 | |
| 2 | 2.25 | 1.5 | |
| 3 | 2.1 | 2 | |
| 4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | |
| 5 | 1.9 | 3 | |
| 6 | 1.8 | 3.5 | |
| 7 | 1.65 | 4 | 10 |
| 8 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 9 | 1.4 | 5 | 20 |
| 10 | 1.3 | 5.5 | 20 - 30 |
| 11 | 1.1 | 6 | 30 - 40 |
| 12 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 30 - 60 |
| 13 | .85 | 7 | 40 - 80 |
| 14 | .75 | 80 - 100 |
The MOEZ hooks are larger hooks. www.moezunlimited.com/ Here are the sizes for those:
Hook Name |
Inches/mm |
Lengths |
| Green | 5/16th" (8mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Black | 3/8th" (9.5mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Red | 7/16th" (11.1mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Yellow | 1/2" (12.7mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Super Blue | 5/8" (15.9mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Super Orange | 3/4" (19mm) | 9" and 18" |
| Ultra Maroon | 7/8" | 9" and 18" |
MOEZ also has afghan hooks and cro-hooks.
If you want to crochet using beads, I found
Bead Wrangler had a chart of what hook to use with what size bead. Very
handy if you do that sort of work. Additional info
here
from Bead Wrangler.
For hook
classifications (a sort of history of hooks), visit Crochet Guild of America:
http://www.crochet.org/hook/hooktype.html
All About Storage - Organizing
07/25/10
