Help! I’ve stepped into quicksand!
I submitted Gauge Calculator to the Windows Phone Marketplace, then started putting my development time into an app I’ll probably call Craft Measure. In order to implement Craft Measure, I need to know how big a US size B crochet hook is — as opposed to, say, a size C crochet hook. Hey, that should be easy! There are lots of good references out on the web for such things, right? Right?
I consulted the cheat sheets I’d printed off from the Craft Yarn Council of America website (a body trying to standardize knit and crochet related terms, sizing, and so forth). I learned … a US size 6 crochet hook is also known as a size G hook and measures 4.0 mm. Oh — that is, unless it is a steel crochet hook, in which case it is still a US size 6 crochet hook but measures 1.6 mm. Hmm … wierd, but I’ve done lace crochet and have a collection of lace crochet hooks ranging from size 14 down to size 7. A size 7 lace crochet hook is nowhere near a size 7 crochet hook for use with regular yarn. OK, I can deal with that in my application.
But then I went out on the web because I want to support English speakers world wide and I don’t know the sizing systems for other countries. What I found for the US was as bad as the rules for Fisben (if you’re not a Star Trek fan, that is a card game with rules that vary by day of week, phase of moon, who you’re sitting next to, and many other things).
According to knitbuddies, a US size 6 knitting needle is 4 mm if sold as an Addi Turbo, 4.25 mm if sold by US Clover, or 4.2 mm if sold by Fiddlestick. Oh — and a size G crochet hook is 4.5 mm (not 4.0 mm). Crochet World, on the other hand, says a G crochet hook is a US size 6 and either 4.25 or 4.5 mm in size if made from aluminum. A G crochet hook is a US size 7 when it is 4.5 mm. Oh yes — and a US steel size 6 is 1.8 mm, not 1.6 mm. Woolcrafting agrees that a size 6 steel hook is 1.8 mm but says that a G aluminum, plastic, or wood hook is also known as size 6 and is 4.0 mm.
- What Size is a 2.75 mm Crochet Hook in the US?
Help! I’ve got a headache! And my poor app sounds sooo confused when it tries to tell you what size your crochet hook is.
I’m going to go get an aspirin now. Extra strength.
