US UK Metric
0 14 2
1 13 2.25
2.5
2 12 2.75
11 3
3 10 3.25
4 3.5
5 9 3.75
8 4
6 4.25
7 7 4.5
8 6 5
9 5 5.5
10 4 6
10.5 3 6.5
2 7
1 7.5
11 0 8
13 00 9
15 000 10
Looking at the reccomendations for needle sizes on vintage patterns often can be daunting. You see size 13 needles on a small guage and just think to yourself “that can’t be”. We’ll, I’ll try to clear things up for you a bit. Please use this information as a guide and remember to always make a test swatch to check your guage.

First off there is US sizes, the kind were used to here in the states. Basically in our knitting life we use size 0-9 , 0 being small, 9 being large. Sometimes different companies over here also use metric sizes for needles. Since metric is what we use here still, you can find metric sizes on most modern knitting needle measurement cards. So far I have found one US acception in the Columbia and Minerva knitting books. They call for steel needles which are sized more like UK needles, even though their celluloid and bone needles are sized by standard US measurements. Don’t confuse these metal needles with aluminum needles. I believe Boye needle sizes have not changed over the years. I have picked up some vintage Boye needles and their sizes matched up normally to my other needles.

Overseas in the UK their scale is quite different. The larger numbers like 13 are smaller needles. Canadian printed patterns also used this sizing as well as vintage Australian patterns. I am told Australian patterns switched over and now uses the US metric sizes now so be aware.

Here is the list of some yarn pattern companies I have collected knitting books from. I have decifered what size needles they go by.

UK: Lux, Beehive, Monarch
US: Columbia (excludes steel), Minerva (excludes steel), Fleishers, Jack Frost, Bear Brand, Chadwicks Red Heart

I have scanned for you a few vintage guage cards to view, click here