Hooks from goodwill?

[Tallywa18]

I recently bought a few old hooks from goodwill but I have no clue what mm size they are. I have 4 Susan bates that have numbers not letters also 2 Boye with the same problem. I generally use hooks by mm size and ignore the letter. They are all very tiny hooks (which is what I need for my next project) but I'm very new to crochet and am afraid to start a project not knowing what sized hooks I'm using. I tried looking up the sizes online but I can't find anything!

[Tallywa18]

Sorry I'm getting off topic but I am very new to crochet like I said:/

[magiccrochetfan]

Ha ha, yes, I have a "small" amount of stuff in other rooms too.  

[redrosesdz]

I need a craft/storage room!  Between gadgets, yarn stash and unfinished cross-stitch projects, I'm losing my bedroom.  LOL

[magiccrochetfan]

huh!  I think when i put it in my cart it was from Amazon or there are different vendors and i saved the wrong one or something!  Oh well it will probably change again before i order it lol.  And i do keep thinking about jewelry calipers too.......then again i don't really need any of this stuff, the hooks i actually use are clearly marked....it'd just be fun to have....but am trying to cut down on "stuff", which sometimes seems like a lost cause in my craft/storage room    

[redrosesdz]

here is a chart for steel hook sizes http://www.purplekittyyarns.com/info/steel-crochet-hook-conversion.html  it gives the mm , US and UK numbering systems.  

 

However older hooks may not follow this current system exactly.  

 

I found the Lacis slot sizer on amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CB37ALG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2FVWI1N0THHUF  and want to get one the next time i place an order.  I think they also sell these on the Annies site.  It will give you the mm of your hooks, but I think the other numbers are a mix of knitting needle  and crochet hook sizes, or maybe it is the UK numbers.  

 

I've also thought about getting a pair of calipers 

 

You can estimate the size by laying the hook on a ruler that has mm marked.  that won't be exact and won't help too much for the fractions of mm, but will give you a rough idea.

 

Also , do remember that you want to use the hook that gives you the desired gauge and look/feel of your stitches, not necessarily the size stated in the pattern.

 

That is a cool gauge!  I see that is doesn't come from Amazon and it has free shipping.  So, if you're waiting to make another purchase from Amazon to get free shipping, it already has it.  Also, purchases from 3rd parties don't count towards your total Amazon order to get free shipping.  In other words, it doesn't matter when you order it. 

[magiccrochetfan]

Granny Square, I believe you on the Hero hooks!  I recently got Etimos and love them, but until a couple yrs ago I always used the Bates hooks I bought in the 60s-70s and inherited from my mom.   

[magiccrochetfan]

That is the website I just found! It seems to line up exactly with what I have also about the gauge I'm not exactly sure how to test that. I usually wing it and hope for the best (doesnt really work). What exactly do I need to do to find the gauge? For the specific project I want to do next it says "30 sts and 56 rows = 4" (10cm) in sl st in blo with smaller hook. 30 sts and 36 rows = 4" (10cm) in main st patt with smaller hook" (it calls for a larger and smaller hook adjusted to fit the gauge.) Does that mean i need to make a 30/56 st "square" and measure it to find my gauge?

 

It is not off-topic, gauge is very important!  besides you started the thread so i guess you can add topics if you want ;-)

 

To check your gauge you really need to make a swatch that is bigger than the area you will measure.  so for this would make it at least 40, if not 50, stitches wide.  and  maybe 10 -20 extra rows.  rule of thumb for this is that to check the gauge of a 4" square, make the swatch 6". Measure out the 4" square in the center and coount stitches within that.   this way the edge stitches, whcih may not be true to gauge, don't have to be measured.  Now, many patterns just tell you to make a 4" square and measure that, but I think that is not really adequate and many references do recommend making the bigger swatch and measuring the center.     See How to Crochet A Gauge Swatch and How to Measure a Gauge Swatch here http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-crocheting-a-gauge-swatch.html

[Tallywa18]

Ok I think I'm good to go then. I found a pattern for a gorgeous pair of socks and I think I can work it out. Thank you all!

[Granny Square]

Yes, you will need to make a swatch.  It's a good idea to make a swatch using more stitches than it calls for, and measure the stitches in the middle--the stitches at the edge sometimes are a little wonky.  

 

This depends on the thing you're making, example if it was a blanket I'd make a swatch using the number of stitches called for, because if you're off a little bit it probably wouldn't matter.

 

For a garment, it's REALLY important to be accurate.  Let's say you want to make a sweater with a finished bust measurement of 40".  So, a 4" swatch is one tenth of that.  If your swatch is only 3.75", your finished sweater will be 37.5" not 40".

 

Sometimes if your gauge is off (a little)  you can work this to your advantage by calculating what the end size will be, doing a bit of math and working a size X pattern to get a size Y garment.  This is especially true if you fall between sizes; figure out the measurement of 1 stitch per your gauge swatch, and multiply that by the number of stitches in size X and Y to see what might fit better.

 

A lot of people (including me) will hit the stitch gauge but not the row gauge.  This depends on the pattern, many will say 'work x inches' instead of 'x rows', so you can make that work out.  This will NOT work in top down raglan garments however, because row gauge is more critical.  

 

Edit - Magic, I was eyeing that for me too, but I haven't needed a gauge so much for hooks as for needles.  Believe it or not I've been using the same Hero hook set for like, 40 years.....

[magiccrochetfan]

You have better google-fu on Amazon than I do!.  And, it's cheaper than Lacis!  (and to the OP, sorry my Lacis link was messed up.  It didn't link to my search on 'gauge', just to the main page, sorry about that).

 

The Lacis gauge shows the US crochet & knitting needle size (it's just not labeled very clearly), I just compared it to my Susan Bates gauge.  Example,

H (US) crochet hook=5mm=(US) knitting needle 8

 

Granny Square, I find the Lacis site really intereting but frustrating because it is hard to search, and I've never been able to link beyond the main page.  So, since it comes up a lot in threads like this, I found another place selling the gauge so i would be able to link it.  And of course the gauge is in my cart waiting to be purchased ;-)  I have several gauges but they are all the hole type and don't work for many hooks, so i *need* another one lol

[Tallywa18]

That is the website I just found! It seems to line up exactly with what I have also about the gauge I'm not exactly sure how to test that. I usually wing it and hope for the best (doesnt really work). What exactly do I need to do to find the gauge? For the specific project I want to do next it says "30 sts and 56 rows = 4" (10cm) in sl st in blo with smaller hook. 30 sts and 36 rows = 4" (10cm) in main st patt with smaller hook" (it calls for a larger and smaller hook adjusted to fit the gauge.) Does that mean i need to make a 30/56 st "square" and measure it to find my gauge?

[Granny Square]

You have better google-fu on Amazon than I do!.  And, it's cheaper than Lacis!  (and to the OP, sorry my Lacis link was messed up.  It didn't link to my search on 'gauge', just to the main page, sorry about that).

 

The Lacis gauge shows the US crochet & knitting needle size (it's just not labeled very clearly), I just compared it to my Susan Bates gauge.  Example,

H (US) crochet hook=5mm=(US) knitting needle 8

[magiccrochetfan]

here is a chart for steel hook sizes http://www.purplekittyyarns.com/info/steel-crochet-hook-conversion.html  it gives the mm , US and UK numbering systems.  

 

However older hooks may not follow this current system exactly.  

 

I found the Lacis slot sizer on amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CB37ALG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2FVWI1N0THHUF  and want to get one the next time i place an order.  I think they also sell these on the Annies site.  It will give you the mm of your hooks, but I think the other numbers are a mix of knitting needle  and crochet hook sizes, or maybe it is the UK numbers.  

 

I've also thought about getting a pair of calipers 

 

You can estimate the size by laying the hook on a ruler that has mm marked.  that won't be exact and won't help too much for the fractions of mm, but will give you a rough idea.

 

Also , do remember that you want to use the hook that gives you the desired gauge and look/feel of your stitches, not necessarily the size stated in the pattern.

[Granny Square]

US hook sizes are letters for 'yarn', the higher the letter the bigger the hook.  

 

For Steel hooks for thread, the scheme is different - they are numbers, and the SMALLER  the number, the BIGGER the hook.  So, your 1 hook is a little bigger than the 2, and WAY bigger than the 12.

 

The link from redrosesdz (post 2) will tell you the mm sizes, there are 2 charts - the one on the left if for the steel thread hooks.

 

Having said that, some brands vary a tiny bit from this, but not usually enough to affect your project.

[Tallywa18]

I have a Susan bates labeled only with a 2, one labeled only with a line down the center (a 1?), and one labeled with a 12. I also have a Boye labeled F, and two boyes labeled 1 and 2 respectively. There are also a hero labeled H and a hero labeled C. I've looked through several sizing charts and it seems the higher the letter the larger the hook but I haven't seen any charts with a 12 on it and the 12 is the smallest of the hooks. 4 are labeled with letters (I'm not super concerned about them) but the 5 with only numbers I'm not so sure about. The ones labeled 1 appear to be larger than the ones labeled 2 but its hard to tell.

[Granny Square]

Edited my post because I found a gauge that covers tiny hooks and needles.  I can't seem to link to 1 product at a time at this store, but if you scroll down about 3/4 of the page there are 2 knitting needle gauges, (but will work with hooks) - to spot them in your scrolling, they're black, one has holes and one has slots.  They both go down to 0.5mm, which is a US 8 steel hook size.

http://lacis.com/catalog/ 

 

Some older US hooks (as in, some I purchased around 1970 marked this way) show a letter, and the corresponding US size in a kniting needle, but no mm size.  However, these aren't steel hooks.

 

How are those that you bought marked?  What brand are they?  I just looked at my steel hooks, which are a jumble of newer and older ones.  Only the very newest ones show the mm size,  they are all Boye or Hero hooks.  (I can tell the old hooks because they have the price, like 10 cents and 35 cents, ha!  And Hero has been out of business for a long time).  If they aren't US made, they may be marked with a different sizing scheme. 

[Tampa Doll]

If they are tiny hooks, that are steele looking, they are probably hooks for thread.  They do not have letters, but they should have numbers on one side with the mm on the other side.

[redrosesdz]

This will tell you what size they are...

 

http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/hooks.html