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Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Useful info Size gauges

all three
In the process of sizing the vintage needles I have I discovered that not all my needles would work with the size gauge I had so I went on the look for other types of gauges these are the three I currently have. If you have one that is different let me know and how it differs from these three and send me a photo and I will add it to this post so other people can learn for your knowledge too. If you leave the information in the comments I will try to pull it up into the post so that people don't have to read through all the comments to glen information. I have decided that all three of these are needed to make one good gauge and I will give you the reasons below under each gauge with a close up of it so you can compare too. That being said it is still not complete as I have yet to find a gauge for 00 and smaller sizes or larger than size 17. All gauges are obviously missing sizes 12,14 (I do not even think these sizes even exist as no gauge has them did they use to be made what is the point of skipping numbers anyway).

Lets get started

As you see they all are different sizes and shapes to start with and differnt materials

Boye Knitting gauge
boye knittiing hook gauge
This was the first one I bought it because it was all the store had.
pro's
  1. clear and easy to read
  2. has a slider to figure out the gauge. You move the slider till you have 10 stitches showing in the window then look at the number the top pointer is pointing at and that gives your stitch count very little counting
  3. has all the basic sizes of needles
  4. has big numbers to read the sizes easy
  5. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  6. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  7. hand size
cons
  1. no metric numbers
  2. some of my needles fell between these sizes not sure what they where so I had to set them aside so as not to mix gauges
  3. no ruler to figure out yarn gauge
  4. lettering can rub off easy with time not engraved
  5. looks like the slider edge will break easy ( not sure not going to try it out either)
  6. no letters for sizing needles
  7. instructions on separate sheet if you forgot ho w to use this or found it thrifting it could be confusing to use the slide gauge
  8. have to move gauge to figure out both rows and columns not easily done in one shot
  9. obviously missing size 16
  10. slider pops out easy thus making the tool useless for stitch swatch count if that is lost
Susan Bates knit-check
susan bates knittiing hook gauge
This is the second gauge I bought
Pros
  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. works for crochet and knitting
  3. metric measured sizes
  4. alphabet sizes
  5. American sizing
  6. gives you instructions on the item as to how to use it can't loose the instructions
  7. size big window to make it easy to count both rows and columns at the same time to get gauge
  8. has inch and metric ruler to figure out the gauge of unknown yarns easier nice that they are opposite each other
  9. metal feels sturdier than the plastic ones
  10. hand size
Cons
  1. lettering will wear off in time not engraved
  2. some of my needles fell between these sizes not sure what they where so I had to set them aside so as not to mix gauges
  3. doesn't go as high in needle sizes as Boye
  4. thin metal scratches needles
  5. because it is thin metal hard to tell if it is an good fit
Lion Brand Yarn
Pros
  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. works for crochet and knitting
  3. metric measured sizes
  4. number sizing
  5. American sizing
  6. travel size
  7. has inch and metric ruler to figure out the gauge of unknown yarns easier nice that they are opposite each other
  8. has sizes others do not have all my normal size needles are accounted for note 1 1/2 mark and two different size 3 markings and two sizes between size 10 1/2 and 11
  9. lettering will not wear off in time it is engraved if the pigment comes out you can always rub a black crayon over the areas to fill it in again and then remove the excess crayon .
  10. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  11. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  12. hand size even pocket size
Cons
  1. alphabet sizes missing
  2. doesn't go as high as the other two 16 (bates) and 17 (boye) are missing
  3. double sided but no more information is on the back in fact it is missing information that is on the front would have been nice if the alphabet system was here or all info from the front was here so that it didn't matter which side was up.
  4. hard to count stitch swatches on as it can shift easily when working with it.
  5. have to count rows and columns separate when doing stitch counts


other info info that is useful to people
there are all kinds of information on the craft yarn council site
such as
there is other information there as well just take some time and look around

I am also re-posting the link from my last post as to keep all the information together to help me and my readers. Thus link is for figuring out yarn gauge on unknown yarn
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If you know of one, a gauge, please let me know and I will do my best to post it here with the rest. In time I plan on having as many as possible here I already have plans for 5 more gauges on here so you can pick your favorite that works best for you.

All gauges after this point are ones I added to this post after the original post happened.


four new gauges
Nancy's knit knacks.

Nancy's Knit Knacks
  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. works for crochet and knitting
  3. metric measured sizes
  4. number sizing
  5. American sizing
  6. travel size
  7. has inch and metric ruler to figure out the gauge of unknown yarns easier nice that they are opposite each other
  8. has sizes others do not have
  9. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  10. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  11. hand size even pocket size about the same size as the Susan bates which is the larger size of the gauges but that is to be expected with how many sizes it has on it
Cons
  1. still missing 0000 size in small needles which is a size I use
  2. 16, 18 missing
  3. have to count rows and columns separate when doing stitch counts
  4. words screened on will probably wear off in time
Turbo Needlegauge Skacel Collection
turbo needlegauge skacel colelction
Pros
  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. number sizing
  3. travel size
  4. has smaller sizes that some others do not have
  5. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  6. 2 inch stitch count window at top
  7. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  8. palm size even pocket size
  9. quiet small for the number of needles it can measure
Cons
  1. still missing 0000 size in small needles which is a size I use
  2. 16, 18 missing
  3. no ruler
  4. numbers are awkward to read as it uses commas instead of decimals
  5. paint will probably rub off in time
  6. hard to count stitch swatches on as it can shift easily when working with it.
  7. have to count rows and columns separate when doing stitch counts
Prym Knitting pin gauge
front of Prym knitting pin gauge
back of Prym knitting pin gauge
Pros
  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. number US sizing on back
  3. metric sizes on front
  4. travel size
  5. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  6. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  7. palm size even pocket size
  8. quiet small for the number of needles it can measure
Cons
  1. still missing everything below 0 size in small needles which are sizes I use
  2. 16, 18 missing
  3. no alphabet sizing
  4. no ruler have to count rows and columns separate when doing stitch counts
  5. numbers are awkward to read as it uses commas instead of decimals
  6. paint will probably rub off in time
Balene II

  1. has standard sizes accounted for
  2. works for crochet and knitting
  3. metric measured sizes
  4. US sizing
  5. imperial sizing British
  6. number sizing
  7. American sizing
  8. travel size
  9. has inch and metric ruler to figure out the gauge of unknown yarns easier nice that they are opposite each other
  10. has sizes others do not have all my normal size needles are accounted for note 1 1/2 mark and two different size 3 markings and two sizes between size 10 1/2 and 11
  11. thick plastic so it doesn't scratch needles
  12. because it is thick easy to figure out if needle is a good fit
  13. hand size even pocket size
Cons
  1. alphabet sizes missing
  2. doesn't go as high as the other two 16 (bates) and 17 (boye) are missing
  3. hard to count stitch swatches on as it can shift easily when working with it.
  4. have to count rows and columns separate when doing stitch counts
  5. lettering will not wear off in time it is engraved if the pigment comes out you can always rub a black crayon over the areas to fill it in again and then remove the excess crayon .

4 comments:

  1. The Lion Brand Gauge goes under more than one imprint. Mine is sold as a Boye Balene II. In addition to the good things you pointed out, it has a couple of other excellent features. Since it's made of plastic it won't mar your knitting needles. Since it's thick, it feels very solid, and the depth makes it easier to tell if your needle is a good match for the hole.

    I, too, have been a quest for a needle gauge with ALL the holes. I just found one from Nancy's Knit Knacks online that looks close to perfect - goes down to 000 and up to 35.

    PS I have never encountered a US Size 12 or 14.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you I have added that information to the post

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great resource you are putting together. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  4. Estoy admirada de todo la informacion aqui recogida, no conocia estos medidores, pero despous de leer tu trabajo voy a buscarlos por aqui.
    Muchas gracias por todo tu trabajo.

    ReplyDelete