Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Converting between machine gauges

There's been some discussion on the Facebook MK groups about how to convert between gauges, so I present to you a simple ready-reckoner. You pick your FROM gauge across the top and your TO gauge down the side. Having said that, I've used 0.75 not 0.69 for standard to midgauge with ill effect. You should make a gauge swatch in any case, of course, and converting from 9mm (aran) to 3.6mm (fine) might have a detrimental effect on the finished garment weight-wise.


FROM
TO

3.6

4.5

5

6.5

9

3.6

1.00

1.25

1.81 1.81

2.50

4.5

0.80

1.00

1.11

1.44

2

5

0.72

0.90

1.00

1.30

1.80

6.5

0.55

0.69

0.77

1.00

1.38

9

0.40

0.50

0.56

0.72 1.00


So, how do you use this? Say your pattern is a midgauge one, and asks you to cast on 104 stitches and knit for 70 rows, and you want to convert it to standard gauge. You multiply every number by 1.44. So you would now cast on 149.7 stitches and knit 100.8 rows. I would round this off to 150 stitches and 100 rows.

19-11-2015: Updated to include 5mm

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a lifesaver I recently acquired a passap m -201 (fine gauge) and am having a difficult time finding single bed patterns in the right gauge to use it.

Unknown said...

Poor 5mm's were left off the list, are we ignoring Passaps's, Supuba's & the many other 5mm machines?😉

steel breeze said...

Well, 5mm is close enough to 4.5mm as to make almost no difference - but ask, and you shall receive! :)