Which hook for the perfect circle

Above is the perfect flat circle. You can find the formula for it in the previous posts.

I've covered several things that can go wrong with the flat circle in previous posts.


This time I will talk about hook size

Sometimes the wrong sized hook can also have an effect of the flatness of the circle.

The above image shows the perfect flat circle worked with 8 ply yarn, and a 4 mm hook. It sits perfectly flat, and after 5 rows of  tr (dc US) it measures approximately 11 mm

In general, a too small hook will make the circle smaller.   Here the same yarn is used with a 2 mm hook. This time the circle measures 8.5 mm

And a too large hook will make it larger. Here a 6 mm hook was used. It now measures 13.5 mm

But the wrong sized hook can have a slight effect on waving or curling as well.

The above image shows a slight bit of curling. This was the circle made with the 2 mm hook

Here is the circle made with the 6 mm hook. There is only a tiny bit of waving

If for any reason the circle is wavy, the general way to fix it is to make LESS increases, but if that is not possible, or too difficult, a SMALLER hook can be used.

On the other hand, if the circle is curling up, you need to use MORE increases, and again, if that is not possible, or too difficult, you could try a LARGER hook

Here is a chart of the most common recommended hooks to yarn weight

Australia	UK	USA	Hook Size (mm)
2 ply	2 ply	Lace	0.75 – 3.0 mm
3 ply	3 ply	Sock/ Fingering	2.25 – 3.5 mm
4 ply	4 ply	Fingering/Sports	2.5 – 3.5 mm
8 ply	Double Knitting	Light Worsted	3.5 – 4.5 mm
10 ply	Aran	Worsted	5.5 mm – 6.5 mm
16 ply	Bulky	Chunky	6.5 mm – 9.0 mm
20 ply	Chunky	Bulky	9.0 mm & above

More posts on making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html



When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html