Hi. I have a pattern that calls for a 7mm knitting needle, however when I look up the conversion chart to US needle sizes they all leave it blank. It goes from a 6.5 mm being a 10 1/2 and an 8mm being a 11. My question is should I go down to the 10 1/2 or up to the 11? I’m kinda new to knitting so if you would please tell me why you choose the answer you did.
Thank you,
Felecia
My gauge says that a 7mm needle is equal to a 10 3/4 Us needle. You would be wise to use a 10 1/2 as it is equal to 6.50mm needle, a US 11 needle is equal to a 8mm.
You gotta swatch, of course. I’d start with 10 1/2 and see if I make gauge.
it has always seemed odd to me that U.S. needles jump 1.5 mm in diameter from #10.5 to #11 when there’s a perfectly good size in between: 7 mm, or #10.75.
I just used the search string “Addi knitting needles 7 mm” on an Internet search and found LOTS of options for buying them in the U.S. (If you’re not in the U.S., then 7-mm needles are probably much easier to find; we’re the only nation in the world that I know of that doesn’t use the metric system.)
The search engines aren’t as optimized for Chiao Goo needles. I kept getting results for #7 (4.5 mm) needles, or 7" long needles. Bleah. No good.
Hiya Hiya sharp knitting needles seem abundantly available, too, in the #10.75 (7mm) size, except that Hiya Hiya requires the search string not to have the space between 7 and mm: “Hiya Hiya sharp knitting needles 7mm.”
So those are three non-U.S. needle makers to try out. 
Hope you find something that works for you!
Swatch swatch swatch…you are so right…I need to understand how important it is to do. Everything I read says too. I guess I’ve been lucky so far but have met my match with this one! Haha so off to swatch I go.
Thank you again
F
Thank you going to try that one first and see how it works out in a swatch.
Thanks again
F
Awesome! Thanks for all the info. I’m going to do a swatch an see how close I get but going to go to the hiya hiya site and order a pair for future.
Thank you again,
F
What are you knitting? You might not have to be exactly spot on with your gauge. Adding to your needle collection is always a great idea just the same. :thumsup: