When knitting vintage/antique patterns it can be quite difficult to determine the needle gauge. Many of the Victorian books and magazines of course printed designs with instructions that used the language of the day. Mostly this can be worked through if you are an experienced knitter. The needles were often English and bought in double-point sets, some amazingly fine. Dainty and complicated articles for home or apparel were knitted at leisure in the parlor room and the skills were considered quite necessary for any lady to accomplish. I have listed the finer needles in modern metric, US and old UK as a handy reference for working with these patterns.
- Metric.............US
- 0.60 mm........14.........or 0000000
- 0.75 mm........12.........or 000000
- 1.00 mm........9-10......or 00000
- 1.25 mm........n/a.........or 0000
- 1.50 mm........7-8........or 000
- 1.75 mm........5-6....... or 00
- 2.00 mm........B...........or 0
The UK sizes start at 14 (2.00mm) then become finer (size 18 is about a 1.00mm) until reaching size 26 which is extremely fine, used for Shetland lacework. These needles came in very long lengths to carry the number of stitches required for shawls, with the right hand point of the needle positioned in a hole of the knitter's belt. The Shetland knitters have a remarkable reputation and it is worth reading up on how they produced their own style of lace knitting for sale. In those days they did it to survive; now such knitters and spinners of hair-like wool fibers are worth their weight in gold. The softest wool was hand-drawn from the sheep's neck - yes, the Shetland sheep are special too. Up to the 1950's it was still the usual thing to knit layettes for expected babies comprising every garment from vest to modesties (pilch) on size 14 needles. Would you believe the hot item to knit at the moment is the old knitted pilch - today called soakers in US. After generations of plastic bottomed babes we've come back to good old wool.
