Have you ever wondered how many extra or fewer stitches it would take to make a project of the same size with a different hook? To research this, I decided to see how many stitches it would take to make the same swatch with different hooks. This is mainly because I lose my hooks occasionally and wondered how to modify the stitch count if I use a different hook.
The Process
I made 4 swatches measuring 2 inches by 4 inches using 4 different hook sizes. The hook sizes I used are 6 mm, 5 mm, 4 mm, and 3 mm, and the yarn was a #3 light weight yarn. I started by making a swatch with a 6 mm hook. Then I made a swatch of the same size with a 5 mm hook to see how many extra stitches would be needed. I did the same with 4 mm and 3 mm hooks. (Sts = stitches, dc = double crochet, hdc = half double crochet)
Results
To make a 2″ by 4″ swatch, a 6 mm hooks requires 16 stitches across and 4 rows of dc. A 5 mm hook requires 19 stitches across, 4 rows of dc and 1 row of sc. A 4 mm hook requires 21 stitches across, 4 rows of dc, and 1 row of hdc. And finally, a 3 mm hook requires 23 stitches across and 5 rows of dc.
Please keep in mind that this is not exact. I had to make a couple of the swatches a few times to get the size right. At first, I thought I would only use double crochets. I quickly realized that half double crochets and single crochets were needed match the size of the original swatch. I tried to make them as close to the same size as possible. Here are the swatches stacked on top of each other.
The results are interesting. There’s a 2 to 3 stitch difference between hook sizes. Going from a 6 mm to a 3mm hook, you have to use approximately 7 more stitches and add an extra row of double crochet. In the end, all of this just tells me to not lose my hook in the first place :). I hope this information was as helpful to you as it was to me. Happy Crocheting!
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