3 mm knitting needle
3 mm
US 2/3 · UK 11 · Fingering
What this size is for
Sits between the two American sizes, which is why it carries a slash — the US scale has no single number for it.
In each scale
| Diameter | 3 mm |
| US size | 2/3 |
| UK / Canadian size | 11 |
| Yarn weight | Fingering |
Nearby sizes
| mm | US | UK | Yarn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 14 | Lace, 2-ply |
| 2.25 | 1 | 13 | Lace to fingering |
| 2.75 | 2 | 12 | Fingering, 4-ply |
| 3 | 2/3 | 11 | Fingering |
| 3.25 | 3 | 10 | Fingering to sport |
| 3.5 | 4 | — | Sport |
| 3.75 | 5 | 9 | Sport to DK |
| 4 | 6 | 8 | DK |
Frequently asked questions
What is a 3 mm knitting needle in US and UK sizes?
US 2/3 and UK 11. The millimetre figure is the actual diameter and the only one that means the same thing everywhere.
Does this size exist in both scales?
Yes, and unusually the numbers agree: 2/3 in both. This is the only size where that happens.
What yarn suits a 3 mm needle?
Fingering. Sits between the two American sizes, which is why it carries a slash — the US scale has no single number for it.
Why do the two scales run in opposite directions?
The British scale counts down from the thickest wire in a gauge, in the same way a wire gauge does — more drawing operations, higher number, thinner. The American scale simply counts up from the finest needle. Neither is wrong; they were never designed to be compared, and the only size where the numbers coincide is 4.5 mm, which is size 7 in both.