4.5 mm knitting needle
4.5 mm
US 7 · UK 7 · DK to worsted
What this size is for
The one size where the two scales agree — 7 means 4.5 mm on both sides of the Atlantic, and nowhere else do the numbers coincide.
In each scale
| Diameter | 4.5 mm |
| US size | 7 |
| UK / Canadian size | 7 |
| Yarn weight | DK to worsted |
Nearby sizes
| mm | US | UK | Yarn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.25 | 3 | 10 | Fingering to sport |
| 3.5 | 4 | — | Sport |
| 3.75 | 5 | 9 | Sport to DK |
| 4 | 6 | 8 | DK |
| 4.5 | 7 | 7 | DK to worsted |
| 5 | 8 | 6 | Worsted, aran |
| 5.5 | 9 | 5 | Aran |
Frequently asked questions
What is a 4.5 mm knitting needle in US and UK sizes?
US 7 and UK 7. 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: 7 in both. This is the only size where that happens.
What yarn suits a 4.5 mm needle?
DK to worsted. The one size where the two scales agree — 7 means 4.5 mm on both sides of the Atlantic, and nowhere else do the numbers coincide.
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.