Which Yarn for Needle Sizes 5, 6, and 8? Chart and Yarn Tips

Which yarn goes with needle size 5, 6, or 8? The most important clue is the yardage on the ball band: for 5 mm, yarn with about 160–240 m per 100 g usually works well; for 6 mm, yarn with 140–180 m; and for 8 mm, chunky yarn with around 120 m – or two strands held together. In this guide, you’ll find a chart with reference values, suitable yarns for each size, the formula for holding yarn double, and how to convert to US and UK sizes. You’ll also learn when to deliberately reach for a smaller or larger needle.

Yardage and needle size: how they are connected

Yardage tells you how many meters of yarn there are in 100 g. The thicker the yarn, the fewer meters make up 100 g – and the larger the needle has to be so the stitches don’t get too tight. That’s why you knit a fine merino wool with 350 m per 100 g on 3–3.5 mm needles and a chunky yarn with 120 m per 100 g on 7–8 mm needles.

The needle determines the size of your stitches and therefore how dense or airy the fabric turns out. If it’s too small, the fabric becomes stiff and board-like. If it’s too large, holes appear and the piece loses its shape.

Chart: yardage, yarn weight, and needle size

The following reference values apply to smooth yarns knitted in stockinette. The stitch count refers to a width of 10 cm.

The chart helps you make a first choice. If the yardage falls between two rows, the right needle falls in between as well. The information in the product description is binding – and in the end, so is your own gauge swatch.

Fiber and texture shift the reference values

Yardage doesn’t tell you everything. How much room a strand needs in a stitch also depends on its fiber and texture:

• Mohair: The halo fills the gaps between the stitches. According to the chart, a fine mohair yarn with 900–1,000 m per 100 g would call for 2–3 mm, but it’s usually knitted on 3–5 mm. The result is a light, almost sheer fabric.
• Bouclé: The little loops make the yarn uneven in thickness and the stitches hard to count. In our Bouclé Yarn category, two yarns have the same yardage of 220 m – yet one is recommended for 3.5–4.5 mm and the other for 4.5–5 mm.
• Tweed: Colored flecks in the yarn give tweed its rustic character. Our Tweed Wool Carin has 160 m per 100 g – exactly like our Virgin Wool Ronan. For the tweed, however, 4.5–5.5 mm is recommended instead of 5–6 mm.

Yarn for needle size 5

With 5 mm needles, you can make classic sweaters, cardigans, vests, and hats for fall and winter. The fabric is dense enough for garments to keep their shape, and you still make quick progress. Suitable yarns have about 160–240 m per 100 g, and the gauge is usually 17–20 sts per 10 cm.

Fluffy Yarn Estelle with Mohair has a soft halo and is a good way to get started with mohair. Tweed Wool Carin has colored flecks in the yarn that bring even a simple vest to life. Pure Virgin Wool Sabine is a little firmer than other types of wool and shows ribbing and cables especially crisply. Baby Alpaca Wool Punia, with 70% baby alpaca, is very soft and warm while weighing very little.

For a sweater in size M, the product description of Fluffy Yarn Estelle lists 900–1,200 m, which is 5–7 balls. You’ll find the reference value for each yarn in its product description under “Yarn requirements.” We show you how to knit your first sweater step by step in our guide Knitting a Sweater for Beginners.

You’ll find more yarns with our 4–5 mm filter. You can also knit the yarns for 5–6 mm from the next section on 5 mm needles – at the lower end of their range.

Yarn for needle size 6

On 6 mm needles, sweaters, scarves, and hats grow noticeably faster without looking bulky. Suitable yarns have about 140–180 m per 100 g and a gauge of 14–16 sts per 10 cm. This is a rewarding size for beginners: every stitch is easy to see, and the needles sit comfortably in your hands.

Virgin Wool Ronan, with 160 m, comes in 18 colors. The high wool content keeps you warm, the polyamide helps it hold its shape, and the yarn is soft enough for children’s clothes, too.

Chunky Yarn Crush with Alpaca is a solid color and shows off cable patterns beautifully. Plan on 2 balls for a cabled hat and 3–4 for a scarf measuring 20 × 180 cm. In Alpaca Mohair Wool Bucky, the mohair provides the halo, the alpaca the warmth, and the wool the structure.

You can knit a simple beanie from one of these yarns with our tutorial Knitting a Hat for Beginners. There, you adjust the cast-on to your gauge. You’ll find all the yarns in this range under Yarns for 5–6 mm.

Yarn for needle sizes 7 and 8

From 7 mm on, you’re in chunky-knit territory: big, textured stitches that grow quickly and keep you really warm. For this, you need chunky yarn with about 120–130 m per 100 g; the gauge is around 12–14 sts per 10 cm. Typical projects are chunky sweaters, blankets, and thick scarves.

Chunky Wool Bella with Baby Alpaca is our thickest yarn and covers 7–8 mm. For a chunky scarf measuring 20 × 180 cm, you need 250–400 m, which is 3–4 balls. Chunky Yarn Milana is a perfect match for 7 mm. It glides nicely even on large needles and is especially well suited to blankets and pillows.

Want to go even chunkier with 8–10 mm needles? Then hold two strands together – you’ll learn how to find the right needle for that in the next section. You’ll find more chunky yarns with the 6–8 mm filter and in our Chunky Yarn category.

Knitting with yarn held double: calculating yardage and needle size

When you knit with two strands at once, you treat them as a single, thicker strand. This turns a fine yarn into a medium-heavy one, or takes a medium-heavy yarn up to chunky. The combined yardage tells you which needle you need:

Yardage held double = (L1 × L2) ÷ (L1 + L2)

L1 and L2 are the yardages of the two yarns per 100 g. The formula comes from the fact that one meter of the doubled strand weighs as much as one meter of each yarn combined. So with two identical yarns, the yardage is cut exactly in half. Then compare the result with the chart above.

On paper, both mohair combinations come out at about 5–6 mm. Because the halo adds extra volume, go up 0.5–1 mm for these. Two strands of Crush give you a very thick strand of 90 m – perfect for chunky scarves and blankets.

When it comes to yarn requirements, keep in mind that you use the full meterage of both yarns. If a sweater takes 1,000 m held double, that means 1,000 m of Merino Wool Bonny (3 balls) and 1,000 m of Kid Mohair Wool Schnee (3 balls). Similar shades look harmonious together, such as Merino Wool Bonny in purple with Kid Mohair Wool Schnee in lavender.

Holding mohair together with your main yarn

“Holding mohair together” with your yarn simply means knitting a fine strand of mohair along with your main yarn. The fabric gets a soft halo and keeps you warmer. The color of the main yarn looks softer because the mohair lies over it like a veil.

• The finer the mohair, the less the needle size changes. With Mohair Wool Astrum (1,000 m), you usually go up 0.5–1 mm from the size for the main yarn alone.
• One ball of Mohair Wool Astrum is enough for a scarf with 400–600 m of main yarn. For a sweater, plan on two balls.
• A strand of mohair in a contrasting color creates a heathered effect.
• Always knit your gauge swatch with both strands together.

You’ll find fine mohair yarns to hold together with your main yarn in our Mohair Yarn and Lace Yarn categories.

Crochet hooks: which size for crochet?

For the same yarn, you usually use a crochet hook 0.5–1 mm larger than the knitting needle. A crochet stitch is made of several loops pulled through one another, which makes it denser and firmer than a knit stitch. With a slightly larger hook, your crocheted piece stays soft and is more comfortable to work.

That’s why our product descriptions list both sizes. For Chunky Yarn Crush, for example, it’s 5–6 mm for knitting and 5.5–6.5 mm for crochet; for Baby Alpaca Wool Punia, it’s 4–5 mm and 5–6 mm. Like knitting needles, crochet hooks are sized in millimeters. In US patterns, they also carry a letter, such as H-8 for 5 mm.

When to deviate from the ball band

The size on the ball band is a starting point, not a hard-and-fast rule. Everyone knits a little differently, and not every stitch pattern works with the same needle as stockinette.

• You knit tightly: Go up 0.5–1 mm in needle size.
• You knit loosely: Go down 0.5–1 mm in needle size.
• Ribbing: Knit the ribbing at the hem, cuffs, and hat brim on needles 0.5–1 mm smaller than the body so it fits snugly.
• Lace patterns: For shawls and airy patterns, go up 0.5–1 mm so the eyelets open up and the fabric drapes softly.

Your gauge swatch decides: step by step

1. Start with the middle of the recommended range – for a 5–6 mm yarn, that’s 5.5 mm. Cast on enough stitches for a swatch about 15 cm wide, and knit about 15 cm high in your project’s stitch pattern.
2. Wash the swatch the same way you’ll later wash the finished piece, and let it dry flat.
3. In the middle of the swatch, count how many stitches there are in 10 cm.
4. If you have more stitches than the pattern calls for, they’re too small: use a larger needle. If you have fewer, use a smaller one.
5. Knit a second swatch with the new needle. As a rule of thumb, half a needle size changes the gauge by about 1–2 sts per 10 cm.

We explain exactly how to measure your swatch and adjust for differences in our guide How to Knit a Gauge Swatch Correctly.

Converting needle sizes: mm, US, and UK

English-language patterns often give the needle size in US or old UK sizes. Watch out: with the old British sizes, the smaller the number, the larger the needle.

Newer British patterns usually give millimeters. For in-between sizes such as 7 mm, manufacturers sometimes use different US sizes – when in doubt, go by the millimeter size.

Examples for inspiration

What you can make with needle sizes 5, 6, and 8 – in colors that our yarns come in, too.

Note: The images in this section are AI-generated examples for inspiration.

Frequently asked questions about needle size

Which needle size is best for learning to knit?
It’s easiest to learn with 5–7 mm needles and a smooth, medium-heavy to chunky yarn. The stitches are easy to see, and small irregularities hardly show.

What does “5–6 mm” on the ball band mean?
The yarn knits up well within this range. Start in the middle with 5.5 mm and adjust the needle based on your gauge swatch.

Can I knit chunky yarn on smaller needles?
Yes – the fabric will be firmer and denser, and you’ll use more yarn. That can be intentional for pillow covers, but a sweater quickly becomes stiff.

Is a 5 mm crochet hook the same thickness as a 5 mm knitting needle?
Yes, both are 5 mm in diameter. For the same yarn, though, you usually use a hook 0.5–1 mm larger for crochet.

Which yarn do I need for needle size 8?
A chunky yarn with about 120 m per 100 g, such as our Chunky Wool Bella with Baby Alpaca. Alternatively, knit two strands of a medium-heavy yarn with around 180 m held together.

How thick does yarn get when held double?
Calculate the combined yardage with (L1 × L2) ÷ (L1 + L2). Two identical yarns halve the yardage: 180 m becomes 90 m, which suits needles of about 8–10 mm.

We ship all the yarns in this guide from Görlitz – free within Germany, with no minimum order value.