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        Anonymous, Erich Engeln, Nazanin Fard, Anna Jensen, Marianne Kinzel, Lillie Meitler, Gloria Penning, and Rachel Schnelling.

    Miscellaneous (Nonlace)

«Geometric Doily»

I was given some steel crochet hooks and a surplus ball of thread.  I decided to use the thread to make a doily, only the doily did not turn out as expected.

The pattern calls for «Size 1» needles.  Because Knit Heirloom Doilies was published in the United States, one can reasonably conclude U.S. 1 is the size indicated; but U.S. needle sizes are not officially standardized even though a consortium of needle manufacturers has agreed upon common labeling of certain metric sizes.  So, I looked to the table provided in the back of the booklet to find the publisher’s translation of the U.S. size and ensure no misunderstanding.  I found there the publisher was indeed referencing a U.S. needle size and that the publisher was using «U.S. 1» to describe a 2‑mm needle.  2 mm is actually a U.K. 14, U.S. 0.  (Please refer to the Tools page for a thorough review of problems inherent with U.S. sizes.)

I was very glad to have referenced the table instead of assuming the pattern correctly called for U.S. 1 needles.  For all I know, the designer had truly used U.S. 1 (2.25 mm, U.K. 13) needles.  Because I had no way to know whether the designer’s needles were made by a manufacturer belonging to the consortium and if so, whether they were made before or after that manufacturer agreed to label metric sizes consistent with the labeling by the other members of the consortium, I used the metric size indicated by the table in the back of the book because metric sizing is always consistent.

The pattern states the doily will be approximately 23 cm in diameter, but mine is only 13 cm.  Had I used a 2.25‑mm (U.K. 13, U.S. 1) needle instead of following the table and using a 2‑mm (U.K. 14, U.S. 0) needle, the finished project would have been larger and been a lot closer to the advertised finished dimensions.  I contacted Nazanin Fard to take up my complaint; and she told me she uses only metric sizes like I do, that the table in the booklet was provided by the publisher and not subject to her own review before publication.  With no negativity directed toward the designer, I will never, never again purchase any publication by this publisher because it is producing booklets without promoting common standards.  Metric sizing is a common standard.  Use it.