What this tool does
Four gauges that only work if the print is not scaled, so each sheet carries the same 5 cm by 2 inch check square as the printable ruler. Ring circles from US 3 to 13 with UK letters and millimetres; needle holes from 2 to 12 mm with US sizes; a seam-allowance gauge in inches and centimetres with a hem gauge; drill holes in millimetres and fractional inches plus wood-screw shanks.
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Feedback
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Four things that are usually bought as plastic
A ring sizer, a needle gauge, a sewing gauge and a drill gauge are each a few pounds in a shop and each is, in the end, a set of holes and lines at known sizes. Paper does that as well as plastic if two things are true: the printer did not scale the page, and you cut the holes cleanly. The sheet handles the first with a check square (5 cm by 2 inches; measure it before trusting anything else) and asks you to handle the second with a craft knife rather than scissors.
Ring sizer
Twenty-one circles from US size 3 to 13 in half sizes, each labelled with the inside diameter in millimetres and the nearest UK letter. Lay a ring that fits over the circles: the right size is the one whose line just touches the inside of the ring all the way round. For a finger rather than a ring, cut out the strip below the circles, wrap it where the ring will sit and read the millimetre mark; the strip is annotated with the circumferences that match the common sizes.
Knitting needle and crochet hook gauge
Nineteen holes from 2 mm to 12 mm, labelled in millimetres with the US needle size and, where one exists, the US crochet hook letter. The needle that just passes through a hole is that size. Below the holes is a 10 cm by 10 cm tension window with 4 inches marked along its base: cut it out, lay it on a swatch and count the stitches and rows inside it against the ball band.
Sewing and hem gauge
A 6 inch, 15 cm gauge with sixteenths along the top edge and millimetres along the bottom, crossed by red seam-allowance lines at a quarter, three-eighths, half, five-eighths, three-quarters and one inch, plus 1.5 cm. Underneath, a hem gauge with a slot at 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 cm from the edge: fold the fabric to the mark and press.
Drill bit and screw gauge
Holes from 1 mm to 13 mm in half-millimetre steps, then the fractional-inch set from a sixteenth to a half, then clearance holes for #4 to #14 wood screws. Drop the bit through the holes until one fits with no side play. For a pilot hole, use the circle one size smaller than the screw shank.
Print it right
Actual size or 100 percent, never Fit to page. Card is better than paper for the holes. Check the square, then cut.
FAQs
Quick answers
How accurate is a paper ring sizer?
Printed at 100% the circles are accurate to a fraction of a millimetre, which is finer than a half ring size. The check square tells you whether the print was scaled; if it was, the circles are wrong by the same factor.
Which sizes does the ring sizer cover?
US 3 to 13 in half sizes, each with the inside diameter in mm and the nearest UK letter. The finger strip covers 40 to 80 mm circumference.
Can I use the needle gauge for crochet hooks?
Yes. Hooks are sized in the same millimetres; the US hook letters are printed where they exist.
What is the tension window for?
Counting stitches and rows in a 10 cm square of your swatch to compare with the pattern's gauge. More stitches than stated means go up a needle size, fewer means go down.
How do I cut the holes?
With a craft knife on a cutting board, following the circle. Scissors cannot turn a small circle cleanly and a paper punch is a fixed size.
Can I print all four at once?
Choose All four gauges and they print across two pages.
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