Hooks and yarn

What hook size for DK, aran and chunky? UK ball bands

For DK yarn, use a 4mm crochet hook: 23 of the 31 UK-sold DK yarns we checked list exactly that, and it’s the median for all 31. The same check gives 3.25mm for 4 ply, 5mm for aran, 6mm for chunky and 10mm for super chunky. For DK, aran and chunky that’s a size or more below the Craft Yarn Council chart most hook guides repeat, and the likely reason is that UK listings give the knitting needle size as the hook: on 85 of the 86, the two are the same.

HazelLoop planning guide · Reviewed 1 October 2026 · Figures from cited sources

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The quick answer, by weight

The hook listed most often for each UK weight is 3.25mm for 4 ply, 4mm for DK, 5mm for aran, 6mm for chunky and 10mm for super chunky. Those are also the medians across 86 yarns on sale in the UK.

The Craft Yarn Council chart puts DK, aran and chunky higher: 4.5 to 5.5mm for DK, 5.5 to 6.5mm for aran and 6.5 to 9mm for chunky. 28 of our 31 DK bands and 19 of the 20 aran bands sit wholly below those ranges. Only the 4 ply and super chunky bands mostly agree with the chart.

If you’re following a UK pattern, use the pattern’s hook. If you’re choosing for yourself, the ball band is a better starting point than the chart, and a swatch beats both.

Crochet hook on the ball band vs the Craft Yarn Council chart, mm, 86 UK-sold yarns on LoveCrafts (checked 1 October 2026)
UK weight	Yarns checked	Band hook: median	Band hook: range	Bands giving exactly the median	Bands wholly below the CYC hook range	CYC crochet hook	CYC knitting needle
4 ply	16	3.25mm	2.5–3.5mm	11 of 16	0 of 16	2.25–3.5mm	2.25–3.25mm
DK	31	4mm	3–5mm	23 of 31	28 of 31	4.5–5.5mm	3.75–4.5mm
Aran	20	5mm	4–6mm	13 of 20	19 of 20	5.5–6.5mm	4.5–5.5mm
Chunky	11	6mm	6–10mm	7 of 11	7 of 11	6.5–9mm	5.5–8mm
Super chunky	8	10mm	7–15mm	4 of 8	1 of 8	9–15mm	8–12.75mm

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Where the numbers come from

We opened the LoveCrafts product page for 86 yarns on 1 October 2026 and noted the weight the shop gives, the fibre, the recommended crochet hook, the recommended needles and the listed tension. That’s 16 yarns sold as 4 ply, 31 DK, 20 aran, 11 chunky and 8 super chunky. By fibre, 30 are acrylic or other synthetics, 28 are at least half wool or other animal fibre, and 28 are at least half cotton.

The first 40 are the yarns in our UK yarn weights guide; the other 46 add more wool and cotton. For Stylecraft Special 4 Ply, DK, Aran and Chunky we also checked Stylecraft’s own pages, and the hook sizes match. Where a listing gives a range, such as 3 to 4mm, we used its midpoint for the median. We took the hook from LoveCrafts’ “Recommended Crochet Hook” field. Three product descriptions suggest something different: 3.5mm for West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply (field: 3.25mm), 4mm for Rico Essentials Cotton DK (field: 3 to 4mm) and 6 to 6.5mm for King Cole Big Value Super Chunky (field: 10mm). These are shop listings rather than the physical ball bands, so check the label on the ball you buy in case it differs.

We haven’t crocheted with these yarns ourselves. The hook sizes are the makers’ and the shop’s, and the pattern hooks further down are the designers’ own, all linked at the bottom of this page.

Every yarn in the sample: recommended crochet hook and tension as listed by LoveCrafts (stitches per 10cm, checked 1 October 2026)
Yarn	Sold as	Fibre	Listed hook	Listed tension (sts per 10cm)
King Cole Big Value Baby 4 Ply	4 ply	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	3.25mm	28
King Cole Comfort 4 Ply	4 ply	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	3.25mm	28
Stylecraft Special 4 Ply	4 ply	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	3.25mm	28
Debbie Bliss Rialto 4 Ply	4 ply	Wool-rich (100% merino wool)	3.25mm	28
King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply	4 ply	Wool-rich (100% wool)	3.25mm	28
Sirdar Country Classic 4 Ply	4 ply	Wool-rich (50% wool, 50% acrylic)	3.25mm	28
West Yorkshire Spinners Exquisite 4 Ply	4 ply	Wool-rich (80% wool, 20% silk)	3.25mm	28
West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply	4 ply	Wool-rich (75% wool, 25% nylon)	3.25mm	28
Rico Essentials Cotton 4 Ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	2.5–3.5mm	28
Scheepjes Catona	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	2.5–3.5mm	26
Rowan Summerlite 4 Ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3mm	28
Scheepjes Cotton 8	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3mm	28
Paintbox Yarns Cotton 4 ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3–3.25mm	27
King Cole Giza Cotton 4 Ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3.25mm	28
Patons 100% Cotton 4 Ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3.25mm	28
Stylecraft Classique Cotton 4 Ply	4 ply	Cotton (100% cotton)	3.25mm	28
Rico Baby Classic DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (50% acrylic, 50% polyamide)	3.5–4mm	22
Hayfield Bonus DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
James C. Brett Top Value DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
King Cole Big Value DK 50g	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
King Cole Pricewise DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Baby DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (55% nylon, 45% acrylic)	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
Sirdar Snuggly DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (55% nylon, 45% acrylic)	4mm	22
Stylecraft Life DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (75% acrylic, 25% wool)	4mm	22
Stylecraft Special DK	DK	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	4mm	22
Rowan Felted Tweed DK	DK	Wool-rich (50% wool, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose)	3.75–4mm	22–24
King Cole Merino Blend DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% wool)	4mm	22
Stylecraft Naturals Pure Wool DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% wool)	4mm	22
West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester Naturals DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% wool)	4mm	22
West Yorkshire Spinners Pure DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% wool)	4mm	22
West Yorkshire Spinners The Croft DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% wool)	4mm	22
Rico Essentials Merino DK	DK	Wool-rich (100% merino wool)	4–5mm	22
Rico Creative Ricorumi DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	3–4mm	22
Rico Essentials Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	3–4mm	22
Scheepjes Softfun	DK	Cotton (60% cotton, 40% acrylic)	3.5–4mm	21
Debbie Bliss Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	20
King Cole Cottonsoft DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Patons 100% Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Rico Creative Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Rico Essentials Organic Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Rowan Handknit Cotton	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	19–20
Sirdar Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Stylecraft Naturals Organic Cotton	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4mm	22
Sirdar Happy Cotton	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	4–4.5mm	22
Deramores Studio Organic Cotton DK	DK	Cotton (100% cotton)	5mm	20
Hayfield Bonus Aran 100g	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	5mm	18
King Cole Big Value Aran	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	5mm	18
King Cole Comfort Aran	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (60% acrylic, 40% nylon)	5mm	18
Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	5mm	18
Stylecraft Life Aran	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (75% acrylic, 25% wool)	5mm	18
Stylecraft Special Aran	Aran	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	5mm	18
Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (50% wool, 50% acrylic)	4.5mm	18
Rico Essentials Organic Wool Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% virgin wool)	4.5–5mm	18
Debbie Bliss British Wool Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% wool)	5mm	18
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (55% merino wool, 33% acrylic, 12% cashmere)	5mm	18
Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% merino wool)	5mm	18
King Cole Wool Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% wool)	5mm	18
Rowan Felted Tweed Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (50% wool, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose)	5mm	16
West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester Naturals Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% wool)	5mm	18
West Yorkshire Spinners The Croft Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% wool)	5mm	18
Rico Essentials Soft Merino Aran	Aran	Wool-rich (100% virgin wool)	5–6mm	18
Rico Creative Cotton Aran	Aran	Cotton (100% cotton)	4–5mm	17
Rico Essentials Organic Cotton Aran	Aran	Cotton (100% cotton)	4–5mm	18
Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran	Aran	Cotton (100% cotton)	4.5mm	20
Scheepjes Cahlista	Aran	Cotton (100% cotton)	4.5–5mm	19
King Cole Big Value Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	6mm	14
Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	6mm	14
Stylecraft Life Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (75% acrylic, 25% wool)	6mm	14
Stylecraft Special Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	6mm	14
Hayfield Bonus Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	6.5mm	14
King Cole Comfort Chunky	Chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (60% acrylic, 40% nylon)	8mm	12
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky	Chunky	Wool-rich (55% wool, 33% acrylic, 12% cashmere)	6mm	15
Paintbox Yarns 100% Wool Chunky Superwash	Chunky	Wool-rich (100% wool)	6mm	16
Rico Essentials Mega Merino	Chunky	Wool-rich (55% virgin wool, 45% acrylic)	6mm	14
Rico Creative So Cool & So Soft Cotton Chunky	Chunky	Cotton (100% cotton)	7mm	13
Hoooked Spesso Chunky Cotton	Chunky	Cotton (85% cotton, 15% other)	8–10mm	14
Hayfield Bonus Super Chunky	Super chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	10mm	9
King Cole Big Value Super Chunky	Super chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	10mm	10
Stylecraft Life Super Chunky	Super chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (75% acrylic, 25% wool)	10mm	9
Stylecraft Special XL Super Chunky	Super chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	10mm	9
Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky	Super chunky	Acrylic/synthetic (100% acrylic)	10–12mm	8
Rico Essentials Big	Super chunky	Wool-rich (50% wool, 50% acrylic)	7–8mm	11
Debbie Bliss Super Chunky Merino	Super chunky	Wool-rich (100% merino wool)	9mm	11
Rowan Big Wool	Super chunky	Wool-rich (100% merino wool)	10–15mm	8–9

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Why UK bands and the US chart disagree

On 85 of the 86 listings, the crochet hook is exactly the same size as the knitting needle. The one exception is Deramores Studio Organic Cotton DK, which lists a 4mm needle and a 5mm hook. King Cole’s own pages for Big Value DK, Cottonsoft DK, Merino Blend DK and Wool Aran give a needle size and no hook at all.

The Craft Yarn Council’s knitting needle ranges fit UK bands well: 3.75 to 4.5mm for DK, 4.5 to 5.5mm for aran and 5.5 to 8mm for chunky. Its crochet hook ranges sit about a size above. So the hook on a UK band is, in practice, the needle size. That doesn’t make it wrong for crochet, because UK designers mostly use the same size, as the pattern table below shows.

The listed tension looks like a knitting tension too. Most listings don’t say which craft it’s for, so this is our reading, for three reasons. LoveCrafts’ descriptions of Stylecraft Special DK and Paintbox Yarns Simply DK say each knits to 22 stitches and 30 rows over 10cm on 4mm needles. 26 of the 31 DK listings give exactly 22 stitches to 10cm, inside the Council’s knitting gauge for DK of 21 to 24 stitches to 4 inches and well above its crochet gauge of 12 to 17 single crochet. And Catherine Crochets gives 14 stitches and 11 rows to 10cm in moss stitch with Stylecraft Special Aran on a 5mm hook, where the listing says 18 stitches and 24 rows. Use the band tension to compare yarns and the pattern’s tension to check your crochet.

Does cotton, wool or acrylic change the hook

Not much in DK. The median is 4mm for acrylic, wool and cotton alike. Acrylic DK bands are the most uniform: nine of ten say 4mm, and the tenth, Rico Baby Classic DK, says 3.5 to 4mm. Cotton DK spreads wider, from 3 to 4mm on Rico Essentials Cotton DK and Rico Creative Ricorumi DK up to 5mm on Deramores Studio Organic Cotton DK.

Cotton aran and cotton 4 ply lean smaller. All four cotton arans list something under 5mm, with a median of 4.5mm, while all six acrylic arans say 5mm. Five of the eight cotton 4 plys go below 3.25mm, at least at the bottom of a range, while every acrylic and wool 4 ply says 3.25mm.

Wool sits with acrylic: the median wool hook matches the acrylic one in 4 ply, DK, aran and chunky. The two cotton chunkies in our list go the other way, at 7mm and 8 to 10mm, but two yarns are too few to call that a pattern. The weight name still tells you more than the fibre.

Granny squares: what designers use

For DK granny squares, 4mm is the standard among the UK and Irish designers we checked. Attic24 uses a 4mm hook with Stylecraft Special DK for her Solid Granny Square and her Harmony blanket, and Cherry Heart’s Giant Granny Square uses the same yarn and hook. Irish designer Annie Design Crochet’s floral granny blanket is 4mm in Special DK, and Paintbox Yarns’ Fireside granny throw is 4mm in Simply DK.

In aran, designers split between the band size and half a size up. Jera’s Jamboree works the Blossom Cottage squares in Stylecraft Special Aran on 5mm. Annie Design Crochet’s scrap-buster granny blanket uses the same yarn on 5.5mm for the squares.

A smaller hook for the border is common: Jera’s Jamboree drops to 4mm, Paintbox to 3.5mm and Annie Design Crochet to 5mm. Granny squares also give you a quick tension check. Attic24 and Cherry Heart both say the first five rounds should measure 10cm in DK on 4mm, and Attic24 suggests 4.5 or 5mm if your square is small, or 3.5 or 3mm if it’s big.

Amigurumi: go smaller than the band

For amigurumi in DK, the four Paintbox Yarns toy patterns we checked use 3 or 3.5mm, one or two sizes under the 4mm on the band. Bobby the Bee and Caitlin the Caterpillar in Simply DK use 3mm, Alfie the Duckling in Simply DK uses 3.5mm, and the Festive Gnomes in Cotton DK use 3mm. The Caitlin pattern gives the reason: a hook slightly smaller than the yarn’s usual size makes a tighter fabric, so the stuffing doesn’t show through.

Stylecraft’s Bruno the Bear pattern in Special DK lists both a 3.5mm and a 4mm hook. Rico’s amigurumi cotton, Ricorumi DK, is already listed at 3 to 4mm rather than a plain 4mm.

June Gilbank of PlanetJune, who designs amigurumi, sets out the limits: too large a hook leaves holes where the stuffing shows, and too small a hook splits the yarn and makes the stitches hard to work into. Start a size below the band and adjust from there.

Hook on the ball band vs hook in the pattern, 14 patterns by UK and Irish designers and UK yarn brands (checked 1 October 2026)
Pattern (designer)	Project	Yarn	Band hook	Pattern hook
Solid Granny Square (Attic24)	Granny squares	Stylecraft Special DK	4mm	4mm
Harmony blanket (Attic24)	Granny squares	Stylecraft Special DK	4mm	4mm
Giant Granny Square (Cherry Heart)	Granny square blanket	Stylecraft Special DK	4mm	4mm
Floral granny square blanket (Annie Design Crochet)	Granny squares	Stylecraft Special DK	4mm	4mm
Fireside granny square blanket (Paintbox Yarns)	Granny squares	Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	4mm	4mm, 3.5mm border
Blossom Cottage (Jera’s Jamboree)	Granny squares	Stylecraft Special Aran	5mm	5mm, 4mm border
Scrap-buster granny blanket (Annie Design Crochet)	Granny squares	Stylecraft Special Aran	5mm	5.5mm, 5mm border
Easy Moss Stitch blanket (Catherine Crochets)	Blanket	Stylecraft Special Aran	5mm	5mm
Relaxing Waves (Sunflower Cottage Crochet)	Blanket	Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran	5mm	5mm
Alfie the Duckling (Paintbox Yarns)	Amigurumi	Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	4mm	3.5mm
Bobby the Bee (Paintbox Yarns)	Amigurumi	Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	4mm	3mm
Caitlin the Caterpillar (Paintbox Yarns)	Amigurumi	Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	4mm	3mm
Festive Gnomes (Paintbox Yarns)	Amigurumi	Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK	4mm	3mm
Bruno the Bear (Stylecraft)	Toy with clothes	Stylecraft Special DK	4mm	3.5mm and 4mm

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US letters, old UK numbers and 8 ply

Buy hooks by millimetres, because letters don’t line up. The Craft Yarn Council lists 4mm as G-6 and 3.75mm as F-5, but most LoveCrafts yarn listings tag 4mm as F, while its pages for the Bruno and Fireside patterns list a G (4.00mm) hook. The Council’s chart gives 3.25mm as D-3, 5mm as H-8, 6mm as J-10 and 10mm as N/P-15.

Older UK patterns may give a numbered hook, where a bigger number means a smaller hook. Paintbox Yarns still prints these in some patterns: 3.5mm as UK size 9 and 3mm as UK size 11. Charts don’t all agree on sizes 9 and 11, so go by the millimetres where a pattern gives them.

If an Australian or New Zealand pattern asks for 8 ply, that’s DK, according to the New Zealand retailer Direct Sewing, so the band answer is 4mm. 10 ply is aran, so 5mm.

Check before you move on

Hook taken from the pattern first, if it gives one
Ball band hook used as the starting point, not a generic chart
Five-round granny square or 10cm swatch measured before a big project
One or two sizes down for amigurumi, so the stuffing doesn’t show
Hooks bought by millimetres, not US letters
Band tension used to compare yarns, pattern tension used to check your crochet

Ready to buy?

Hook sets that cover the band sizes above

All crochet supplies ↗

Illustration, not a product photo

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ZGTS aluminium crochet hook set, 9 hooks

Nine hooks: 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0mm.

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Our pick

Covers 2mm to 8mm, including the 4mm and 5mm hooks most DK and aran patterns in our guides call for.

RealPlus soft-grip crochet hook set, 12 hooks

Twelve hooks: 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and 8.0mm, with case. Check the handle colour offered.

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Try it with your own numbers.

Estimate remaining metres from the yarn’s weight and label, then bring them into your list.

Convert my leftovers ↗

Common questions

What size crochet hook for DK yarn UK?

4mm. 23 of the 31 UK DK yarns we checked list exactly 4mm, and the median for all 31 is 4mm. Attic24, Cherry Heart and Annie Design Crochet all use 4mm for granny squares in Stylecraft Special DK.

What hook size for aran yarn?

5mm on most UK bands: 13 of the 20 arans we checked, and the median for all 20. Cotton arans run a little smaller, at 4 to 5mm. Some designers go half a size up, such as Annie Design Crochet at 5.5mm for granny squares.

What size hook for 4 ply yarn?

3.25mm. 11 of 16 UK 4 ply bands list exactly that, and every acrylic and wool one does. Cotton 4 plys often say 3mm or a range such as 2.5 to 3.5mm.

What hook size for chunky yarn?

6mm on 7 of the 11 UK chunky bands we checked. Super chunky is usually 10mm, which 4 of 8 bands list exactly.

What hook for amigurumi with DK yarn?

3 or 3.5mm in the four toy patterns we checked, one or two sizes below the 4mm on the band. Paintbox Yarns’ DK toy patterns use 3mm or 3.5mm.

Sources and scope

Sources checked 1 October 2026. Label facts come from the linked references; worked purchase examples and arithmetic are our own illustrations.

Keep planning

These are planning methods, not physically tested crochet patterns. Read our method and editorial approach.