March 9th, 2012 
mio Hooks come in various sizes, and while the size of the hook is usually noted on the hook somewhere, this isn’t always the case. It behooves us to have our own way of measuring.
Enter the gauge:
Now, this is a knitting needle gauge. It’s designed so that you insert the knitting needle into the holes to see while one is the best fit. This doesn’t work so well for some crochet hooks:
Here, the problem is that the head of the hook is bigger than the shaft (which is the part we’re tring to measure). There is such a thing as a crochet hook gauge, but I can’t seem to find one to buy. A hook gauge typically has a tear-drop shaped hole in it, where you put the hook into the hole and then slide it towards the small end until it fits snugly. You then look at the measurement marking next to that spot in the hole.
This seems to me like it could be somewhat inaccurate. Also, you’re limited to hook sizes that fit in the hole – it may not work for extra large or extra small hooks.
Now, my workaround for this has been to simply insert the butt end of the hook into the gauge, like so:
But that doesn’t always work. For example, steel hooks (for thread), all have the same size handle:
Double ended hooks don’t have a handle:
And there are hooks out there that are designed to be more ergonomic (I don’t have any), that definitely wouldn’t work with this needle gauge.
The solution?
A caliper!
Simply clamp it around the shaft of the hook like so:
Ta da!
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11 Blankets in 2011
