Asian(?) thread numbering system

[R8R]

Ok I see this every so often on specs sheets, catalogs, etc - thread sizes starting from "#0" (approx 207?) to whatever, getting...thinner. (#8 = 92...ok)

Is there a comparative chart somewhere that includes this numbering system? Is it an Asian system or?

 

[Wizcrafts]

I think that those # designations may correspond to "Tkt" numbers, as shown on this thread and needles chart.

[Matt S]

19 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

I think that those # designations may correspond to "Tkt" numbers, as shown on this thread and needles chart.

Unfortunately no; TKT5 is equivalent to 18/8 linen or 556 nylon. By that scale a 0 would be like baler twine!

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, Matt S said:

Unfortunately no; TKT5 is equivalent to 18/8 linen or 556 nylon. By that scale a 0 would be like baler twine!

There is no Ticket 0 I know about. Maybe this is Juki/Japanese numbering. But, by looking at the maximum listed needle size we can extrapolate the matching thread. A #280 needle would be used to sew with #415 thread, top and bottom, or 6 or 7 cord linen thread (normally, a #27/250 needle is used for these thread sizes).

[Matt S]

9 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

I think that those # designations may correspond to "Tkt" numbers, as shown on this thread and needles chart.

6 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

There is no Ticket 0 I know about. Maybe this is Juki/Japanese numbering. But, by looking at the maximum listed needle size we can extrapolate the matching thread. A #280 needle would be used to sew with #415 thread, top and bottom, or 6 or 7 cord linen thread (normally, a #27/250 needle is used for these thread sizes).

I have also never heard of a TKT0 thread. However I have seen some TKT3 nylon, which is around 1mm. TKT numbers don't appear to align with # numbers very closely at all. For instance the manual for my Seiko LCW-8 suggests #8 thread with a Nm140 needle as 'standard' -- far too small for a TKT8 thread but just right for TKT20/V138, which is exactly what I would expect from an upholstery-weight machine like the CW series. (Curiously, Seiko suggests using Nm200 needles with #0 thread in the BL [thick thread] subclass, which usually corresponds with TKT10/V207 synthetic of 18/4 linen. That's very different to the Nm280 that Juki appears to suggest in their catalogue.)

I agree that the best way to decode these #numbers is probably looking at the Nm needle size and working from there. I've had to do this in the past WRT Adler manuals from decades ago when they refer to thread sizes like 60/3. The # sizing system is evident in the Seiko as well as Juki catalogue but not DA or Pfaff, which would lend weight to the Japanese theory. Unfortunately I cannot readily find an English language reference to this sizing system.

[Wizcrafts]

Matt;

If you really want to dive into thread measuring systems, there's a good read on Superior Thread's website, under the education section topic: Understanding Thread Weight.