Crochet vs Knitting

 

By Tiffany Landres

Personal Experience

When talking about the difference between knit and crochet, my personal experience comes to mind. This is because, mine is a story I hear echoed often with other crafters.

The first needle craft I ever encountered was crochet. My mom is an amazing crocheter and can do anything with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook. She made my dolls' clothes, made the prettiest doilies I have ever seen, made baby blankets galore and the cutest baby layettes. She taught me to crochet when I was about 8 years old.

Years and years later, after having my first child, I taught myself to knit. I fell in love with it as well. I noticed the difference between crochet and knitting right away. However, knowing how to crochet lent itself greatly to being able to teach myself to knit. Knowing how to figure out how stitches relate to each other always helps you to learn new fiber arts.

Both crafts make amazing and different products. I personally tend to lean on knitting more because I like the sound of my metal needles clacking, but there are always projects where I find crochet to be more readily useful.

Random Observations

Customers come into the shop and we sometimes talk about how they got into needle crafts. It seems that, in many cases people who use both skills generally start with crochet and go into knitting. Moreover, crafters seem to have reasons for using one over the other on a particular project.

However, the other thing I have noticed in talking with other crafters, is that in many cases the road doesn't go both ways. In other words, if people learn to knit first, they do not always learn to crochet afterwards. I thought about and wondered over this and I have a couple of theories.

Popularity Theories

First, is the theory that people tend to just think of a limited set of projects you can do with crochet. Things that come to mind are crocheted dishcloths, wash rags and afghans. People tend to equate crochet with granny square blankets, something like the blanket on the couch of the Rosanne show. All of these things are absolutely lovely and amazing. All of this to say, not everyone knows how versatile crochet can be. They don't always get excited enough about these things to go out and learn crochet.

Second, is theory is that for some reason knitting got to be chic and in style at some point. At that point, more knit than crochet classes seemed to be taught. With less classes offered, demand goes down and the cycle continues.

We plan on having crochet classes in the future. In the meantime it is great to know what the main differences are.

The Biggest Differences Between Knit and Crochet

1. Knitting uses two needles together in conjunction, and takes a little bit more coordination (in my opinion). Crocheting uses one single needle. Indeed, crochet seems an easier craft for younger children to pick up, as the coordination to pull loops through with a hook, rather than swoop them through with the needle, takes a little less finesse.

2. Knit stitches are always on a needle ready to be worked. Consequently, these stitches are always live. Once you work a crochet stitch it is made, and not live anymore. Therefore, with crochet you can more easily put your project down in the middle of a row without causing an issue. If you put your knit project down in the middle of a row, it is possible to lose stitches. You might also create a place where you get an unintentional loose stitch, or hole.

3. Knitting makes a more stretchy fabric. It lends itself really well to garments that need to have a stretchy drape. With knitting you can have smooth or bumpy texture. Knitting also has a thinner footprint, and the finished fabrics are not as thick as crochet. Socks are a great example of where the flatness of knit work comes in handy. Crochet makes a nice dense fabric that has a more bumpy texture. Crochet lends itself amazingly to home décor, blankets, and really fun stuffed toys. A great example would be the Bobble-licious Pillows by Patons. This would be more tricky with knitting, but is a breeze with crochet.

4. If you want the big open look of lace, these two crafts have varying degrees of difficulties. Lace work with both crafts can be extremely elegant, rewarding, and definitely worth learning. With knitting, lace can sometimes be scary, and we all fear the dreaded mistake 3 rows down. It can also be a bit nerve-racking if you do not have a life line installed and need to rip rows out. Working lace in crochet is a lot less intimidating. Since you can pull the work out row by row, no lifelines are necessary.

5. I personally notice a huge difference in how quick an item works up when crocheting vs knitting. For me crochet works up much quicker. If I am ever in a pinch and need to get a handmade project done quickly I almost always reach for crochet. With the large crochet stitches, I can get a gift made quickly! With a knit project, I tend to need to block out more time.

Why Learn Both?

Those are the major differences in the two crafts. Why would you want to know both?

In fact, there are a multitude of reasons. However, versatility is the big word that comes to mind here. If you want to be versatile, and any of the benefits of either craft seems like something you would like, come learn from us. We have knitting classes and will be offering crocheting classes.

In addition, if you are stuck on a project, we are here for you. Our goal is to continue the amazing traditions of these crafts. We are happy when more people get a chance to try their hands at the various and fabulous fiber arts.

Interested in knitting or any other fiber class? Check out our class page here.