Depending on your skills, you may be better suited to learn the tools and method of one over the other. Some of us enjoy knitting , while others prefer crocheting.
Both techniques of needlework use yarn to create beautiful pieces—garments, accessories like hats and mittens, blankets—that adorn our homes or fill our closets.
The beauty of both is that you can really connect with the yarn and the pattern for the project, and the end result is truly a personalized labor of love. The meditative act of stitching in repetition is one that tends to be very relaxing and mentally stimulating , too. One of the questions you might ask yourself is whether to learn how to knit or how to crochet, and is there much of a difference between the two? As a beginner, you can choose either one.
The techniques and tools are different from one another, but both of them require practice in order to excel in skill; and to the untrained eye, the end results can appear to be very similar. Knitting uses a pair of long needles to form the stitches.
There are different types of needles: straight, circular , and double-pointed. Needles are categorized by size as determined by the tool's diameter and the type of stitch that you can do with them. For example, larger needles are perfect for making the large loop stitches you want for certain projects like a knit blanket , whereas you would want smaller needles for making baby accessories like socks and beanies. On straight needles, you can make flat pieces with a back-and-forth stitching movement.
Circular needles let you knit in a circular motion, ideal for projects like cowl scarves and hats. As you progress in projects, you will find that having one size of each needle is not necessarily sufficient in knitting. In knitting, the "V"-shaped stitches of your work hang off the needle and are transferred from one needle to the other, loop by loop. Starting and stopping your knit project in the middle of progress means that stitches could be left on both needles making it slightly unwieldy.
And keeping the knit stitches from falling off both needles in transit will require needle stoppers. It also means, you may be required to offload your work onto stitch holders while another piece gets knit on the same pair of needles. Knitting needles may come in sets of more than two. For example, double-pointed sock knitting needles often come in sets of four or five. Crocheters use a single crochet hook to create delicate items. A hook, which is a stick with a tiny hooked end, come in all sizes from small to large.
They're typically made of steel, aluminum, bamboo, plastic, wood, or bone. There are important structural differences between crocheted fabric and knitted fabric. With knitting, you'll need to keep several active yarn loops securely on the needles. Each stitch depends on the support of the stitch below it. If a knitter drops a stitch , the whole column of stitches below it might unravel. With traditional crochet, there's usually only one active yarn loop that needs attention.
With some advanced projects and niches of crochet , such as broomstick lace, multiple loops need attention. That one active loop is what holds your project together and keeps it from unraveling. The technique of knitting with needles allows for more drape of the finished fabric, which is why garments are usually knit. Crochet creates delicate, yet slightly stiffer fabric, which is ideal for blankets and table runners, for example. However, there's such a vast range of yarns today which makes it possible to create delicate knits and draped crochet projects.
You'll also run into projects that can be knit or crocheted, depending on your preference. Some techniques can fool the eye. For example, Tunisian crochet is an advanced technique that creates fabrics with the appearance of knitting. I believe they both bring memories of a less hectic time when there was more time to relax. They definitely bring back memories for me. Hi Barb, what a fun story of how you learned to knit when you were young. Sounds like a lovely family pastime.
Thanks for sharing! Great perspectives, Carly! I think I half prefer the finished looks of knitted items, too. So neat and tidy. Hi Everyone.
I have been crocheting for 48 years. I just started teaching a class at the small College where I live. We are crocheting blankets for homeless kitties. I made several little blankets each using different stitches that I just learned. Each blanket starts with 40 stitches.
I used a book published in I bought it new back then. My point is you can make small things washcloth, Cat Blanket and learn different stitches. Learning new crochet stiches afer 48 years has given me the courage to try knitting.
So now I am buying my needles and watching uTube shows on how to knit. It is a cross between crocheting and knitting. I love it. Where have I been for 48 years.
When I teach crocheting I always says the hardest thing to learn is how to hold the yarn, and your hook; how to read a pattern; and how to control your tension. Seems to me that crocheting and knitting use the hands and fingers opposite. Crocheting you hold the yarn in your left hand. While knitting you control the yarn with your right hand. Once I learn to knit I want to go back and do broomstick crocheting again.
I hope you all learn at least one thing that makes you as happy as crocheting has mad me. Crochet might use more yarn, but you only need 1 set of hooks! I should be totally biased as I am a natural knitter. I speak knitting as my first language and crochet as a foreign language.
Both are hard or easy depending on the project chosen. Knitting is better for sweaters and socks. Crochet offers a level of beauty in lace superior to knitting and has a tendency to be firmer, less flexible, stretchy than knitting.
I could go on and on. Bottom line is they are both great. But, I do think crochet is easier to learn, as juggling 2 needles and yarn and dropping stitches are not issues in crochet. Also crochet is easier to make very large projects as the tool is always the single hook whereas knitting needles have to be long enough to carry all of the stitches and can be difficult to handle. Which would you recommend for someone who is not very patient, never tried either before, and looking to make a scarf?
At 5 years old, my grandmother decided to teach me to knit. She said her mother always had a project going and spent the evenings knitting. No TVs then! She started me off with a pair of size 6 needles and some leftover red yarn. She cast on the stitches and taught me to knit only at first. When I finished the first square, I was dismayed that she pulled it all out and had me do it again!
My grandmother believed in a lot of practicing! I caught on quickly so she showed me how to perl. My sister and I played school a lot and I taught her to read and simple math that I learned at school. One day, she asked me to teach her to knit. I just taught her to do it the same way I did and it worked. My mother was shocked when she came home from work and my sister showed her the first loose and lop-sided square she made!
My mother asked how I taught her and I said I just taught her how I did it! So she worked with her too. Her knitting was always looser than mine and yarn crafts have never been her favorite things to do but she did learn. When I was about 11 years old, my grandmother gave us a book that taught how to make a lot of different patterns, along with a bag of her scrap yarn.
Some patterns I loved, some not so much. The plan was to make a blanket from all of those squares. While knitting all those squares, I learned to read patterns, to relax my grip on the needles and about different yarns!
Some of the yarns were just not suited to that type of knitting. I started sewing the squares together at some point but quickly found out that some were too big and some too small to be included. I have a suitcase full of squares that were for that project. I really think I would prefer to remake the squares, using one type of yarn that all those scraps!
I know it would be a nicer looking blanket! I did learn to crochet in my early twenties. My mother-in-law showed me how to make ripple pattern baby blankets. I bought a kit and learned how to make Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street for my son. I bought some beautiful yarn to make a larger blanket years ago but I still need to make it. I recently found the box with the yarn shoved to the back of a closet.
My fear is that I will be nearing the end and find out I need more yarn to finish it! My mother-in-law also made a gorgeous baby blanket that is crocheted with two yarn colors — green on one side and white on the other. I used it for my grandchildren when they came to visit! I think your assessments of the two crafts are very accurate, JJCrochet, and I agree that people should try both to see which one they prefer.
I never learned to love crocheting like I love knitting but I do appreciate the crocheted items I have. And my mother-in-law, who was inspired to take a class to learn to knit because of my knitting, said it was interesting but she preferred to crochet. I hope people will give each a fair trial to find out which they like! I learned to knit when I was very young. I love the straight edge aspect and the variation you can make with 2 stitches.
0コメント