Untangling the choice: Knitting vs crocheting

If you are trying to learn a new craft this season, knitting and crocheting are worth trying to create some dreamy and inspiring projects. Both knitting and crocheting require a needle or hook but the techniques and results are quite different. Both crafts require hand-eye coordination, patience, and an eye for different designs and colors. Here we help you understand the difference between them.

Both crafts of knitting and crocheting are used to create a variety of items like clothes, mats, and bags. While knitting is usually used to create delicate items like soft gloves, socks, and sweaters, crochet is used to create relatively bulky textured fabrics with small holes like hats, doilies, baskets, and toys. Knitting and crocheting use different types of yarns to create different projects.

You usually use knitting looms and knitting machines to mass-produce items like garments. Hand-knit techniques usually require a pair of pointy knitting needles made of plastic, wood, or metal. Two needles are also connected by a cord sometimes called a circular knitting needle. Crocheting, on the other hand, needs a single crochet hook made of steel, wood, bamboo, plastic, or aluminum.

Crochet stitches include knots which makes them solid while knitting stitches are more like interlocking loops where each stitch can stretch a bit. You will need to keep multiple yarn loops securely on the needles to create a knitted fabric. One active yarn loop is to be taken care of in traditional crocheting as you complete each stitch one at a time.

It is important to keep a few factors in mind before choosing the yarn. If you are creating a small or detailed project through crocheting, use lace yarn or two-ply cotton yarn that goes well with a fine crochet hook. Crochet is ideal for creating lace projects. Knitters usually use wool or four-ply cotton yarn to produce open lace work on big needles.

Crocheting and knitting, both vital yarn techniques, are distinguished by their unique styles. Crocheting involves using a single hook to directly interlock loops on the item, whereas knitting employs long needles to form loops and transfer them between needles. If you are a beginner, start with the versatile and convenient technique of crochet before attempting knitting to expand your skills.