Do you knit and crochet?

[Mommy22alyns]

If you do both, which did you learn first?  Do you think one is harder than the other?  Which do you do more and why?

 

My mom could crochet, but not knit.  I never caught on to her crochet instructions.  I ended up taking a knitting class when the girls were little, and then I somehow self-taught crochet.  Right now, I crochet more because I keep finding cute blanket patterns and it just goes so much faster.  To knit a whole blanket seems to take forever!

[Slartibartfast]

I kinda learned to crochet as a kid, I could really only make big long chains. I didn't pick up yarn crafts again until I was in my twenties, as an adult I found knitting confusing but then I realized continental style is easier than the regular way if you learned to crochet first. 

 

After I had been knitting for awhile I learned to crochet for real from youtube.

 

I do crochet more than knit but I mostly make goofy nerdy things for people. Some people might be making some beautiful work of art while I am making a Totoro plushie, a viking hat or a nyan cat scarf. :lol:

 

I also make granny squares in between projects for an afghan but most of the things I churn out are silly. I have knit some lace scarves and many other things but like you said, crochet is faster.

[happypamama]

I taught myself to crochet first and then taught myself to knit many years later. I would have to look up the crochet instructions again, but knitting is easy. I prefer knitting, partly because it's easier on my hands. Crocheting makes hands hurt, but knitting doesn't.

[Guest]

I taught myself to crochet first, then knit. Single stitch crochet is a bit easier than knitting to learn, because of the lack of casting on. But knitting is simpler in then one run to keep track of, and they're good for different things.

 

If I need texture I crochet. If I need lightweight structure I knit. They're both good, both different, and as someone who teaches both I can honestly day neither is easier - they're different, and different people find one is more natural to them than the other.

[Slartibartfast]

Long-tail-cast-on for knitting is ssssssoooooooo easy though!

 

There are many ways to cast on in knitting and IMO crochet is much more time consuming to set a proper foundation. That second row after the chain in crochet drives me crazy. 

 

 

[Calm37]

I can do both, but crocheting is easier for me. I haven't done it in several years, but I could pick up a pattern right now and have no problems with it.

 

Knitting, for me,  has more of a learning curve. I tend to make mistakes and just have never gotten the hang of correcting a knitting mistake easily. Crochet is easy to correct as you only ever have one loop to deal with! 

 

Most wearables, I find, need to be knit.

[forty-two]

I knit and crochet.  I learned to crochet first, and I found it easier than learning to knit - crochet was very intuitive from the beginning for me, but it took longer for knitting to click.  (I learned them both a few years ago, from videos online, followed up with books.)  Now they both make sense and I enjoy them both, although crocheting is faster for me, and so I tend to pick crochet when there's a time limit.

[TrixieB]

I can knit and crochet.  I learned to knit when I was about 8 years old, and I learned to crochet when I was about 40 years old. 

 

Which one do I do more... hmmm... well, I knit wearable items and I crochet decorative items.  So it depends what project I'm in the mood to make.

 

They both seem equally easy to me.

[KungFuPanda]

I just learned to knit in September.  I can make scarves, hats, and socks.  Crochet and continental knitting seem a bit beyond me because I just can't figure out how to control tension in my left hand.  I'd love to learn both because they are so much faster, but my left hand just isn't cooperating with any of the convoluted holds I've tried.  Maybe I'll pick that up next year when co-op starts back up.

[PrairieSong]

A friend taught me to knit about ten years ago. Then a year later I taught myself to crochet. I don't think either one is hard, but I like the look of knitting better. If I am wanting to make something large like a blanket, I will crochet it because it's much faster. I like to knit hats and scarves.

[stephanier.1765]

I learned to crochet first. I just recently learned to knit and I've found it way harder than crocheting. Never once did I end up with a hole in any project I crocheted.  :scared:  Knitting will be the end of me. You'll find me dead wrapped in a skein of yarn with a needle though my heart.

[Cinder]

I can do both. I learned the very basics of both as a kid--crochet first then knitting. I played around a bit with crochet as a kid but never made anything. When I was around 18yo (in college) I tried to pick knitting back up again because I found a blanket pattern in a magazine. My roommate knew how to knit--though she never did any knitting in the 4 years we roomed--and helped me a little. Never finished that blanket. After graduation I tried again--a tank top. But that didn't work out. Didn't pick any of it up again until about 40yo when a friend learned to crochet. I picked up crochet again and made a couple scarves. Then at the craft store I found a ball of sock yarn and was determined to knit socks. I played with both crafts for about 4-5 years before I finished that first pair of socks and that was when I was finally hooked.

 

I learned to knit English or throwing style but awhile back decided to try switching to continental because at the time I had only aluminum needles and holding the needles while throwing the yarn made my hands cramp.

 

I do more knitting because I like knitted socks and I also find it easier to "read" knitting vs. crochet.

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm not even sure if I knit Continental or not.  It's like some kind of weird hybrid?  It doesn't fit either style of video.

 

Yes, I hate crocheting into foundation chains!  But that long tail cast on... when you run out of yarn... :cursing:

[73349]

I crochet. I tried to learn to knit, but it didn't take.

[Desert Strawberry]

I taught myself to crochet first, and then knit later. 

I like the finished look and mindlessness of knitting. But I like the speed and fancy stitches of crochet. I cannot knit lace at all. 

 

[Cinder]

I like the finished look and mindlessness of knitting.

 

Me too. And I can knit without looking at every stitch whereas with crochet I have to look at every stitch so it's not good for me to do while trying to watch tv.

[Elfknitter.#]

I tried to learn from my mom how to crochet as a kid. I didn't quite get it. Fast forward to college and somewhere between trying to teach myself and getting her help I figured it out. After I felt comfortable doing that for awhile, I taught myself how to knit.

 

Crochet is easier and faster but I prefer the finish look of knitting.

[Guest]

I've crocheted for years and my mom (who taught me to crochet) tried to teach me to knit and I kinda got it...but it didn't really stick until this last winter when my chicken molted over half her feathers during a bad snow and the only sweater pattern I could find was knitted! I guess I needed some life-or-death external motivation to learn to knit :)

 

My current project is going through my book of stitches and making squares out of each one then I'm going to put them together in a patchwork blanket. I figured that's a good way to get practice in without getting involved in a super big project.

[gardenmom5]

I crochet.  I've tried knitting a couple times - and maybe if I gave it more time, I'd get it down.

[GailV]

I think I learned to crochet first, but it was decades ago, so who knows.  Probably crochet, since I tend to "pick" rather than "throw" the yarn when I knit, which is more of a crochet-like motion.  I'm self taught in both.

 

They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  I like certain things about each.  

 

In Waldorf schools they teach knitting first because it takes less will -- you just knit the next loop on the needle, whereas in crochet you have to decide where to stick the hook to make the next stitch.

 

 

[PrairieSong]

I learned to crochet first. I just recently learned to knit and I've found it way harder than crocheting. Never once did I end up with a hole in any project I crocheted. :scared: Knitting will be the end of me. You'll find me dead wrapped in a skein of yarn with a needle though my heart.

Those holes are fixable. When my friend was teaching me, I made a bunch of different mistakes, which she said was a good thing because then I learned how to fix them. I can fix most holes in my knitting with a crochet hook.

[PrairieSong]

I crochet. I've tried knitting a couple times - and maybe if I gave it more time, I'd get it down.

You would! I didn't think I'd get the hang of either one, but after a lot of practice I did. In the beginning I knitted way too tightly, and crocheted too loosely. My stuff looked very wonky. Not anymore.

[Rosie_0801]

There are many ways to cast on in knitting and IMO crochet is much more time consuming to set a proper foundation. That second row after the chain in crochet drives me crazy. 

 

I can knit, though not well enough to make garments yet. I started teaching myself to crochet last week. The bolded is why I haven't learned faster!

[Closeacademy]

I knit complicated lace and cables from charts while reading subtitles and watching shows in a language I don't understand but I can't crochet.  The tension is always off when I crochet. 

[Ewe Mama]

I learned to knit when I was in seventh grade. I never felt the love.

 

I learned to crochet after college and enjoy it immensely.

 

Joy wanted to learn to knit, so I encouraged her and even picked up some needles myself. I still vastly prefer crocheting.

[mohsmom23]

I can do both.  I first learned to crochet when I was in my teens.  Then I taught myself how to knit when I was pregnant with my first child.  I used to knit A LOT, but it started bothering my hands so I had to really limit my time knitting.  Crocheting doesn't bother them as much.  

 

I'm not sure what I would say is easier.  I find it easier to knit more difficult patterns because it's easier for me to keep track of stitches and where I am at in a pattern, etc.  However, fixing a mistake or dropping a stitch in knitting can be a pain in the rear.  It's easier to just rip back to the mistake in crochet and keep on going.   

 

Generally, I tend to crochet blankets and dishcloths and knit everything else.  Right now, I am in the middle of crocheting a queen sized afghan.  If I tried to knit that size of afghan, I am quite certain I would never finish it!  Things I knit include hats, socks, gloves, sweaters, and scarves.  I tend to prefer the look of knit for things that are to be worn. 

 

 

[Kinspired]

I learned to crochet as a kid, then taught myself to knit a few years ago.

 

I tend to crochet for the spring and summer (toddler dresses, tops, etc), and then knit for winter accessories and sweaters.

[LostSurprise]

My mother has taught me crochet and knitting at different ages and different aspects have been clear to me at different times. 

 

When I first learned at 5 or 6, single chain crochet made sense to me. I think I could even do a double. I made a ton of "headbands" and the neighborhood kids made my mom teach them too. Within a few weeks I forgot how to crotchet. 

 

I tried a few times over the years and neither took. 

 

When I was fresh out of college she showed me how to knit and I knit on a "scarf" on and off for 6 months. I forgot how by Christmas and threw out the 4" scarf. 

 

Every 5 years or so as an adult I had her show me one or the other. None of them stuck more than a day or two. I have a hard time visualizing the actions and following through. The year before last my mother gave me my great grandmother's tapestry knitting bag and needles. She decided she preferred quilting. 

 

Last Halloween, ds4 was sick and needed a lot of watching over so I spent a week just watching knitting videos and practicing. I now knit daily. I don't remember how to crochet but it makes logical sense to me as a knitter. I just prefer the look and feel of knitting right now. 

[Jayne J]

I do both, but tend to spend more time knitting. I learned to crochet during college, and I prefer it for afghans/baby blankets and lace edgings or doilies. I taught myself to knit when I was pregnant with DS. I wanted to make baby things, but found crochet too bulky. I much prefer knitting for just about any kind of garment and most accessory type things (gloves, shawls, mitts). As for difficulty, I found knitting a little more difficult initially--trying to manipulate two pointy sticks was hard! And fixing a mistake was much more confusing and difficult with knitting. But it was absolutely worth the invested time--knitting is so much more versatile in my opinion. It is kind of a passion now...😄

[happypamama]

For those of you who find that knitting hurts, you might try bamboo or birch needles. All I ever use are my KnitPicks.

 

I learned to knit from the videos at knittinghelp.com, I think. I would start the video, watch a step, pause it, and make my yarn look like hers, then start the video and repeat. I spent about two days sitting a tummy computer going, "Huh?!?," and the suddenly it just clicked, and I've been hooked ever since.

 

(Of course, I still only know about three ways to cast on, none of which is long tail. I either use a knitted cast on or a figure eight cast on most of the time.)

[Mothersweets]

I'm a knitter. My dds have taught me to crochet but I always forget what to do once I set the hook down.

 

I never thought I would knit a blanket but last summer I knit a large baby blanket -just garter stitch- and loved it.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I love knitting but I have never mastered crochet.  I'd like to, I have a hat pattern I've longed to make.

[ashfern]

I taught myself to crochet from a book and then years later refined my technique with youtube videos. I eventually taught myself to knit also using youtube videos. I prefer crochet because I can just set it down in the middle of a row and not get confused when I pick it back up again. I taught myself to knit because I prefer the look of knit for certain things specifically hats. I also think that knitting in the round is so much more confusing than crocheting.

[catz]

I learned to knit as a kid from my grandmother at 11. She taught me the basics and I taught myself from there. When that grandmother died I got all her crafting stuff including a pile of crochet stuff. I took a basics crochet class and taught myself everything else from there. I regularly to back and forth and can pretty much make anything now. I love it! I love the look of both but for different things.

[Lady Florida.]

If you do both, which did you learn first?  Do you think one is harder than the other?  Which do you do more and why?

 

My mom could crochet, but not knit.  I never caught on to her crochet instructions.  I ended up taking a knitting class when the girls were little, and then I somehow self-taught crochet.  Right now, I crochet more because I keep finding cute blanket patterns and it just goes so much faster.  To knit a whole blanket seems to take forever!

 

I learned to crochet first because I had an aunt who knew how and taught me. She had to work with me to figure it out because I'm left-handed and she's not. There were no women in my life who knew how to knit. Years later I finally taught myself to knit.

 

For me crochet is easier because I'm left-handed and it's easier to follow a pattern in crochet while doing the work as a lefty. There are those who say I should learn to knit continental, but I've tried and I"m too left-handed. Continental style is still working with your right hand. I need to work with my left, not just hold the yarn in that hand. There are some stitches I haven't been able to teach myself - kitchener and cables especially. I want to learn kitchener so I can make socks. Crocheted socks just aren't the same.

 

I like crocheting blankets because they come together much faster than knitting. They use more yarn, but I can get several made in the time it takes me to knit one blanket.

[LostSurprise]

My mother is a lefty. She showed me standard English 'throwing' with the right hand, but when she knits herself she uses kind of an inverted English in the left hand (which is known as continental when held in that hand but she pitches or levers more like English more than picking which is what most continental users do). I don't know how to describe it, but she works with the left hand and forefinger and steadies with the right. She told me lefties often have to figure their own way to do things. 

[Slartibartfast]

I'm not even sure if I knit Continental or not.  It's like some kind of weird hybrid?  It doesn't fit either style of video.

 

Yes, I hate crocheting into foundation chains!  But that long tail cast on... when you run out of yarn... :cursing:

 

 

Sometimes I leave too much tail and then knit with it. :lol: That makes me so mad!

[Cinder]

I also think that knitting in the round is so much more confusing than crocheting.

 

Funny--my experience is opposite. :laugh:

[DawnM]

Am I weird?  I have no desire to do either.

 

I have done both at various times, even knit a sweater once.  

 

Don't enjoy it.

[Amy in NH]

I taught myself to knit first.  My first project started off knitting in the round.  I've done a bunch of cool projects including seamless sweaters and mittens, blankets and scarves with pretty lacy patterns, baby bonnets and booties, and felted bags.  I'd like to work on some sock patterns.  Continental knitting is much faster and more enjoyable.  I don't love perling.

 

I wanted to make something that only had crochet instructions, so I taught myself crochet.  Some aspects of crochet are quite confusing.  I recently had a 5 minute consultation with a woman in the local yarn shop to get my project going again.  I had given it up a couple of years ago when it was coming out all wrong.  I ripped it all out a couple of weeks ago and started over.  It is coming out much better this time.

[HollyDay]

If you do both, which did you learn first?  Do you think one is harder than the other?  Which do you do more and why?

 

My mom could crochet, but not knit.  I never caught on to her crochet instructions.  I ended up taking a knitting class when the girls were little, and then I somehow self-taught crochet.  Right now, I crochet more because I keep finding cute blanket patterns and it just goes so much faster.  To knit a whole blanket seems to take forever!

 

I can do both.  I'm self taugtht with both. But, my knitting skills are not anywhere near as good as my crochet skills.  I can do most anything I want crochet, but knitting, I'm really limited.  I would love to take a knitting class.

[Slartibartfast]

Am I weird?  I have no desire to do either.

 

I have done both at various times, even knit a sweater once.  

 

Don't enjoy it.

 

I do it to keep my hands busy while doing something else.  I do yarn work in the car, while watching TV, while homeschooling sometimes, listening to books on tape, listening to radio programs or podcasts I enjoy

 

I can't just sit very well. I need to be doing something with my hands.

 

I also enjoy embroidery but like my yarn work my embroidery is also a bit nerdy. I embroidered a picture of the Lonely Mountain with Smaug :lol: I have never embroidered a single flower. 

[mellifera33]

I knit and crochet. I learned crochet first, so it is easier for me. I knit continental, and thought I hated knitting in the round until I started using double points. Down with circular needles! :)

[Slartibartfast]

I knit and crochet. I learned crochet first, so it is easier for me. I knit continental, and thought I hated knitting in the round until I started using double points. Down with circular needles! :)

 

I hate double points but I love my addi turbos.

 

I always end up a mess with double points. I only really use them for icords or the beginnings of a hat.

[Lady Florida.]

My mother is a lefty. She showed me standard English 'throwing' with the right hand, but when she knits herself she uses kind of an inverted English in the left hand (which is known as continental when held in that hand but she pitches or levers more like English more than picking which is what most continental users do). I don't know how to describe it, but she works with the left hand and forefinger and steadies with the right. She told me lefties often have to figure their own way to do things. 

 

It's true we do. I actually just knit opposite from a right handed knitter, working the left needle and holding the stitches on the right needle. When I was teaching myself all I could find was that I shouldn't even try to knit truly left handed but learn continental instead. Now there are books, websites, and videos for us lefties. I imagine when your mother learned she had few options and had to just do what worked for her. As long as it gets results, right? :)

 

I do it to keep my hands busy while doing something else.  I do yarn work in the car, while watching TV, while homeschooling sometimes, listening to books on tape, listening to radio programs or podcasts I enjoy

 

I can't just sit very well. I need to be doing something with my hands.

 

I also enjoy embroidery but like my yarn work my embroidery is also a bit nerdy. I embroidered a picture of the Lonely Mountain with Smaug :lol: I have never embroidered a single flower. 

 

Yes! That's why I do it. I mean, I live in Florida. There aren't all that many knitted or crocheted items we actually need. I can't stand to just sit and watch tv, so I do needle work to keep my hands busy. I made a few shawls for "winter coats" and toddler blankets for our grandsons, but I'm running out of things to make. I'm going to have to start making some nerdy things myself, and will probably start with a Tardis. They look easy enough to make. 

[rocassie]

I do both.  I was taught both about the same time.  10ish?  However, I never really got the hang of knitting and it took me soooooo long.  I wanted to be very proficient so about 5yrs ago I started watching YouTube videos and other knitting help videos.  Learning the continental method made all the difference because I was holding my yarn just like I did for crochet.  Now I can do either and my speed has grown in leaps and bounds.  Usually I have one project of both going at the same time.  I find crochet and I pick up and put down easily so it's great when I'm the only one supervising the kids.  Knitting I reserve for after they go to bed or on long car drives when DH drives.

[Mommy22alyns]

:scared:  I hated working with DPNs and couldn't manage socks until I discovered Magic Loop.  So funny!  Knit Picks interchangeable needles are my favorite - I like the aluminum ones best, but I have a few Harmony and Caspian tips because they're pretty.  For crocheting, I just like the cheapy Boyes.

[Murphy101]

I do both. Started with crochet as a kid and only the last couple years took up knitting. Now I almost exclusively knit. I still love crochet too though.

[Slartibartfast]

I use the crochet hooks with lights in them. :lol:

 

I don't use certain brands of metal knitting needles because they make a scraping noise. I can't handle the scraping.

[kristi26]

A friend taught me how to crochet (just the very basic single crochet stitch) about 12 years ago. I then taught myself how to do a ton of other things with crochet after that. I got quite good at it and then wanted to learn to knit. I looked for a friend to teach me, but ended up teaching myself with videos online. I think they each have their advantages, one isn't really harder than the other...though I guess it's easier to "see" the next stitch when knitting since it's on your needles...I prefer to crochet because, as you've said, it's just so much faster for me. I like the look of knit items better though.