Knitting vs. Crocheting: Which is Best for Beginners?
Are you looking to take up a new craft? Knitting and crocheting can both be relaxing, and both offer the satisfaction of making something useful with your hands. But which yarn art is for you? Both pastimes have a lot to offer, but newcomers to yarn arts may find crocheting to be a bit more forgiving.
Tools
The tools for each craft are entirely different. Knitting needles use a numbered system that indicates the diameter of the needle. Larger stitches require thicker needles. Fine, tight stitches need a thin needle. Knitting needles come to a point, like the name suggests. However, it is possible to find circular, double-pointed, and cable needles, which are all used for different projects.
Crochet tools are much more straightforward and easy to spot due to the distinctive hook at the end. Like knitting needles, crochet hooks also come in different sizes but use letters rather than numbers. Beginners usually start with hook sizes H, I, or J, because smaller hooks can be tedious to work with. Like knitting, the larger the needle, the looser the stitch. Those who crochet also need a large eye needle, known as a darning needle, to sew in ends.
The one nice thing about each is that the tools of the trade are relatively affordable, which makes them both easier to get into.
Ease for Beginners
So which craft is easiest to get into? It’s an important question, but a very subjective one. While there’s no definitive answer, it’s worth noting that crocheting can be more forgiving on beginners in one important way. Newcomers to any hobby are bound to make plenty of mistakes, and it’s easier to come back from those mistakes in crocheting. You can unravel your work in both crafts to correct mistakes. But in knitting, the process of unraveling is complex enough that you can actually make more mistakes trying to undo the first one. In crocheting, you can just move the needle back to where the mistake occurred and pull the yarn to undo it.
Speed
On average, crocheting can be much quicker than knitting. Again, this can be subjective since every knitter or crocheter works and different. A crochet beginner probably can’t keep up with an experienced knitter. But generally, knitting is more complex from the outset, giving crocheters an easier time and quicker satisfaction when they’re just getting started.
Yarn
Some yarn artists will claim that crocheting uses more yarn than knitting, and it’s been tested time and time again. While one person may find that crocheting doesn’t use more fabric, another may conclude that it uses 20% more yarn. For a beginner, it’s important to keep in mind that you may need more yarn than you think for a crochet pattern when compared to a knitting pattern. In the long run, this isn’t an enormous problem. As we mentioned above, yarn isn’t the most expensive supply in the world.
The two crafts give you different textures on the finished product. Knitted fabric is often soft, stretchy, and light. It’s great for draped garments or items worn close to the body like sweaters, gloves, and socks. Crocheted fabric is often strong and thick – giving you denser, warmer garments.
