I learned to knit long before I learned how to crochet, so if you ask me the question is it easier to knit or crochet I will probably say knitting is easier.
But maybe it’s not for everyone.
I was introduced to both knitting and crochet at a pretty young age, and I took to knitting but couldn’t figure out how to crochet until many years later, after I had learned how to knit continental style (with the yarn in the left hand). Once I figured out how to manipulate yarn with my left hand, crochet came easier to me.
So the first thing to consider may be if you are strongly right-hand dominant, you might find it easier to knit in the English style (where the yarn is held in the right hand).
If you are left handed, learning to knit continental is probably going to be easier for you.
I am right handed and my daughter is left handed, and I taught her continental style and she picked it up easily. I have been trying to teach myself how to crochet left handed so I can teach her how to crochet as well, but it’s been a challenge for me.
So how do you decide is it easier to knit or crochet?
First it’s important to know the difference between knitting and crochet, which I would hope anyone visiting this site would know. But just to review, knitting is performed with two needles and crochet is done with one hook. Both use yarn the make a fabric. Most commonly knitting is a little more solid (though of course lace knitting is an exception to that) and crochet is more open. Knitting can be done with machines and is the fabric that makes T-shirts as well as purchased sweaters. Crochet cannot be made by machine, so when you buy crocheted products in a store, someone actually had to make them by hand.
Of course as a person who loves yarn craft I’d tell you to try both knitting and crochet and see if you find it easier to knit or crochet. Knowing that there will be a learning curve involved with both and neither of them might feel very easy to start with!
Often despite that initial difficulty you will take to one or the other craft a little more easily. That’s how it was for me with knitting but you might find that crochet is easier for you.
To test both knitting and crochet, buy a ball of medium weight yarn, a pair of size 8 US/5mm knitting needles and a size 6/H/5mm crochet hook. (Why isn’t 5mm always the same number? The 8 in knitting needles is a US size, while the 6 in crochet hooks is a UK size. An 8 US is also a 6 UK in knitting needles. The letters are used in the US for crochet hooks. The world is a confusing place.)
For your first knitting project, cast on 15 stitches and knit every stitch of every row. For crochet, chain 16 (which will make 15 stitches, since you skip the first chain when you work) and work single crochet in every stitch of every row.
You’ll also want to consider not just is it easier to knit or crochet for you but which one you like more. Once you’ve worked a few inches you can bind off your knitting and finish off your crochet. Look at and feel each project. Which one do you like better? What did you enjoy more even if it wasn’t necessarily easier? That’s the craft you want to keep trying.
I find it impossible to believe in all these years I haven’t done a roundup of Garter Stitch knitting patterns, but if you decide to stick with knitting this Garter Stitch Washcloth is a fun and useful first project!
What do you think: is it easier to knit or crochet? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I usually have a project in knitting which I can do at home watching tv and a crochet project to take along when travelling. Crochet can be left at any stitch half way the row and you cannot drop any stitches. I like Tunisian crochet too.
Additionally, if you started out with crochet (even if you’re right-handed), then learning to knit continental makes more sense.
From a practical standpoint, I think crochet is much easier because all you have to keep track of is the one hook and your yarn; whereas, with knitting, you’ve got the two needles, which are super awkward at first.
Even though crochet may be easier to execute, I find it harder to keep my stitches uniform. It seems to be easier with knitting for me.
Have your daughter face you and mirror you to crochet. I accidentally learned to crochet left handed (I am right handed but fairly ambidextrous) by facing my grandmother. No one realized it until she picked up something to help me with and discovered I was going the opposite direction.
I have been doing both since childhood, and like both, but for different kinds of projects. Crochet for potholders and small items, and for blankets. Knitting for garments. My daughter is also left-handed, and I taught myself left-handed crochet to teach her. But she’s now deep into photography, not needlecrafts.
I offered to do that but she doesn’t think it would work! LOL.
I love to do both crafts, but I’m definitely better at knitting than crochet. I learned to crochet when I was in elementary school, my Mamo was constantly telling me I pulled too tight, so I’d be better off knitting! I most often use a crochet finish for my knitting edges. In crochet, I love that you pull the hook out and you pick up where you left off. But, I still struggle at the end of the row (which is the last stitch) to make sure the edges are even. I usually end up counting all my stitches on every row. I feel like my tension is better, consistent in knitting. I feel like I have to “work harder” to crochet, but that doesn’t stop me from loving the process.