Let’s face it – the final product is usually made of wool, and if you haven’t experienced any of these two centuries-old crafts, you might miss the difference. Both home crochet and knitting create a piece of fabric from interlocking yarn or loops of yarn. But the difference is in the details and I will try to explain some of the differences to you.
Crochet at home is done with single crochet. That’s all that’s needed when crocheting. Yarn or cotton threads work in this age-old art and you can use a yarn or two, but the main thing is that crochet is done with just one hook.
Knitting is always done with at least two needles. If someone is knitting socks or other tubular objects, they may require another set of double-pointed needles. While crochet hooks only come in one piece, it can sometimes be knitted with a single piece of round needle with needles attached to both ends.
Crochet patterns tell the crocheter to always chain too many stitches, while knitting patterns tell the knitter to cast too many stitches. This is where the fundamental differences begin.
In crochet, when the home crocheter is told to throw so many stitches, it creates a foundation to work in, while when the knitter is told to throw so many stitches, it’s the first row of your project. By the way, I should point out that sometimes you’re told to throw so many loops instead of turning them in certain directions. They both mean the same thing in the knitting world.
When someone crochets, they only have one active stitch (on the hook) at any given time. You are knitting stitch by stitch. But when you knit, you have an entire row of loops active at the same time (you transfer them from one needle to the next as you make each loop in a new row).
If you drop a loop while knitting, the dropped loop will cause a run or gap in your fabric and will ruin your work. However, it is impossible to throw loops while crocheting. You can skip a stitch, but that will catch up with you later on down the road. Sometimes you can find a way to bring back that lost stitch and no one would be smarter for it. Sometimes in crochet, it is possible to sew with needle and thread so that no one can see the skipped stitch; however, be careful that your pattern will work ahead because 9/10 times it won’t work in about 2 or 3 rows and you’ll end up tearing up to the skipped stitch.
Finishing a crochet project is a matter of cutting the yarn, pulling it through the loop on your hook, and knotting the end securely. In knitting, you should cut or discard all the loops on the needle one by one, and after the last one is complete, you should thread the thread through the loop on your crochet and knot it securely.
When projects are complete, if you wear a knit sweater, a single fitted stitch will often pull and pucker the fabric, or the sweater can cause a run. If you grab a crochet sweater, only one jagged stitch will be affected – if it breaks, the rest of the sweater will usually hold together long enough to give you time to fix it.
Knit fabric typically has more yield than crochet fabric, but crochet fabric can have more volume.
One of the last and biggest differences between home crochet and knitting is that knitting can be done by machine but not crocheted. Crochet is a unique craft that can only be done by hand.
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