There are many stories about how experienced knitters and crocheters got their start by learning from their grandmothers. In my case, I learned to crochet from a girl I knew in school. To any beginner that has ever taken an interest in yarn crafts, both crochet and knitting look challenging at first.
Which is easier, knitting or crochet? Learning to crochet is easier than knitting for beginners. Less coordination is needed to hold a crochet hook, tension is easier to control, one stitch is “live” on the hook and mistakes are easier to correct.
Of course, the answer to that question is really subjective. I learned to crochet first, and the thought of holding two needles at once intimidated me, so maybe I’m biased. But even after learning how easy knitting can be (and I love it now!), I still think crochet is easier for a beginner to learn. I tried to look at all factors that a beginner would consider so that you could make the decision yourself.
Knitting vs. Crochet Decision Tree – Which is Easiest
I tried to take into account all the factors that a beginner to yarn crafts should consider. For that criteria, I determined whether knitting or crochet is easier and why.
| Criteria | Which is Easier? | Why? |
| Tools | Crochet | One set of crochet hooks can last a lifetime. |
| Holding the tools | Crochet | Less coordination is necessary to hold a hook in one hand and yarn in the other. |
| Basic stitches | Knitting | There are only two stitches to know. |
| Tension | Crochet | The tension hand only has to worry about tension. |
| Patterns | Knitting | There tend to be more patterns out there. |
| Mistakes | Crochet | No backtracking, just unravel from the stitch on the hook and correct the mistake. |
| Cost | Neither | Irrelevant |
| Project Duration | Crochet | Stitches are bigger compared to knit and work up faster. |
Hands down, crochet is the winner according to my chart. I tried to go through this objectively. So my reasoning for each criteria is below.
Knitting vs. Crochet Tools
The same materials are necessary for both knitting and crochet. The only exception is the main tool. Knitting requires a set of needles which can be straight, circular, or double pointed. Crochet requires only a hook.
Knitting needles are not a one size fits most projects, unfortunately. The type of project will require a specific size, length and kind of knitting needle. They are not really interchangeable. You could have a combination of different sizes and lengths of straight, circular and double pointed needles. So when you are beginning, it is not uncommon to have to go buy a new set of knitting needles to complete a new project.
Crochet on the other hand, has a more versatile set of tools. One set of crochet hooks and you are good for life. Crochet hooks vary in the size hook, but you never have to worry about the length. The length of a crochet hook will always be the same. Unless you are doing tunisian crochet, but that is for a later post.
The same crochet hook can be used for multiple sized projects. It also doesn’t matter if you are making a circle or rectangle. The same crochet hook is used for both.
Holding the Tools
The way knitting needles are held and the way crochet hooks are held are completely different. Knitting requires both hands holding the tools, while crochet only uses one hand. But let’s dive deeper into what this looks like.
Holding Knitting Needles
Knitting needles come in pairs, and you hold one needle in each hand. Unless you are using DPNs, and those come in sets of five. But they are still worked using two at a time.
Stitches are worked back and forth on the two needles by passing loops of yarn from one needle to the next. The needles hold all of the stitches needed for the project at once. To create a stitch, one hand is used to yarn over on the working needle, then that needle pulls the yarn through a loop.
Take a look at the photos for a simple illustration of what knitting might look like.
It can feel awkward at first. When I started knitting, I had a hard time holding onto both needles while I tried to loop the yarn. They would fumble onto my lap as I tried to make a new stitch. I eventually got used to it, but it took a lot of practice.
Holding Crochet Hooks
Crochet hooks are held in the dominant hand and the working yarn in the other hand. The hook is pushed through a stitch and pulls up yarn on its way back through to create a new stitch. Only one stitch is worked at a time. And only one hand has movement.
It can be difficult to know where to put the crochet hook to make a new stitch at first. But once you get the hang of it, you can breeze through the pattern. Take a look at the photos below to get an idea of how crochet hooks are used.
Basic Stitches for Crochet and Knitting
There are only two basic stitches for knitting, the purl and the knit stitch. Neither is difficult to learn. Most patterns will use a variation of the two basic stitches to create different looking fabrics.
Crochet has five basic stitches: slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, and triple crochet. These stitches are not difficult to learn either, but they take some getting used to. As with knitting, putting together different stitches will create a different look of fabric. You just have to know the fundamental stitches to do so.
Tension in Crochet and Knitting
Tension is a measure of how tight or loose your stitches are, which is related to the way you hold the yarn. Both knitting and crochet will require practice to control the tension.
Keeping the same tension throughout the project is difficult when knitting because the hand yarning over must multitask since both hands are occupied with needles. Also, stitches need to be moved up the needles toward the tip, and tension can slack if you’re not careful.
The hand holding the working yarn in crochet only has one task. Yarn over the hook. It is easier to hold a good tension in crochet for this reason.
Crochet vs. Knitting Patterns
For beginners, any pattern, whether it is knit or crochet, will be hard to understand. The jargon takes some getting used to. When you become more familiar with the terms, pattern reading will become easier.
Knitting patterns and crochet patterns generally look similar. Some of the abbreviations are actually the same. When you start out, patterns for knitting or crochet will look foreign to you. Just continue to learn about the craft and pattern reading will become easier.
There do tend to be more knitting patterns than crochet though. Although, that can depend on the type of pattern. If you want more of an extensive library to choose from, knitting might be for you.
Are Mistakes Easier to Correct for Knitting or Crochet?
Mistakes are bound to happen, no matter how experienced you are. Correcting those mistakes looks differently depending on if you are knitting or crocheting.
Knitting Mistakes
To correct a mistake in knitting, you have to move stitches back onto your second needle until you reach the problem area. You then correct the error, and go on knitting again.
Errors in knitting are so troublesome because all your stitches are held on the two needles. You must backtrack, possibly a hundred stitches, before moving forward again.
Or if you drop a stitch, it is possible to keep knitting until you reach that point and pick the stitch up and keep going. Knitting already takes a lot of time, but adding in mistakes makes it even longer. Here is a video that shows how to correct the mistake of dropping a stitch.
I was terrified in the beginning of going back a few stitches for fear I would mess up the project more. As a result, I would rip out the entire project and start over. Knitting unravels so easily once stitches are removed from the needles, and I did not know the correct way to backtrack.
Crochet Mistakes
With crochet, there is only one stitch on the hook at a time. This means that if there is a mistake, you only have one stitch to worry about. To correct a mistake in crochet, you pull the stitch on your hook and unravel the stitches or rows until you reach the mistake. Then you correct it and keep crocheting as normal.
Crochet mistakes can take time to correct if you don’t notice the issue until several rows later. This is because you must rip out stitches up to the problem area. However, I still think crochet mistakes are easier to correct when compared to knitting.
Cost of Knitting vs. Crochet
When you compare the cost of starting up knitting or crochet, the only difference is the price of the tools. Knitting needles generally are higher priced compared to crochet hooks.
And when you look at the long term, there are many sizes and lengths of knitting needles, as I discussed previously. While there are only different sized crochet hooks. For this reason, a bigger investment would be made on knitting needles if you wanted to complete a range of projects.
The same yarns can be used for crochet and knitting. But I have come across claims that crochet takes up more yarn to complete projects. I have not tested this out myself, so I can’t say for certain whether or not the claim is true. If it is true, more yarn would be needed for crochet, driving up the cost slightly.
When it comes to cost though, I don’t think this should matter. If you are interested in knitting, you shouldn’t crochet because you could save a few dollars.
Crochet and Knitting Project Duration
Patience is such a big part of yarn crafts. It takes time to make stitches one by one to complete sweaters or hats by hand.
Knitting stitches are generally smaller than crochet stitches. So they take longer. Knitting is also known for more intricate designs. The payoff is great, but that also means the project takes a long time.
Of course, the type of project will determine the length of time it will take to complete. But, if you were to compare knitting or crocheting a sweater, a crochet sweater would take less time. Crochet stitches are bigger and thicker than knit, so less time would be taken to complete the project.
Conclusion
For a beginner that has an equal interest in crochet and knitting, I suggest starting with crochet. Projects are fairly simple, and they introduce you into the world of yarn crafts. You can become confident in making items with your hands, a hook and a good yarn. If your interest blossoms, you can always pick up knitting later.