# I can't knit. Could I crochet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458 "2005-11-10T19:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/41 "2005-11-12T21:18:45Z")
> [@PerditaX](#): > > I think part of the problem is my left-handedness. One of the tricks I’ve read for a left-handed knitter or crocheter to learn is to sit opposite someone who’s right-handed. Then it’s easier to translate the movements. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/42 "2005-11-12T22:25:17Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > **Shirley Ujest** , you are an evil, evil person for posting those links. You do realize that I’m going to have to spend a gazillion hours at each site, don’t you? My work is done here. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/43 "2005-11-12T22:28:38Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Um, that was McDonald’s. 😃 :smack: 😃 (Insert the DUH smilie with drool coming out of its mouth.) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/44 "2005-11-13T01:32:13Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > So. I picked up a kid’s crocheting kit. “For beginners!” It proclaimed in a pink font. “Learn quickly and easily! Ages 8 and up!” > > 8 and up. I have…lessee…18 years up on that. So it should be a cinch for me! > > Yeah. Took me about an hour just to get a hang of the chain stich. I’m still fumbling with the single crochet. Forget about double yet. > > “Don’t forget, the first row of crochet is the hardest!” Says the book in the kit. If you could hear the text I’m sure it would be laughing. > > This is going to _hurt_. But I’m going to keep trying till I finally make the shitty purple hat on the box. You sound like you’re doing fine for your first hour of practice! I taught myself off the internet – check out some informational sites like [stitchguide.com](http://stitchguide.com) or [crochetcabana.com](http://crochetcabana.com) for instructions – maybe the different pictures will help you figure it out better. I kept checking different sites till I found one that clicked. It took a couple days but once I mastered the single crochet the others were easier – they are all variations on the same concept. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Jimmy\_Joyce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@Jolly\_Jimmy\_Joyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Jimmy_Joyce)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/45 "2005-11-13T01:51:35Z")
I’m a lefty- try Continental style Knitting, as you control your wool with your left hand. Easier, apparently, to learn how to purl that way. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/46 "2005-11-13T01:56:14Z")
> [@Jolly Jimmy Joyce](#): > > I’m a lefty- try Continental style Knitting, as you control your wool with your left hand. Easier, apparently, to learn how to purl that way. Continental–or “pick”–or German style knitting–is the ONLY way to go. It’s MUCH faster, gives you far more consistent tension, and is way more versatile with color work. My grandmother told me that American women used to do it that way before WWII, because it WAS so much better, but that during the war it fell out of fashion; American women didn’t want to be seen knitting in the “German” fashion. Too bad. When I teach knitting, that’s how I teach it. I’ve taught many knitters to switch over from the English to the Continental method, and none of them have ever gone back. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/47 "2005-11-13T05:03:35Z")
Eh. Honestly, I’ve tried continental and it just didn’t work for my hands. I went back to throwing from my right hand. And it took me enough damn tries to get the knitting thing down that I’m happy with any way that works. The thing is to try all kinds of things and go with what works for you as an individual. I am being tempted by combination this weekend as I have a lot of stockinette to work and it just looks like that might work out more than plain continental for me and my hand motions. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/48 "2005-11-13T09:49:28Z")
> [@Idlewild](#): > > Eh. Honestly, I’ve tried continental and it just didn’t work for my hands. Yes, it took me a lot of practice. If I hadn’t worked for a German woman at the time, who MADE me switch, I might not have stuck with it. I’m glad I did. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/49 "2005-11-13T13:47:30Z")
Well, one thing that definitely kept me from staying switched was trying to do lace. Just could not get a rhythm in continental while messing with yos and slipped and passed over stitches. :smack: But really, I don’t see a need to switch styles when one works for me. (Except as I said I feel like messing with combination this weekend. But that’s sort of a theoretical thing for me, understanding how it works is important to me, even if I don’t use it all the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458/50 "2005-11-13T16:39:53Z")
I went to Joanne Fabrics yesterday (they were having a sale which was _great_). The site that **Jolly Jimmy Joyce** recommended said to start with larger needles, and since the yarn I chose said to use size 11 needles, I went with those. The yarn, while very pretty, is too fuzzy for me to see what I am doing while I learn. Oops. I ended up scouring the house and finding an ugly yarn octopus that someone had given me years ago…I pulled the yarn ball out of its head and have been using it for practice. 🙂 So far I have pretty much mastered one casting method, and I’m working on a very small continental project. This stuff is hard to learn y’all! I swear I watched the casting video 20+ times before I finally got comfortable with it. If my “bug blanket” doesn’t come together sometime today I may be tempted to switch to crochet, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-knit-could-i-crochet/330458.md?page=2)