Speaking as someone who does both, I wouldn’t say one is easier than the other. It’s easier and more impactful to screw up your knitting, but you can, with a little skill, fix mistakes even if they happened a few rows back without necessarily tearing everything out. Mistakes in crochet are easier to avoid and less likely to cause major heartache, but if you do notice one late, you’re going to either leave it where it is or rip all the way back to it.
I find it easier to maintain gauge in knitting than in crocheting.
I can’t crochet in the dark, because I can’t see where my needle needs to go in.
Crochet is much faster to create a finished item.
I find knitting to be more flexible in its uses, because it creates thinner, more varied fabrics, more flexible fabrics than crocheting. It’s also what people expect to see in terms of sweaters and such. But, for example, for afghans, I’d choose crochet every day and twice on Sunday, and it is also great for hats and amigurami.
A lot more people knit, and there’s a lot more support for it in terms of patterns, magazines, how-tos, etc, but crocheters aren’t exactly left entirely in the dust.
Crochet is also tremendously useful for finishing knitting items, so it’s a skill worth learning even if you don’t intend to actually crochet much.
I do mostly loom knitting http://www.spinblessing.com/search.php?Query=Knitting%20Looms&start=0. I can produce a beanie in leass than 2 hours and I have even had a go at socks (no way I would have done that with traditional knitting).
I am in the process of teaching some kids how to knit the traditional way and have become an expert on sourcing cheap wool, needles and patterns: Op shops (goodwill?) usually have all three, garage sales can be good too, word of mouth (it is amazing how many little old ladies who no longer knit have given me wool) If you are really skint you can unravel an old jumper/blanker/scarf whatever and recycle.
If you have the slightest suspicion that you’re sensitive to wool, do not use it. Ever. No matter how much people praise it, it is easier to suffer their scorn than to suffer with itchy, itchy, itchy hands that can’t do anything without itching.
Did I mention the itch? Let me make sure, then. Wool makes me itch. Trying to work with wool, even the very nicest wool, will make my hands and other body parts break out and itch.
If you turn out to be a technique-oriented knitter (e.g. you get more excited about learning to do cables or colorwork or a new textured stitch than by the prospect of making a whole garment with said techniques), a sampler afghan is a great project, with lots of novelty for motivation.
The first knitting book I ever read was The Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book by Barbara Walker, and it was lots of fun. I didn’t actually make the afghan, but it was very satisfying to try out new stitch patterns in small, non-boring portions and to become confident manipulating my stitches in complicated ways.
Those are cool, but they got nothing on one of the links posted upthread. Amigurumi transistors, piles of garbage, brains, toilet paper . . . :D. And that’s a small small sample.
For things that go in circles crochet is a bit easier. Crochet works “stitch on stitch” knitting works “row on row/round on round” and working in a circle is a basic elementary skill. Most people’s first crochet project that isn’t a scarf, is a hat. With knitting, working in circles is not terribly difficult, but it’s not a first-day skill.
BTW, most people “allergic to wool” are actually allergic to lanolin oils in it. Technically “wool” comes from sheep but people sometimes use the term inaccurately to cover all non-silk animal fibers. There are yarns, like Alpaca, that seem woolish but are hypoallergenic for the majority of people who are actually sensitive to the lanolin.
I am having a friend make me a shawl/poncho thingy to snuggle in around the house, and I want some seriously soft fluffy yarn, not over expensive and preferably natural or natural with small blend of synthetic… any suggestions? I have some microfibre throws that are seriously soft and fluffy so that is the feel i sort of am going for =)
I don’t think so. I’ve used lotion with lanolin in it with no reaction. I’ve worn fiber from other animals, and had a reaction. So, I will stick to cotton and acrylic yarn, thanks.
By the way, I hate Hobby Lobby, but I love their house yarn called “I love this yarn”, which is acrylic, made in Turkey, inexpensive, and is actually pretty good for acrylic yarn.
Greatly resembles Lion “Homespun” but made of 100% cotton. Note that their standard 50g skein is smaller than you’re used to buying at the craft store, by 50% if not more.
I could see paying something like $5US for a 50gm ball, but I have seen $20 and $30 50 gm balls … I can buy myself a freaking alpaca for that much, and drop spin my own damn yarn [oddly enough I am quite good at drop spinning, I just suck when it comes to knitting and crocheting] and I think a poncho will take 10 balls of yarn from what I remember her mentioning.
:D. And that’s a small small sample.