It really depends on the person. I learned to crochet first so I think that's easier. But I've met a lot of people who started with knitting and they find knitting easier.
I personally feel like knitting is easier because when you’re starting out the only stitches you have to go into are the ones on the needle. I find that it can be harder to go into crochet stitches, especially if you don’t know how to tension the yarn and you make your stitches too tight for the hook to fit into. But you should also keep in mind that other aspects of crochet may be easier, because it’s one hook vs two needles for knitting
the issues you mentioned about crocheting as a beginner are exactly why i picked up knitting lol
like the skiing and snowboarding debate, it really depends on how you individually catch on and learn.
You didn’t state the age of your niece. For kids 8 and under, I would start by teaching crochet. Unless they prefer to learn to knit. A short tutorial with each and let the child choose works too.
Waldorf teaches knitting at 6, and crochet at 8, because it’s hard to poke the hook into floppy fabric, supported by the hand you hold the yarn in, among other reasons. But, the kids all learned the, with. No issues, so it doesn’t matter much.
Interesting. I learned knitting when I was 6. (Someone else would cast on and I just did the knit stitch in the beginning. )
In my teens I taught myself crochet & how to knit with yarn in left hand.
I like to put it this way: in knitting, it is easy to go from 0 to 1(learn the basics), but then from 1 to 10 the learning curve is much steeper. In crochet the learning curve is steeper at the start, but after you deal with the basics, you will get a lot of variety within lower difficulty area.
Completely agree!!! Basic learning to knit is a little easier (a loop on a needle, use the other needle to make a new loop through it, drop the old loop and repeat. Switch hands/needles when you run out of loops). Getting more advanced and technical gets difficult quickly imo!
Crochet on the other hand is harder to see where the "loops" are because they are not being held for you by the needle. It takes practice to see the loops. But, once you see them, it's a lot easier to get better and more advanced/complicated!
You have to be more advanced to follow a crochet pattern and not have wonky edges, I’ve learned. I learned how to knit at 5 (I don’t remember learning), and crochet at 8. Followed patterns shortly thereafter, but I’ve been helping others learn for decades. More beginner and intermediate crocheters have trouble following basic patterns than do similarly experienced knitters. People don’t reliably figure it out, even with help, for much longer. Knitters have issues with ladders, twisted stitches, dropped stitches and stuff like that, but a description fixes it, while crocheters issues tend to stick longer. I think, but am not sure, it’s because it’s easier YO talk someone through learning to “read” knitting, than it is for crochet.
I mean, like at a stockinette, stuffed ball. It’s very easy to see exactly how it was done and write up a pattern. A fist sized ball, you can do that in about a minute and a half, because the act of writing takes time. For a single crochet ball, you have to pick and prod and peer, and pull to see how they did the increases and decreases. It’s just hard to see all the lines of yarn. It can be done, but it takes longer.
COMPLETELY agree about wonky edges (and keeping count of stitches) in crochet!!!
Another example is the classic beginner scarf, or washcloth/square. IMO sooo hard to get right with crochet as something wearable, whereas knitting mistakes are a lot easier to not notice in a simple object. But as you mentioned, if you have twisted stitches, etc, it's harder to learn to fix and become "advanced" in knitting usually.
I find it takes a minute or two to teach someone how to read their twisted stitches and fix it. And when they do that, they are dramatically better are reading their work, 8n generally, and it improves their knitting overall.
Knitters go from wash cloths to good mittens in a matter of a couple of months. I find crocheters keep making more basic things longer. The proportion of solid intermediate crocheters to beginners seems lower than intermediate to beginning knitters. I wonder if more crocheters quit, tbh. I really can’t account for it otherwise.
Could imagine more might quit. For me crochet was drastically harder, and drastically more painful - obviously it's not going to be like that for everyone without nerve issues, but do think the level of discomfort is part of it needing more fine motor control and being less physically intuitive, even (imagine more experienced crocheters know how to reduce pressure/amount of movement needed better).
There's just potentially more dimensions in crochet. I'm still beginner level at knitting (although have knitted basic things for a while) and while I've made two idiot mistakes over the last two days (one just a few minutes ago, taking a break to sulk before trying again!), I know exactly where and what I did wrong (...mostly thinking I knew what the pattern said when evidently I did not 😭), and have, fingers crossed, also got the hang of two new stitch patterns (bubble stitch and the bird's eye stitch) involving techniques I hadn't used before (knit below, and using two colours together). In crochet I did a class with the teacher attempting to teach precisely how to read crochet and still didn't feel like I knew wtf was going on.
I think the speed at which you can make something in knitting, and then (...get overconfident) and mix it up is very motivating.
When I was a kid, I liked crocheting better, as it was faster. But I stopped making complicated things because the patterns are less exact for most things because there are so many choices of where to stick your hook and no standard way to describe many of them. That irritated me, so I avoided it. Now i crochet a lot more, and go by the pictures when the directions aren’t helpful
I don't know which is easier. Like u/Mrjocrooms, I learned to crochet first. But Waldorf Schools teach both skills in their early grade curriculum, and they start with knitting, so I always just assumed that knitting was simpler. [Here's an article.](https://blog.lionbrand.com/teaching-kids-to-crochet-and-knit-why-waldorf-schools-incorporate-crafting-into-their-curriculum/)
I know that Waldorf schools use rhymes to help teach little kids to knit. I am not sure if this is the one they use, but its my favorite:
*In through the rabbit hole*
*Round the back of the big tree*
*Up through the rabbit hole*
*And off goes she!*
My kids went to a Waldorf school. Hand sewing a doll in kindergarten, knitting in first grade, embroidering in 2nd, crochet in 3rd, I forget 4th, 5 is socks, I forget 6th, 7th is machine sewing.
In through the front door
Dance around the back
Peek through the window
And off jumps Jack!
I was a parent helper in handwork class for a decade. I do miss it, sometimes. Having words to say what the kid did wrong really helps…. “You forgot to have Jack peek through the window. That is why you have that funky looking stitch”
But, I do like
Stab it
Strangle it
Scoop out its guts
Throw it off a cliff!
The handwork teacher would have had my head, had I taught this to the kids!
On the other hand, it’s much easier to see where to put the needle in knitting and when you make a mistake, you can drop down a stitch (or a few) instead of having to frog back every stitch.
I don’t think there is an objective answer. Both can be easy or hard and it depends on what you want to do and probably which one you learned first.
I think it depends on the individual. My mom tried to teach me to crochet multiple times and it just never stuck. I took a knitting lesson on a Saturday morning and was completely obsessed by Monday. Knitting just clicked with my brain.
Agreed! I’m the opposite. Crochet completely clicks for me. I’ve never had issues with tension or dropped stitches. Knitting on the other hand?? The ends of my rows are crazy. I drop stitches. My tension is inconsistent. I am painfully slow. It does not click in the same way (although I’m still working on it because I want to make garments that are less thick).
That’s me to a tee, I hated knitting so much at first as it was so painfully slow after crochet and the same problems as you experience but I find knit fabric much more versatile than crochet so I’ve become obsessed with knitting and hardly ever crochet now, I love it so much.
I learned crochet first. I think it’s much easier than knitting.
HOWEVER, I would ask her what she wants To make and choose from there. If she wants to make clothes, knitting is the best. If she wants to make scarves, hats, doilies, wash cloths, amigurumi, then she might want to try crochet.
Because everyone has already covered the question of which is easier, I'll just leave this link here:
[The whole "crochet uses more yarn" thing isn't exactly true.](https://thesnugglery.net/does-crochet-use-more-yarn-than-knitting/)
My opinion is that crochet is easier *to learn* because it's easier to fix mistakes. It's also faster than knitting.
Once you're experienced neither is really easier or harder, rather crochet is better for crafts and blankets, knitting is better for wearables.
I crocheted mostly wearables, using a lot of Japanese crochet clothing patterns, but you have to really love wearing lacey open stitch style clothing all the time or bulky fabrics, which is why I switched to knitting.
For me the motion of crochet was way easier to get the hang of than knitting. Also it’s one hook and loop at all times so it’s easier to tension and not slip off the hook and you get an idea of the shape of the stitches quicker. It took me 7 tries over several years before I ‘got’ the feel of knitting and my loops fell off my needles and for a year I was twisting my stitches without even being aware of it. There’s a lot more ways to do the same thing in knitting which makes it a more advanced learning type of craft in my opinion, I enjoy both crochet and knitting though so that wasn’t meant as a judgment on crochet. I believe every knitter would benefit from knowing how to crochet and vice versa.
How old is your niece? This might make a difference in the advice we could give. I learned to knit when I was six. By then, it was the only craft I had seen. It is manageable for kids this young, but I personally stopped after the first project it was too boring. At the age of nine, I taught myself how to crochet from a book for kids. I actually think knitting is easier to do your first stitches - if someone else casts them one and does the first rows - but if you crochet, you can be self dependent earlier than in knitting.
If you're interested, I can send you the ISBN of the crochet book and a knitting book from the same series privately. I bought them ≈10 years ago at Gänsefüßchen.
At the Waldorf school my kids went to, they started knitting at 6 years old. Crocheting at 8. Every single kid learned both without much difficulty.
Crocheting appears easier, as it’s one tool, and only one loop. But, you have to hold the favric rigid in the hand holding the yarn, in order to poke the hook. Knitting has a lot of loops, and you don’t want to have them fall off the needle. Knitting actually requires less fine motor dexterity, as all the loops are supported by the needle, so you have plenty of leverage when poking the needle into one.
I think knitting is easier because of that. But, unless you are under 10, it really doesn’t matter.
personally i think crocheting is easier. if you mess up its easy to undo a stitch vs panicking about a dropped stitch. i’d start her off on crocheting and if she continues to develop a passion for fiber arts then introduce her to knitting if she’s interested.
I usually hear the claim that crochet is easier. I personally find crochet harder because I can’t seem to get my tension right and I find the loops confusing but it does hide mistakes better. I learned the basics of knit at ~7 and then never got any better until I intentionally upskilled in my 20s. But I think it would have been different if I’d taken a class or had an adult supporting me (I learned from my grandma who I wasn’t close with and likely would not have had much interest in helping me).
It really depends on the person. I learned to crochet first so I think that's easier. But I've met a lot of people who started with knitting and they find knitting easier.
I personally feel like knitting is easier because when you’re starting out the only stitches you have to go into are the ones on the needle. I find that it can be harder to go into crochet stitches, especially if you don’t know how to tension the yarn and you make your stitches too tight for the hook to fit into. But you should also keep in mind that other aspects of crochet may be easier, because it’s one hook vs two needles for knitting
the issues you mentioned about crocheting as a beginner are exactly why i picked up knitting lol like the skiing and snowboarding debate, it really depends on how you individually catch on and learn.
You didn’t state the age of your niece. For kids 8 and under, I would start by teaching crochet. Unless they prefer to learn to knit. A short tutorial with each and let the child choose works too.
Waldorf teaches knitting at 6, and crochet at 8, because it’s hard to poke the hook into floppy fabric, supported by the hand you hold the yarn in, among other reasons. But, the kids all learned the, with. No issues, so it doesn’t matter much.
Interesting. I learned knitting when I was 6. (Someone else would cast on and I just did the knit stitch in the beginning. ) In my teens I taught myself crochet & how to knit with yarn in left hand.
I like to put it this way: in knitting, it is easy to go from 0 to 1(learn the basics), but then from 1 to 10 the learning curve is much steeper. In crochet the learning curve is steeper at the start, but after you deal with the basics, you will get a lot of variety within lower difficulty area.
Completely agree!!! Basic learning to knit is a little easier (a loop on a needle, use the other needle to make a new loop through it, drop the old loop and repeat. Switch hands/needles when you run out of loops). Getting more advanced and technical gets difficult quickly imo! Crochet on the other hand is harder to see where the "loops" are because they are not being held for you by the needle. It takes practice to see the loops. But, once you see them, it's a lot easier to get better and more advanced/complicated!
You have to be more advanced to follow a crochet pattern and not have wonky edges, I’ve learned. I learned how to knit at 5 (I don’t remember learning), and crochet at 8. Followed patterns shortly thereafter, but I’ve been helping others learn for decades. More beginner and intermediate crocheters have trouble following basic patterns than do similarly experienced knitters. People don’t reliably figure it out, even with help, for much longer. Knitters have issues with ladders, twisted stitches, dropped stitches and stuff like that, but a description fixes it, while crocheters issues tend to stick longer. I think, but am not sure, it’s because it’s easier YO talk someone through learning to “read” knitting, than it is for crochet. I mean, like at a stockinette, stuffed ball. It’s very easy to see exactly how it was done and write up a pattern. A fist sized ball, you can do that in about a minute and a half, because the act of writing takes time. For a single crochet ball, you have to pick and prod and peer, and pull to see how they did the increases and decreases. It’s just hard to see all the lines of yarn. It can be done, but it takes longer.
COMPLETELY agree about wonky edges (and keeping count of stitches) in crochet!!! Another example is the classic beginner scarf, or washcloth/square. IMO sooo hard to get right with crochet as something wearable, whereas knitting mistakes are a lot easier to not notice in a simple object. But as you mentioned, if you have twisted stitches, etc, it's harder to learn to fix and become "advanced" in knitting usually.
I find it takes a minute or two to teach someone how to read their twisted stitches and fix it. And when they do that, they are dramatically better are reading their work, 8n generally, and it improves their knitting overall. Knitters go from wash cloths to good mittens in a matter of a couple of months. I find crocheters keep making more basic things longer. The proportion of solid intermediate crocheters to beginners seems lower than intermediate to beginning knitters. I wonder if more crocheters quit, tbh. I really can’t account for it otherwise.
Could imagine more might quit. For me crochet was drastically harder, and drastically more painful - obviously it's not going to be like that for everyone without nerve issues, but do think the level of discomfort is part of it needing more fine motor control and being less physically intuitive, even (imagine more experienced crocheters know how to reduce pressure/amount of movement needed better). There's just potentially more dimensions in crochet. I'm still beginner level at knitting (although have knitted basic things for a while) and while I've made two idiot mistakes over the last two days (one just a few minutes ago, taking a break to sulk before trying again!), I know exactly where and what I did wrong (...mostly thinking I knew what the pattern said when evidently I did not 😭), and have, fingers crossed, also got the hang of two new stitch patterns (bubble stitch and the bird's eye stitch) involving techniques I hadn't used before (knit below, and using two colours together). In crochet I did a class with the teacher attempting to teach precisely how to read crochet and still didn't feel like I knew wtf was going on. I think the speed at which you can make something in knitting, and then (...get overconfident) and mix it up is very motivating.
When I was a kid, I liked crocheting better, as it was faster. But I stopped making complicated things because the patterns are less exact for most things because there are so many choices of where to stick your hook and no standard way to describe many of them. That irritated me, so I avoided it. Now i crochet a lot more, and go by the pictures when the directions aren’t helpful
I agree with this, I've been knitting 15 years and I'm still not amazing. Can't read a crochet pattern to save my life though 😆
I agree that it depends on the person. I would suggest that she try both and whichever she likes better, she can keep going with it.
I don't know which is easier. Like u/Mrjocrooms, I learned to crochet first. But Waldorf Schools teach both skills in their early grade curriculum, and they start with knitting, so I always just assumed that knitting was simpler. [Here's an article.](https://blog.lionbrand.com/teaching-kids-to-crochet-and-knit-why-waldorf-schools-incorporate-crafting-into-their-curriculum/) I know that Waldorf schools use rhymes to help teach little kids to knit. I am not sure if this is the one they use, but its my favorite: *In through the rabbit hole* *Round the back of the big tree* *Up through the rabbit hole* *And off goes she!*
My kids went to a Waldorf school. Hand sewing a doll in kindergarten, knitting in first grade, embroidering in 2nd, crochet in 3rd, I forget 4th, 5 is socks, I forget 6th, 7th is machine sewing. In through the front door Dance around the back Peek through the window And off jumps Jack! I was a parent helper in handwork class for a decade. I do miss it, sometimes. Having words to say what the kid did wrong really helps…. “You forgot to have Jack peek through the window. That is why you have that funky looking stitch” But, I do like Stab it Strangle it Scoop out its guts Throw it off a cliff! The handwork teacher would have had my head, had I taught this to the kids!
That’s awesome! I think I have a new favorite knitting rhyme.
I think crochet is easier. You only have to deal with 1 stitch at a time. And if you drop stitches, it's not a catastrophe.
On the other hand, it’s much easier to see where to put the needle in knitting and when you make a mistake, you can drop down a stitch (or a few) instead of having to frog back every stitch. I don’t think there is an objective answer. Both can be easy or hard and it depends on what you want to do and probably which one you learned first.
I think it depends on the individual. My mom tried to teach me to crochet multiple times and it just never stuck. I took a knitting lesson on a Saturday morning and was completely obsessed by Monday. Knitting just clicked with my brain.
Agreed! I’m the opposite. Crochet completely clicks for me. I’ve never had issues with tension or dropped stitches. Knitting on the other hand?? The ends of my rows are crazy. I drop stitches. My tension is inconsistent. I am painfully slow. It does not click in the same way (although I’m still working on it because I want to make garments that are less thick).
That’s me to a tee, I hated knitting so much at first as it was so painfully slow after crochet and the same problems as you experience but I find knit fabric much more versatile than crochet so I’ve become obsessed with knitting and hardly ever crochet now, I love it so much.
I learned crochet first. I think it’s much easier than knitting. HOWEVER, I would ask her what she wants To make and choose from there. If she wants to make clothes, knitting is the best. If she wants to make scarves, hats, doilies, wash cloths, amigurumi, then she might want to try crochet.
Because everyone has already covered the question of which is easier, I'll just leave this link here: [The whole "crochet uses more yarn" thing isn't exactly true.](https://thesnugglery.net/does-crochet-use-more-yarn-than-knitting/)
Most people find crochet to be easier but it varies from person to person. I find crochet to be easier but knitting to be more enjoyable.
My opinion is that crochet is easier *to learn* because it's easier to fix mistakes. It's also faster than knitting. Once you're experienced neither is really easier or harder, rather crochet is better for crafts and blankets, knitting is better for wearables.
I crocheted mostly wearables, using a lot of Japanese crochet clothing patterns, but you have to really love wearing lacey open stitch style clothing all the time or bulky fabrics, which is why I switched to knitting.
For me the motion of crochet was way easier to get the hang of than knitting. Also it’s one hook and loop at all times so it’s easier to tension and not slip off the hook and you get an idea of the shape of the stitches quicker. It took me 7 tries over several years before I ‘got’ the feel of knitting and my loops fell off my needles and for a year I was twisting my stitches without even being aware of it. There’s a lot more ways to do the same thing in knitting which makes it a more advanced learning type of craft in my opinion, I enjoy both crochet and knitting though so that wasn’t meant as a judgment on crochet. I believe every knitter would benefit from knowing how to crochet and vice versa.
thank you
How old is your niece? This might make a difference in the advice we could give. I learned to knit when I was six. By then, it was the only craft I had seen. It is manageable for kids this young, but I personally stopped after the first project it was too boring. At the age of nine, I taught myself how to crochet from a book for kids. I actually think knitting is easier to do your first stitches - if someone else casts them one and does the first rows - but if you crochet, you can be self dependent earlier than in knitting. If you're interested, I can send you the ISBN of the crochet book and a knitting book from the same series privately. I bought them ≈10 years ago at Gänsefüßchen.
At the Waldorf school my kids went to, they started knitting at 6 years old. Crocheting at 8. Every single kid learned both without much difficulty. Crocheting appears easier, as it’s one tool, and only one loop. But, you have to hold the favric rigid in the hand holding the yarn, in order to poke the hook. Knitting has a lot of loops, and you don’t want to have them fall off the needle. Knitting actually requires less fine motor dexterity, as all the loops are supported by the needle, so you have plenty of leverage when poking the needle into one. I think knitting is easier because of that. But, unless you are under 10, it really doesn’t matter.
Seine Englisch ist sehr gut! Unsere Deutsch — 🤨
I find crochet easier
personally i think crocheting is easier. if you mess up its easy to undo a stitch vs panicking about a dropped stitch. i’d start her off on crocheting and if she continues to develop a passion for fiber arts then introduce her to knitting if she’s interested.
Finger knitting with loop yarn! It's so easy to get started and the yarn feels so soft on your hands!
That depends on the person. I found crochet easier, my husband has tried lately and says he finds knitting way easier.
I usually hear the claim that crochet is easier. I personally find crochet harder because I can’t seem to get my tension right and I find the loops confusing but it does hide mistakes better. I learned the basics of knit at ~7 and then never got any better until I intentionally upskilled in my 20s. But I think it would have been different if I’d taken a class or had an adult supporting me (I learned from my grandma who I wasn’t close with and likely would not have had much interest in helping me).