The Knitting vs. Crochet Rant

What's up with that? Why is it a versus thing? Having done both crafts, I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. Both have their pros and cons. I wouldn't want to make a knitted bag if it has to be very sturdy, but I wouldn't want to make a luxurious sweater with crochet (too expensive! Crochet takes up three times as much yarn as knitting). There are claims that crochet is easier than knitting (though some of the knitters in my knitting group would disagree), and others say that crocheted items don't look as nice. I'd have to disagree on both fronts (though I do still find knitting much scarier than crocheting because of the risk of dropping stitches). In some ways knitting is easier because you don't have to worry about where to put your needle to make the next stitch... the loop is right there on the needle. And anyone who claims that the finished product of crochet doesn't look as nice obviously hasn't seen some of the fabulous crocheted lace out there.

Anyway, the point is that neither craft is the better one. Why is it that it bugs me when the uninitiated confuse the two crafts then? When I was just a crocheter, it used to bug me a LOT when someone would say, "What are you knitting?" I mean, obviously I wasn't using two needles, so how could they think I was knitting. I guess most non-yarncrafters see yarn and something pointy in your hand and just assume it's knitting. Then again, I was working on boyfriend sock #2 on the subway the other day and a guy accidentally bumped me and said, "I'm sorry. I don't want to mess up your crochet." I didn't bother correcting him, but it was weird that he would mistake knitting for crocheting when it seems to me that knitting is the more well-known craft. Or maybe it's just that people keep mistaking crochet for knitting, and so people over-compensate... sort of like the I vs me thing (e.g. "Did you see Ashley and I sitting in the back row?"). That really bugs me too...

That being said, I think that knitting and crochet work best when they work together in a hedonistic mind-meld of pure love. Crochet makes for great edgings around knitted items, for example, as well as a way for joining items. Or you can make a knitted ribbed edge for that lacy crocheted sweater. Or you can make a sturdy crocheted base for a bag with floppier knitted sides. The possibilities are endless!!!

And now, because I don't like posting without pictures... here's the first cappuccino I ever made myself!



Yum yum!