then this freaking afghan would be done. I have always believed that crochet is faster than knitting. Based on that assumption, when I woke up in late July and realized that I had forgotten that I had a going-away-to-college afghan to make, I went with crochet. Double crochet, in fact, using worsted weight yarn. I chose yarn in his favorite colors, black and red, plus a little grey to lighten it up. Colors and yarn choice, Vintage worsted from Berrocco, designed to work with spilled beer and pizza. I thought I’d at least be finished by Labor Day, in early September. Oh, how wrong I was.
August:
October Still at least a foot left to go.
He is going to school in Michigan, where I’m sure it is already chilly.
I miscalculated rather seriously on this one. Fallacious reasoning explained below.
- A giant rectangle is not portable. One thing that helps my knitting projects move along is that they are generally portable. I can knit in meetings, hanging out with friends, or when I’m flying or traveling as a passenger. This huge, heavy, object was not portable in the least. Did I mention it is heavy? Much heavier than a blanket knitted with the same yarn would be, I think. Look at the nice blankets I made his sisters.
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- In the past, the “super fast” crocheting I did was small squares. They seemed to fly by. I really think it was that I could take them along. I also worked them in finer yarn, so they were not as, um, heavy.
- In a long row-by-row project with dark colors, I knit much faster than I crochet, because I can do most of the knitting without looking all the time. I have to see where my crochet hook goes every time. This meant that I got about half as much done while watching the Olympics as I would have if I had been knitting. I could not crochet and watch Usain Bolt. I had to pause frequently.
- Crocheting this heavier weight yarn makes my right shoulder hurt in a weird spot. If it’s true that repeating a full range of motion is less likely to give one problems with repetitive stress injuries, I just can’t figure out how to do full range of motion crochet. Something would get hurt. Or broken.
- Project monogamy might have helped, but really, it was much too hard to be monogamous with a humongous heavy blanket during the sweltering summer, even while listening to Moby Dick, shipmates.
- It all boils down to poor planning. Or bringing out a book when I should have been making a blanket. I’ll do better with the next one, I have a few years yet.
So, those of you that knit and crochet, do you think crocheting is faster than knitting, or is it all about the circumstances?
Crochet is faster, but that is not outweighed by gigantic unportable blanket of doominess. I also usually like knitting better – when I crochet I get a sore thumb from hitting it with the hook (I guess that I am doing it wrong)
A crocheted object actually uses up more yarn than a knitted object of equal dimensions, so perhaps more time as well to work all its stitches? However, I think the main drawbacks here are lack of portability, plus the lack of incremental goals. It’s SO much easier, psychologically speaking, to make an afghan one square at a time.
The Lack of incremental goals – that’s brilliant, and just the issue. It’s why I tell beginner knitters never to start with a scarf, because they will lose interst. I just never thought of it those terms. Thanks! Maybe I need to set some daily goals so I can finish it.
Glad to be of help!
I’m making mittens for my college freshman. And they’re not done either.
Now for one crazy moment I thought YOU were off to college! A happy thought
I have no wisdom to share about crochet. I simply hold admiration for those capable of doing both that and knitting!
I don’t crochet very much, but I certainly find that it is slower than knitting, and definitely can’t do it without looking at it constantly. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I have to see how big the drawn loops are in order to keep the tension consistent, whereas with knitting this just seems to be inherent in the way the yarn is drawn through — I don’t know.
I think that’s a good pint. My tension is much more even a much looser in knitting than crochet. Maybe I just need more experience.
I cannot crochet without looking at it, either, but I can knit most things with only the occasional glance. That makes a big difference.