knitting and crocheting basics

Knitting and crocheting have differences and similarities. One difference between knitting and crocheting is that they use two different types of needles. Knitting uses two knitting needles and crocheting uses a single crochet hook. The other difference between the two is the type of stitches: knitting only has two main stitches, while crocheting has many more.

Knitting and crocheting also have things in common, for instance, they both begin with a slip knot. When making a slip knot, first you make a loop on two fingers, second you pinch the tail while holding they other end of the yarn in your other fingers, third you pull the pinched part through the loop and tighten around needle or hook.

In knitting, knit and purl are the main stitches. For knitting you use the right needle to pull a loop of yarn toward you through the stitch on the left needle then move the stitch on the left needle to the end and drop it off. For knit stitch you insert your right needle into the stitch on the left from bottom to top and front to back. The purl is the second basic stich you need to produce knitted fabric, and it is the reverse side of knit stich. When purling a stich, the right needle pulls a loop of yarn through the stiches on the left needle just as in knitting. The difference is that you hold the working yarn in front of needles instead of behind them and insert the needle down from back to front and top to bottom. These are the two main stiches in knitting and you use knit and purl in various patterns to create different patterns in the knitted fabric.

In crochet there are more main stiches. They are single, double crochet, 1/2 double crochet, and triple crochet. These are the steps to do these stiches

chain stitch … First, you start with a slip knot just like with knitting. Then wrap your working yarn around your needle and pull the top loop through the bottom loop using the hook on the end. Repeat the steps until you have enough rows for your project.

For a single crochet you turn back on your chain and insert the hook in the next stitch. Yarn over and draw through 1 then yarn over again and draw through 2. Repeat until you get to the end of your chain. Turn, repeat, etc.

For half double crochet, you yarn over then insert the hook in the next stitch yarn over again and draw through 1. Yarn over again and draw through the remaining 3.

For double crochet you yarn over, insert the hook in the next stitch, yarn over again and pull through 1. Yarn over again, draw through 2, yarn over again, and finally pull through 2 again.

Lastly, for a triple crochet, yarn over twice, insert the hook into the next stitch, yarn over again, and draw through 1. Yarn over again and draw through 2, yarn over again and draw through 2 again, and yarn over for the last time and pull through 2 again.

These are the 4 main stitches in crochet and how you do them.