Crochet and knitting are as similar as two of America’s most popular sports-basketball and football. 

What a beautiful knit shawl! Thank you but it’s CROCHETED!

“She’s crocheting, you know, knitting.” How many times have you heard that?? or “Isn’t crochet just the same thing as knitting?” or “What’s the difference, really? They both use yarn, right?” Well, yes, knitting and crochet both use yarn but as you and I know, they are very different in some ways and very similar in other ways. The next time someone comments how they are the same thing….try to explain the difference in a way many will (hopefully) understand..

Crochet and knitting are as similar as two of America’s most popular sports-basketball and football.
Let me explain.
Yes, knitting and crochet both use yarn and a pointy thing to stitch rows and ultimately a finished item. But they differ in three very important ways.

First, the tool. The crochet hook and knitting needle are about as similar as the balls used to play football and basketball. While both balls are filled with air, they are shaped differently and used differently. Nobody kicks a basketball and nobody dribbles a football.

Next, technique. Both sports have an offense whose purpose is to make a touchdown/basket but how the football offense is played is very different from how the basketball offense is played. Have you ever seen basketball players in a line of scrimmage? Nope. Same with both sport’s defense; they serve the same purpose but executed differently. Similarly, while both knitting and crochet have a goal to create stitches, how those stitches are made are very different. We, knitters and crocheters, use our tools differently. The result is the same, a lovingly stitched item, or for the sports-minded, a game well-played.

Last, language. While both fiber arts use patterns, our language is very different. A crocheter who has never picked up knitting needles is not going to be able to read a knitting pattern. It is a learned skill as is reading a crochet pattern. I have heard a lot of both football and basketball terminology in my house, I have a sports enthusiast husband and two teenage boys, but I really don’t know what most of them mean. I know the basics, a three pointer is good in basketball and a blitz is a football thing, but that’s about all I know. And although I can’t explain basketball terminology or football terminology, I know they are different.

I believe most people know how different the two sports are. That although they have similarities, they are played differently, the tools are different and the lingo is different. So the next time someone makes a comment about your “knitting”, take a second and try this analogy and maybe it will help them understand.  And when you are done explaining it, tell them you are hoping the Chicago Bulls win the Superbowl 🙂