So, should I learn to knit or crochet? I'm left-handed, does that make a difference? (Other than being the reason I haven't already learned; my great-aunt gave up after teaching me embroidery.)
I'm a lefty and I found it much, much easier to learn to knit than crochet. To crochet, I had to find someone to teach me who could do it left-handed. With knitting, it doesn't matter what "hand" you are at all, really. That plus the fact my hand cramps up when I crochet but not when I knit means I knit a heck of a lot more than I crochet.
You can pretty much do anything with one that you can with the other - you can even knit granny squares if you're so inclined. (Though I have to admit they go a lot faster when you crochet them.) I find knitting a lot more versatile, myself, but that's just me. If you learn how to do it in the round, you can make a heck of a lot of stuff really fast. I make hats and socks, mostly, when I have time to knit (which isn't often enough). I've also made stuffed critters. It's a lot of fun!
(And if you try but find it difficult, for one reason or another, don't give up - try spinning! I had a really hard time learning any crafts until I learned to spin. For some reason, that made all of them
This is a coincidence! I'm just now learning how to knit. It's pretty easy to pick up, and I'm enjoying it so far. But ultimately, I think the sorts of things i'll want to do will mean learning how to crochet, so I expect I'll transition to that sometime this year.
To me the difference is in the structural layout of the two forms. Knitting is more linear and organized, with all the stitches you're going to work with neatly lined up on the needles for you. Crochet is more free-form, a patterned collection of knots with no clear indicator of where to go next. Knitting makes more cognitive sense to me, but that may not be the case for you. The benefit of crochet is that there's only one "hot" stitch to drop -- in knitting there's a whole row.
I'm a lefty and don't think that handedness would affect your decision either way.
Another lefty here. Learning to perl from a right-handed person has proven impossible, so if at all possible find a lefty and stalk them until they teach you to perl.
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Knitting is good for making large tubes i.e. socks, scarves, and sweaters.
Crochet on the other hand is good for making small things and strange shapes. i.e. Monster Crochet, and sexy crochet, science crochet, and recycled crochet
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You can pretty much do anything with one that you can with the other - you can even knit granny squares if you're so inclined. (Though I have to admit they go a lot faster when you crochet them.) I find knitting a lot more versatile, myself, but that's just me. If you learn how to do it in the round, you can make a heck of a lot of stuff really fast. I make hats and socks, mostly, when I have time to knit (which isn't often enough). I've also made stuffed critters. It's a lot of fun!
(And if you try but find it difficult, for one reason or another, don't give up - try spinning! I had a really hard time learning any crafts until I learned to spin. For some reason, that made all of them
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I'm just now learning how to knit. It's pretty easy to pick up, and I'm enjoying it so far.
But ultimately, I think the sorts of things i'll want to do will mean learning how to crochet, so I expect I'll transition to that sometime this year.
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I'm a lefty and don't think that handedness would affect your decision either way.
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