Taught myself to cast on today - woohoo!

[~*max*~]

The title says it all! It took several hours, and I am still clumsy, but I think I have it figured out. I can crochet a bit, but always wanted to knit. W/four young kids it's hard for me to get to a class, so I am trying to teach myself.

My questions for you all, if you crochet, do you find knitting harder, easier, or comparable? And, are knit and purl stitches as tricky to learn as casting on? :

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I crocheted for years before I learned to knit and I found knitting very awkward at first. Eventually I discovered continental knitting where the yarn is held in your left hand with the working needle in your right (or the other way around if you're left handed) It's closer to the way yarn is held and stitches worked in crochet. I found it much easier than conventional knitting where the yarn is held in the same hand as your working needle. I've heard that lot's of people who learned crochet first find continental easier. Of course your mileage may vary.

[salty]

well, i'm a mediocre crocheter and i have been learning to knit a little bit. i find knitting *way* harder, mentally if nothing else. i don't have to concentrate too hard on my crocheting, but i need to pay super-close attention to knitting. having to use both hands so much also feels more labour intensive for me. i'm sure it will get easier with practice, and i do like the cloth that comes from knitting, but crochet just seems much faster and simpler to me.

[TortelliniMama]

I crocheted for more than 20 years before I learned to knit. I had tried several times, but I think my problem was that I had crocheted for a couple of years first, and knitting seemed so hard in comparison to how easy crochet felt by that point. And I was 10 or something at the time I was initially trying. And as I got older, I just had more and more years of crochet experience, so the situation stayed the same.

Finally it clicked a couple of years ago, though, and now I primarily knit. I prefer the experience of knitting right now, although that could change in a few years. I think right now I'm still recovering from those 20 years of looking at patterns and having everything I want to make be knitting. (I'm not saying "knitting is better," just that Murphy's Law requires that if you can only do one craft, the other craft's patterns are going to look awesome. )

I agree that continental is much more comfortable for me. Yarn just feels right in my left hand. In terms of the OP's questions, knitting was definitely harder at first (but, like I said, that was probably because I was comparing it to experienced crocheting), but is now at least comparable. (I feel like it's easier, but that may just be because I prefer doing it now.) Many (most?) people seem to prefer knit stitches to purl ones, but most people are willing to do both. (Some people tend to stick to garter stitch, which is all knit. I would probably suggest that in the beginning you not go too long just practicing knit stitches, though, because that can lead to the same sort of issue as I had with knitting vs. crochet. If you get really good at knit stitches, then starting over with purl stitches will really make purling seem tough in comparison. So I'd suggest practicing a bit with knit stitch, then when it just starts to feel like it's making sense, switch to purl, and then go back and forth in that way.) There's actually a decent chance that casting on will seem awkward longer than knit/purl stitches, because you're generally casting on just at the beginning of a piece, and then you get lots of knit/purl practice before you cast on again. You can, though, use the knitted cast-on, which works like the knit stitch. (I'm a big long-tail cast-on fan myself.)

Good luck!

[kalisis]

That's awesome! I taught myself how to cast on a month ago, but can't figure out anymore stitches.

[laf512]

Yay for learning to cast on!!!

I was a crocheter for several years before I taught myself to knit. At first I found knitting to be fiddly and very slow moving. I got aggravated a lot when I made a mistake or dropped a stitch because I hadn't yet learned how to fix my mistakes. Once I got the hang of it though, I really enjoyed it and now prefer to knit rather than crochet. At first I thought knitting was harder, but I find it easier than crochet now that I've had a lot of practice. Keep at it, it will get easier...although, be prepared for lots of frustration along the way

[~*max*~]

Thanks for the replies & encouragement all. I am very excited about learning to knit. Although I have to admit that today I got plain tired of struggling w/my knitting & broke out a crochet project just to have some success! I ordered some knitting supplies online & when they come I will attempt my first (of many I am sure) scarf.