About Knowing the Difference by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

 

Okay, fair warning, I’m about to go on a rant; blame my OCD, but here it is:

There is a huge difference between crochet and knitting, even though they both use yarn and thread.

And it seems quite a few people don’t seem to know the difference.

How do I know this? Well, it started a while back when I came across a post online about what something handknit actually costs. It was a nice post, well-written and very valid; the problem was that the picture attached to the post was that of a crochet hook sticking out of a ball of yarn.

I repeat, the post was about knitting.

I know I can be a little too nitpicky since I do have mild OCD, so I really tried to ignore that mistake, I promise, but then I started playing an online game called Word Solitaire. The premise of this game is that you have a set of cards, some have pictures, others have words, some of the word ones are a different color, meaning they are the “category” all the other cards have to match.

Simple.

I found it to be a fun and relaxing game, until I came across a card picturing a crochet hook with a bit of yarn. Ok, I hadn’t seen a category for crochet yet, but that’s okay, I haven’t seen all the cards. There was, however, already the category of knitting.

But, in my mind, it can’t go there because it is not knitting.

When I was down to just that card, the only spot left was the knitting pile.

Cue me muttering under my breath over the stupidity of it all.

And that would be the end of it, but well, I play that game every day, and I’ve come across that same picture a couple more times; once it was knitting again, and another time it went in “needles.”

Here is my rant:

It’s bad enough when people confuse crochet with knitting, but since when is "A hook" needles?

Let me point this out with the pictures above: one shows a bunch of crochet hooks, and the other shows two sets of knitting needles. This is because knitting requires a SET of needles to work while crochet utilizes just one hook.

And I might also point out the “hook” on the end of the crochet hooks and the sharp points on the end of the needles. These are the two big differences between crochet and knitting.

There are others, mostly to do with stitches and forming rows. So, while they are two crafts using the same textiles, they are not the same craft.

In fact, lumping crocheting with knitting is like lumping beading with sewing. They both use needles, but the needles are different.

Beading can be more closely associated with embroidery; in fact, you can do them together on the same piece. I have. The needles are still slightly different, but they still have big eyes, unlike sewing needles.

And admittedly, you can embroider on hand-sewn projects, but the skills are different.

Honestly, not everybody who can crochet can knit, and not everybody who can knit can crochet; the same goes for embroidery, sewing, and beading.

Please forget that I do all of these crafts. I am a creative person, and, as I can’t draw worth beans, I have to create somehow.

The needles and hooks pictured above are my own, and I could picture beading, embroidery, and sewing needles as well.

I know my way around handicrafts, and I do use that knowledge in my writing. And believe me, I would get terribly upset if I ever found a book where the author didn’t know what they were talking about!

Can you imagine an author talking about their character doing embroidery, but doesn’t mention the embroidery hoop? Or using beading as an activity for their character, but doesn’t know why beaders have a little round of wax in their kit, and what the wax is for!

By the way, that wax works in embroidery too, especially if you are using metallic thread. Speaking from experience.

Or an author writing a character crocheting, but goes on to describe using needles?

Yeah, that doesn’t work either.

Of course, we are supposed to write what we know, and so far, I haven’t found a book using these handicrafts where the author didn’t know these crafts.

Though I might point out that it is possible to know enough about handicrafts to put them in a story. I’ve done it, but not with a lot of detail, where I have no or little experience with the craft. And it’s only the one story, where my characters do way more handicrafts than I do.

At least I could name them!

Anyway, happy writing, everyone.