In the past I have always gravitated to crochet instead of knitting. Working with two needles always felt awkward to me, and I was nervous about dropping stitches and correcting mistakes. I'm fairly fast with a crochet hook, so I was certain that knitting would be too time consuming to keep my interest. I had tried one or two projects that were dismal failures and I wasn't keen to pull out the knitting needles again. As usual, it was my curiosity that got the best of me. Despite my aversion to knitting, I was always curious about techniques that would produce a knit-like appearance.
First, I tried Tunisian crochet. I loved the fact that you can create many different textures (some very close to knit in appearance), but the fabrics I made tended to be very dense. I was also turned off by the tendency to curl. Now I know that there are plenty of Tunisian crochet enthusiasts who very skilled at making very light weight - even lacy fabrics and that there are a million tips and tricks for making the end product lie flat, but Tunisian just didn't suit me. I made a few potholders and washcloths and then moved on.
Next, I turned to the
knook. If you aren't familiar with the idea, it is a technique where you use a crochet hook with a long cord attached to the end to knit. This was something that worked for me. I was finally able to produce truly knitted fabric. However, I found that there are not that many patterns that are specifically written for use with a knook. That meant that I had to learn knit terminology and figure out how to translate those instructions for use with my knook. Along the way, I began to finally understand a little more about how knitting works. I lost my fear of dropping stitches and correcting mistakes. I also began to get frustrated with the slower pace and that darn cord.
 |
| My first knitted washcloths! |
After experimenting with other forms, I decided to give knitting another try. This time around I was more comfortable with having a whole row of stitches on the needle because I had done that with Tunisian and the world didn't implode. I knew that I could fix a dropped stitch with my trusty crochet hook and nobody would call the police. I took my first timid steps into learning a new technique, and I tried my best to put the pre-judgement and fear behind me. Lo and behold, the sky didn't fall and I ended up with a new hobby! I nowhere near expert level, but I am learning and enjoying the process.
