Best explanation for the difference between knitting and crochet

[magicmau5]

I love to learn different crochet, DIY and handcrafting techniques by watching demos on YouTube (especially Tunisian/afghan crochet, which seems more popular outside the US). Today, YouTube pushed this educational video that explains why we can automate knitting with machines, but automating crochet is much more difficult and maybe not economically feasible. In a world where AI and assembly lines can partially replace jobs originally done by humans, it's refreshing to know that replacing handmade crochet items is quite difficult.

[ReniC]

That was interesting. Now, if we could just get people to understand that you can't get something for nothing when it takes time and money to crochet a project. And crochet is not just for grandmas!

[Bailey4]

I don't make stuff to sell just to donate or gift but what I find most troubling when it comes to crafting is people who think they are being helpful when they ask for stuff because it gives us purpose. 

There is a difference between someone wanting to help and thinking you are helping by suggesting someone make something for you because they clearly need a project.

[magicmau5]

On 5/9/2024 at 3:46 PM, ReniC said:

That was interesting. Now, if we could just get people to understand that you can't get something for nothing when it takes time and money to crochet a project. And crochet is not just for grandmas!

Yeah, the video was definitely made from a non-crocheter's perspective.  But because it's relatively objective, and has some scientific and historical info, that's why I like it. I have witnessed countless rude (native English speaking) commenters on YouTube who make harrassing/harsh criticism/just plain rude and even xenophobic comments on crochet videos made by people whose native language isn't English. They often make extremely rude comments blasting the foreign person's lack of knowledge about crochet terminology in English. For instance, foreign users who mark their crochet videos as "knitting". The people who make rude comments always just say things about how "crochet is not knitting", but don't make a clear explanation about the difference... which is why I found that video refreshing. Actually, I don't know why some of the people who comment on crochet videos are more rude than those who post comments on celebrity gossip. They often make unreasonable comments with demanding/commanding type of language. It's really a strange phenomenon!!! 

[magicmau5]

On 5/9/2024 at 4:30 PM, Bailey4 said:

I don't make stuff to sell just to donate or gift but what I find most troubling when it comes to crafting is people who think they are being helpful when they ask for stuff because it gives us purpose. 

There is a difference between someone wanting to help and thinking you are helping by suggesting someone make something for you because they clearly need a project.

Yeah, actually I get a ton of annoying comments from family members about crafting. The gist of their "kind advice" is always: you could definitely open an Etsy store!

Ugh. I get so many of this type of inane advice. I've been crocheting for around 25 years. If I wanted to sell what I make, I would have done it a long time ago. The main reason I've never sold what I make, is because based on how much I spend on materials and tools, in addition to the sheer amount of hours spent on making the item, what I'd earn in profit would be comparable to much less than minimum wage. I usually prefer to make crochet items with thin thread, not with yarn. The thinner the thread, the longer it takes to make.

But even more than that, I simply hate that people in this day and age do not value what I make. I'll give you a common example: my sister recently was excited and told me she'd "picked up a bargain" by paying only $3 each for several handmade crochet stuffed animals/amigurumi. When she said that, she spoke in a proud tone of voice, like it's was some great accomplishment... People are always trying to find bargains. Which is natural! But people (non-crafters) who buy handmade items really don't understand the process of creation for those items. It takes a lot of creativity, talent, skills and techniques learned over a long period of time to make any kind of good-looking and high quality handmade item. To rejoice at spending a tiny sum of money to purchase those unique items which are the result of a lot of hard work (even if the amount of time to make a single item is not measured in weeks or months, the amount of time it takes to build up the skills is measured in years or even decades!) is very offensive to me. Which is the main reason why I only give my handmade projects to friends or family. It's a nice idea to donate them to people in need, since there are many homeless people in my state/region. Thanks for the idea, I like it a lot XD

[Bailey4]

I don't ever feel guilty buying something handmade for the price the person is willing to sell it to me.  If I can't afford it I don't buy it but I've been at craft fairs where people were selling sewn items that I couldn't justify the price for buying them and didn't buy and other vendors who had similar functional items at prices that were affordable that I bought because I could justify the expense.  In some cases I suspect they were there to draw people into the booths and had used up scraps they had left over from other projects, but likely still didn't cover their labor costs.  However, it was a choice to offer them for the price and mine to buy.

I can understand why people priced them at the higher prices, but one item that comes to mind are the microwave sewn bowl cozies and there is a price point for myself and from what I've observed at these fairs for others.  It might not seem fair to those making them  that people won't pay the labor value for them but perhaps at that point you have to question if it is worth trying to sell them if people won't pay for the labor costs.

I rarely buy crochet stuff because for the most part I tend to make it, so I tend to look for the stuff I won't make like sewn, knit, jewelry or wood items. There is some amazing work out there.  However, there is a budget in mind when I go shopping and I don't bargain with vendors.  They should get the value for their work but I also know what I want and what I'll pay.

One of the challenges for people selling stuff is they have to first have the quality that justifies asking for the price that cover both labor and costs to make and then find the right place to sell it. 

I have seen amazing high quality wood workers for example at shows where people are looking for something cheap to support the cause so to speak.  The work is amazing.  The prices are spot on for the quality of the goods but there is nobody at that show who is going to buy even the smallest jewelry box they made because nobody there came for that type of quality.

The other challenge is quality on the other end.  God Bless people but I've seen projects being sold at fairly high prices that someone should have kindly told the person not to waste the money on the table and spend more time on developing their craft skills.  I've seen some of these people greatly irritated when other vendors are selling well and nobody has the heart to be honest and tell them why.