A different way to combine knitting and crochet
Several years ago, I was playing around with combining knitting and crochet, and I hit upon a way of doing so that made me really happy. I was going to write more about it “later”, but then my wrist stopped allowing me to do crochet, and “later” never came. (No, really, I tried a bunch of things. Please don’t offer me advice.)
Anyway, I recently came across some old swatch photos I took with a cell phone, and thought I’d write about it in hopes that it would spark someone’s interest. I’d love it if someone else were to play around with this!
The thing I found tricky about the usual ways of combining knitting and crochet in the same project is that the stitch gauge for knitting and crochet in the same yarn is usually not the same. Furthermore, because of the structure of the two kinds of stitches, the scale feels different to me: crochet looks bulkier than knitting when it’s worked in the same yarn.
Around that same time I was planning a knitting project where the yarn I had was fingering, but I wanted to knit at worsted gauge. So I doubled the yarn. Somehow that cross-fertilized with the combination of knitting and crochet, and I had an idea: what if I worked the crochet in one strand of fingering, and the knitting with the same yarn doubled?
Amazingly, it worked! I’m afraid I only have crappy old cell phone photos; I couldn’t find the swatches to take better ones. And of course I can’t make new swatches.
One strand of yarn on these swatches is continuous throughout the swatch. The knitting has an extra strand added in.
I went down two or three hook sizes as compared with the knitting needles; that’s something an individual crocheter would have to adjust to their own gauge.
But the key point is: the gauge is essentially the same! I could go back and forth interchangeably from live knitting stitches to crochet stitches and vice versa. And the crochet feels much closer to being at the same scale as the knitting.
Would you like to try this? I would be so pleased if other yarn lovers were to take this method on. I just wish I could do it.
An alternate method is to make a project in the same yarn at two different weights – though dye lot would be tricky if you wanted the same color.
I had seriously just bought one skein of Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter yarn and a contrasting shade of Loft to make a shawl combining knitted lace and crochet lace when my wrist started giving me fits. I still regret that shawl.
Very intriguing. I like the idea of combining crochet and knitting. It doesn’t immediately spark ideas but it is in my head fermenting away 🙂 thanks for sharing.
Great! I love it when that sort of fermentation is going on in my mind. I’m glad you like the idea, whether or not you use it.
Since i can do both, i had been pondering the combination ! Thank you for the advice about gage and doubling the yarn for the knitting part. Thought i was the only one considering this. So happy! You post was 2017 and i am writing Nov 15, 2021 and quite accidently found your post today. I hope you have recovered and are able to knit androchet again! I will now explore your website. Blessed be. ???
I can do tiny amounts of crochet, but not enough for whole projects, alas.
I’m glad this was helpful to you, and thank you SO much for telling me!
This sounds about right. The way crochet is constructed there are more layers of yarn at any given point so doubling the yarn for knitting should work quite well.
I’ll play around with this some time, because I think there are many ways knit and crochet could play off of each strengths and weaknesses and finding new ways to combine them is always interesting.
This sounds about right. The way crochet is constructed there are more layers of yarn at any given point so doubling the yarn for knitting should work quite well.
I’ll play around with this some time, because I think there are many ways knit and crochet could play off of each strengths and weaknesses and finding new ways to combine them is always interesting.
I hope you have fun with the idea, and keep me posted if you put pictures online. Thanks!
Ups, sorry for the multi posting. I have no idea what happend, I posted from my phone.
No worries! I can delete any extras.
Thanks for coming back to discussing the idea ‘later’ even if you are unable to make any more (that’s sad).
Your experiments add to my ideas about ways to interchange tricot (Tunisian crochet) with knitting and other types of crochet. The challenge is to find and make time just to play. I will take your ideas on board and let you know if I manage to go any further with it.
I loved doing Tunisian crochet too. Have fun experimenting, and I look forward to seeing what comes of it.
I’ve wondered about combining the two like this and am glad you did some swatching; I’m tucking your findings away so the next time I feel experimental I can give this a go. I designed a shawl continuously knit using two different yarns – one bulky, one fingering weight – and this strikes me as somewhat similar.
Somehow it’s reassuring to know that I’m not the only person to have considered this possibility. I hope you do give it a try sometime.
ooh interesting. I’m considering whether suffering like this might work. I’ve got a knitting stitch that I love but not sure I can cope with making a while blanket using it so pondering alternating it with crochet! thanks so much for sharing your experiments! ?
That sounds like fun! If you put a picture up online, please let me know – I’d love to see it.
I am playing with tunisian crochet and it strikes me that after the first pass of a pattern it could be knitted off. Perhaps slipping an extra stitch into each crochet space rather than double yarning?
I’ve done that – it’s a different gauge question altogether, as I recall. It’s important to swatch so you can get the ratio correct (it’s not as easy as adding that many stitches – doubling the yarn doesn’t turn out to be equivalent to twice as many stitches).
Here’s my project: https://ravel.me/gannet/ys7iv
Looking at the close up, I needed eleven knit stitches for every ten Tunisian crochet. I have no idea if that’s a universal ratio.
Looking
I want to combine crochet with a knitting project and was delighted to find your post. I will try it now after your helpful tips. I found one other post on combining the two yarn crafts. They recommended using a larger size hook for the crochet so it will drape more since the stiches are thicker. I like your idea of using different yarn thicknesses.
I hope your project goes well!
Wow! So excited to see this. I do both and up to now I have only put knitted ribbing on crocheted hats. I’m working on mittens/fingerless mitts as well. Since I fold the ribbing up, doubling it, it works, but like you, I have found crochet to be thicker, and I like your idea of doubling the yarn.
I found this post lo these many years later, b/c I came across something today and was googling to see if anyone had thought of using them both within the same fabric, rather than using one or the other as a border. What I found was a book from 1914!
https://archive.org/details/croknitting00ulma/page/n1/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
The book called it Cro-knitting, which today I think refers to using a double ended crochet hook, or sometimes it’s used to refer to Tunisian. But they are doing both in the same piece. I’ve worked up a few swatches and I kinda like the effect, but will need to fuss with the hook size vs. needle size. I think one thing that will work if it’s not feasible to change thickness of the yarn is to use garter stitch in the knitted portion, since it has more thickness and oomph. Stockinette would be too flat.
So happy to see someone else thinking along these lines, and I’m tickled beyond belief to know that they were doing this in the 1910’s!
Craft posts rarely have expiration dates! I’m glad you found this and took the time to reply.
I have a friend who’s done some cro-knitting; it’s fascinating stuff. Those double-ended hooks can also be used to work Tunisian crochet in the round.
Nifty stuff!