I heard, about a year ago, someone demo-ing a design that required a crochet chain as an embellishment. Just a drawstring. I can’t remember the project. It was a hand-knit project with a crochet chain. It was advised that knitters who didn’t know how to make a chain could do it with a knit-only version.
Cast on 80 bazillion stitches, then bind off 80 bazillion stitches. Wow! Really? Let’s take my personal, least favorite two things and do them repeatedly just for a crochet chain.
Seriously, no one can possibly be that afraid of a crochet hook. A crochet chain is so EASY! And, you can have 20 of them finished in the time it would take to do the cast on-bind off version.
I once had a non-needlework friend visiting at my house. While we were talking, she picked up some yarn and began “doodling”. We were both amazed when I told her that she was making a crochet chain with her fingers.
I’ve seen grown men, men who would rather stab out their own eyes with a… well, with a knitting needle than pick up a crochet hook, who have stood there and boldly tidied the water hose in a perfect crochet chain. I’ve even seen them crochet chain Christmas lights before storing them away.
I promise you that making a crochet chain is in no way difficult. You don’t even need a crochet hook. You can use your fingers! And, besides, you’re going to need to learn it anyway. It’s the way to make a provisional cast-on which you’re going to run across in a pattern one day.
Don’t be shy! Jump in there with both feet… err hands.
January 5, 2013 at 2:57 pm
I always have to laugh at knitter’s who refuse to have any part of crochet. I even read on one chicks Rav page where it ask how many years crocheting, she put “can do it, but why should I have to?” I thought that kind of said a lot about her, and it wasn’t positive! I do both knit and crochet…to refuse to learn one or the other because of some weird social prejudice about one being better than the other is just sad!
Why limit yourself to just one when you can have two?
January 6, 2013 at 9:32 am
This is a very funny and appropos topic! No matter how easy something is, the learning curve can seem overwhelming at times!