When it comes to crafting, there is a long-standing debate about which is better: knitting or crocheting? As someone who has been knitting and crocheting for years, I want to end this argument for good. In general, crocheting is easier than knitting. Crochet requires 30% more yarn than knitting, but it also uses one hook instead of two needles. This means that the stitches are simply wound onto the piece, so there is no transfer of stitches from one tool to another.
This makes crocheting much easier to work with than knitting. Knitting uses a pair of long needles to form the loops, moving a set of loops from one needle to another; the stitches are held on the needle. In crochet, the stitches are more like knots and are attached directly to the piece with a single hook. After learning the 5 basic crochet stitches, crocheters notice that their project works faster.
Some people say they think knitting is a “nicer” fabric, but I think crochet fabrics and knit fabrics are just different. You can have several projects going on that require the same hook without having to worry about the size of the project, maintaining the stitches, or whether you are crocheting regularly or round. Crochet hooks aren't that different from pens, but knitting needles are long and pointed and I've heard of a lot of poor knitters losing their (metal) needles to scanners. There are hundreds of thousands of crochet patterns on Ravelry alone, and yes, that includes garments like sweaters, hats (I find it absolutely surprising that you seem to think knitting is the only way to make a decent hat), scarves, gloves, dresses, shawls, shorts, socks, sneakers, and the list goes on.
You can crochet a sweater, but most people will prefer the soft, draped look of a knit sweater.
In fact, I personally believe that the synergies between crochet and knitting need to be explored in greater depth.Knitters keep their needles up high, offering delicate stitches and sweaters that took weeks to knit, while crochets fight back with the functionality of their knotwork. You can use those two to create variations and new stitches, but crochet has more than 150 stitch patterns, only a few of which use the same base pattern. Crocheters often rely on large retail companies to get what they need since they aren't always that adept at crochet. You can also create flowers and small motifs very easily with crochet, something that is very difficult to knit. This red heart crochet amigurumi llama on the left has some competition with the red heart knit amigurumi llama on the right. A hotly debated topic is the difference between knitting and crocheting when it comes to blankets.
