Knitting vs Crochet, Part 2: Does Crochet Really Take More Yarn? (Part 2)

Better late than never.  Click here for Part 1.

Changes
Since I overestimated by ability to keep the swatch size the same, I'm normalizing the height and width measurements by using square inches instead.  So, I'll get the amount of yarn used per square inch.  Easier that way anyway.

Also, since I'm not going by pure measurement, I didn't take pictures of all the swatches.  I did take this one to prove I did them though:

My gauges didn't come out the same either, though not very far off.  Again, since I'm using gauge to calculate the stitch width and height to get me the dimension of the stitch in square inches (I know, it's weird, but it lets me do the amount comparison) in order to get amount used per stitch, the gauge isn't a problem.  I was hoping for a more direct comparison, but oh well. 

I did do the garter stitch and double crochet swatches (which is why it took me so long).

Also, to state, I'm doing everything in inches.  Not standard, but that's what I did because I'm a stupid American who just realized her tape measure has centimeters on it.  Measurements are to 1/16 of an inch.

Results
My raw results are in this chart (sorry for the size...no real way to post this without it running off the page.  However, for integrity, I want to put my raw data here):

Stitch Used	Tool Diameter	Width (in)	Height (in)	Swatch Size (sq in)	Stitch Gauge (/in)	Row Gauge (/in)	Stitch Width (in)	Stitch Height (in)	Stitch Size (sq in)	# of Stitches in Sq. In.	Length of Yarn Used (in)	Amount of Yarn Used per Sq. In. (in)	Yarn Used per Stitch (in)
DC	4.25mm	3.7500	2.2500	8.4375	4.5	3.0	0.2222	0.3333	0.0741	13.5000	312.3125	37.0148	2.7418
Garter	4.25mm	4.3750	2.0000	8.7500	5.0	10.0	0.2000	0.1000	0.0200	50.0000	341.6875	39.0500	0.7810
SC	4.25mm	3.7500	2.1875	8.2031	4.5	6.0	0.2222	0.1667	0.0370	27.0000	355.5625	43.3448	1.6054
St St	4.25mm	3.8125	2.3750	9.0547	5.5	7.5	0.1818	0.1333	0.0242	41.2500	297.2500	32.8283	0.7958
DC	5mm	3.8125	2.1250	8.1016	4.0	2.5	0.2500	0.4000	0.1000	10.0000	264.3750	32.6326	3.2633
Garter	5mm	4.2500	2.0000	8.5000	4.5	10.0	0.2222	0.1000	0.0222	45.0000	316.5000	37.2353	0.8275
SC	5mm	3.6875	2.1250	7.8359	4.0	5.0	0.2500	0.2000	0.0500	20.0000	306.0625	39.0588	1.9529
St St	5mm	3.7500	2.3750	8.9063	5.0	6.5	0.2000	0.1538	0.0308	32.5000	250.6250	28.1404	0.8659

To give my formulas:

• Square Inches = W * H
• Amount of yarn used per sq. in = [yarn used in whole swatch (in)]/[square inches of area used]
• Stitch height/width = 1/[row gauge (for height)] or [1/stitch gauge (for width)].  This is because my gauges are all per 1 inch (if you, say, used 4 in for your gauge, it would be 4/[gauge measurement]...or, more explicitly: [gauge measurement]/[# in. for swatch] = 1 st / [x in] -> x = [# in. for swatch]/[gauge measurement])
• Amount of yarn used per stitch = [amount of yarn used per square inch] / [the number of stitches in a square inch] (which is 1/[size of a stitch in square inches]).

Since that chart is large and pretty unreadable, I created these comparison table, one for amount of yarn used per sq. in. and one for amount used in a stitch.  They are both sorted min to max amount used:

Amount of Yarn Used per Sq. In. (in)	Tool Diameter
Stitch Used	4.25mm	5mm
Stockinette Stitch	32.8283	28.1404
Double Crochet	37.0148	32.6326
Garter	39.0500	37.2353
Single Crochet	43.3448	39.0588
Yarn Used per Stitch (in)	Tool Diameter
Stitch Used	4.25mm	5mm
Garter	0.7810	0.8275
Stockinette Stitch	0.7958	0.8659
Single Crochet	1.6054	1.9529
Double Crochet	2.7418	3.2633

There's a couple of things here I noticed right away.  The least apparent thing may be easier to see in this graph:

Can't see it?  I've added lines between the 4.25mm data points for on stitch and the 5mm for the next stitch:

Hm.  There's a relationship here. If you order the stitches from least to most yarn used, it shows that you can go to the next stitch, and the only thing you need to do is increase the needle/hook diameter to the next up size and you'll use around the same amount of yarn. And the stitch order staggers between knitting and crochet.  This itself is a nail in the coffin for the whole '3 times more yarn' myth.  I wonder if this trend holds out if you added more diameter sizes.  I really don't want to make up more swatches to find out, though.

On the other hand, to maybe, possibly, give some credence to those who say crochet takes up more yarn, look at the table for per stitch.  Yes, it turns out that both knitting stitches I looked at use less yarn per stitch than both crochet stitches. But then look at this table:

Stitch Size	Tool Diameter
Stitch Used	4.25mm	5mm
Garter	0.0200	0.0222
Stockinette Stitch	0.0242	0.0308
Single Crochet	0.0370	0.0500
Double Crochet	0.0741	0.1000

Using the same order of stitches as the second table above, I created one with the stitches size in square inches.  So, yes, the knitting stitches take less yarn.  They also cover less area, which is what I figured. But this still doesn't settle why, when you look at square inches and not stitches, the order changes.  My guess is that the ratio of the area gained in the square inch to the amount of yarn used is not the same for each stitch, and that it would work out to be that the stitch that used the least yarn while covering the most area would be the one to use the least amount of yarn in a square inch.  I don't feel like doing that comparison.  It's not that important to this myth.

Anyway, to get back on track, we get to the final conclusion as seen in the first table (Yarn Used per Square Inch).  So, how much yarn does each craft take against the other?  It depends on the stitch you're using.  Using the same tool size:

Percentage of Yarn Used
Stitch Used	Garter	Stockinette	Single Crochet	Double Crochet
Garter	0.0000%	0.0016%	-0.0011%	0.0005%
Stockinette Stitch	-0.0019%	0.0000%	-0.0032%	-0.0013%
Single Crochet	0.0010%	0.0024%	0.0000%	0.0015%
Double Crochet	-0.0005%	0.0011%	-0.0017%	0.0000%

Table is read down, then across (so pick a stitch on the left hand side, then find the stitch to compare it to at the top, then find where they meet to find the percentage more of yarn the first took against the other.  If it's negative, it took less.

None of these are anywhere close to 3 times the amount. 

There's one more thing I do want to explore here, though.  Those saying that 'crochet takes more yarn' could claim is that, in reality, if a knitter and a crocheter were doing similar projects, they would pick completely different tool sizes.  And, most likely, the knitter would use a bigger tool than the crocheter (my guess based on my experience...if you can prove me wrong, let me know).  This is what I was trying to test with the 'same gauge' thing.  The problem is that the gauges aren't all that compatible between knitting and crocheting.  Should have known that. 

However, the data I do have shows that this argument doesn't work either.  Look at the first table again.  If, say, a knitter wanted to crochet something that would normally be in garter stitch and still use a similar amount of yarn, just change it to double crochet.  Going from garter to double crochet results in less yarn being used, and if you go down a tool size or two (which you would), it'll use close to the same amount of yarn.  Once again, it comes down to what you're doing in that craft.  The knitter could use less yarn and therefore get more out of the same yardage, but the crocheter could do so too.

Conclusion
Therefore...myth  BUSTED.  Crocheters aren't using up all your yarn.  Actually, you may be using more yarn than a crocheter, since it all depends on stitch and tool size chosen.  And even if the crocheter is using more yarn, they're NOT using anywhere close to 3 times as much.  So stop repeating this myth.

In Which I, Once Again, Didn't Do My Research First

...Because if I had, I would have found out that several other people have tested the 'crochet takes more yarn' myth, some years before I thought about it. Oye.  And the first one even referenced the same Yarn Harlot quote as me (and she has a page number, if you need it).

Sorry to say, I found all this as I was finishing the last swatch.  Now, I just have to take pictures and do the measurements for what I have. One good thing, though...given the results above, I may do a garter stitch swatch in both needles sizes as well, as it seems that other testers have found single crochet and garter to be similar, instead of my assumption that stockinette would be the similar stitch.  On the other hand, I then should do two double crochet swatches for the hell of it.  That should cover all the basic stitches in both crafts.

So I may do four more swatches before posting my results.  Or I may tally up my results for what I have, post that, formalize the rest of the test, and then do another post when I have all the results.  We'll see.

I guess I shouldn't feel too bad.  Testing things is all about the repetition from other people, in order to counteract your own test flaws and biases.  So, let's see if I get the same results!

Distractions and Old Obsessions

I figured that my next post would be the results of the test.  Didn't happen.  I still got one more swatch to do, and then I got to record everything.  I should be done next week.

And why am I not done?  Couple of reasons.  One, I hate swatching, so I'm procrastinating.  Two, I got distracted by a thousand other things.  This post is about those projects.

First off, I spent my week 1)starting the baby sweater (having done all the math for the body of the sweater, at least), 2)realizing my choice of increase sucked and therefore frogging the sweater, 3)restarting it with a new increase, 4)noticing that it looked a little big, measuring it, realizing that it was in fact an inch too big, re-measuring the gauge, realizing that I had had a gauge accident, and therefore frogging the sweater again.

This was followed by an investigation as to why I had had a gauge accident, which was found to be due to my own stupidity.  My swatch didn't lie, in fact the first swatch I did for the baby sweater was at the same gauge I was getting for the sweater itself.  The problem was that I measured it wrong the first time, and therefore every bit of math and planning I did for this pattern was 100% wrong for the size I wanted.  Yeah.  Ripping out 11 rows and having to re-do all the pattern math was not what I was aiming to do this week.

Anyway, having done that, I did get it started again:

And it is in fact the right size this time.  I checked three times.

As well, as I was knitting a garter stitch square, I was thinking about how I really shouldn't be knitting a square for my Log Cabin Afghan, and should really switch the needles back to the Crazy Cable Blanket so I could get some of that done.  Except then another train of thoughts went through my head.  You see, the baby sweater needs to be done by June (as well as the one that still needs buttons. I haven't had any luck with that).  Also, I want to knit up a small shawl using my other skein of Merino Light, and that will also need to be done by June, as I wish to wear it to my brother's bar mitzvah.  Surfing for patterns for that, I realized that I need to get my brother a present.  But what to get him...hm...what did I get for my sisters...oh, shit, I made them crocheted kippot.

This needs some back story.  You see, I originally got interested in pattern design for one reason.  When I was in high school and actually not only considered myself Jewish but was a constant participant in one of the youth groups, I wanted to make myself a kippah. I tried finding a pattern online, but that didn't net me much back in the early 2000's.  I had a vision, and I wanted that.  So, I spent most of my high school years making and trying to come up with a pattern for the perfect kippah.  Two of my best efforts of this ended up going to my sisters for their bat mitzvahs, one of them actually being very good. Unfortunately, I crocheted it as I was watching the Columbia disaster unfold on TV and therefore didn't write down what I did, and never managed to recreate it.  I, after making a bunch of failed efforts, gave up when I went to college.  This left me with a shit-ton of crochet thread that I've, for some reason, always kept around but have not done anything else with.

So guess what made a reappearance recently:

Yay stash.  Anyway, in my time on Raverly, I've noticed that they had a whole category for kippot, so I went and clicked it.  Lots of free, basic knitted and crochet patterns for kippot.  Only one problem.  None of them are for crochet thread.  So, guess what I've been doing today?

I'm once again trying to create a kippah pattern so I can also make my brother a kippah for his bar mitzvah.  In June. Oye.

Of course you may look at the start of that effort and go, 'wait, doesn't that look a little feminine for a boy?' and you would be right.  That's because after my third time starting (and after buying three different sizes of steel crochet hooks...no wonder I sucked at making kippot last time, I didn't even have the right size hook for the yarn!), I got the ripple effect that I had achieved on my only good effort last time I did this.  So I started writing down what I was doing and went with it.  Not that this little side effort hasn't given me an idea of how to make a more standard kippah, but yeah, this isn't for my brother.  Don't know what I'm going to do with it, assuming I get something out of it.  Maybe give it to my mother, since I've never made her one either (when she had her (adult) bat mitzvah, I bought her a kippah).

Now I've started something else, this leave me with four projects in progress (where did my rules go?  Threw them out when I moved, it looks like), two active which need to be done by June, and one that needs to be done by next December (given this is Crazy Cable Blanket, this isn't a sure thing.  I have to get rows done every week to potentially make that deadline).  I also have another project that isn't started that I would like to be done by June (but honestly, if I don't get my shawl it's not the end of the world).  And yarn I just bought for a hat I was hoping on making before winter ended.  And eight done squares and one in progress for a blanket I don't need, but since it's a mindless project, it gets worked on more often than Crazy Cable Blanket does.  Oh, and that swatch for my test. Do you think I've bit off more than I can chew here?