I got an email this morning from Leisure Arts about the Knook. What is the Knook, well it is a way to knit with a tool they call the knook which is a special crochet hook and a piece of leather which goes through a hole . It looks like Tunsian crochet but my point is why go through all this trouble with a hook. Why not just learn how to knit!!! I will never understand why people go through all this trouble just to have a knitted piece with a hook when they could just learn to knit.
Knook
I know, from reading on Crochet lists and from my own experience, that knitting doesnāt work for everyone. Some people who crochet want [I]very much[/I] to learn to knit, but have neurological or physical problems which make the āyarn slipping off the needlesā and other knitting-coordination challenges too difficult or even impossible to overcome.
For them, knooking makes a few knitted items possible (ribbing on a sweater, for example).
In my own case, I was never able to remember the one and only cast-on I had been shown years ago, and didnāt know about Continental-style knitting. The combination of the two brought me to a stand. Without casting on, of course, no knitting can take place, and years of maneuvering yarn with my left hand for crochet made that hand very āsmartā w/regard to yarn-tensioning and my right hand clueless.
Earlier this very year, I joined a community-service group of women who ([B]listen up[/B], any knitters who are prejudiced against crochetā¦) [U]were open-minded about crochet[/U]. :cheering: They were more interested in the [I]actual number[/I] of hats, neck scarves, and baby blankets the group could produce rather than how said items were produced. I can generate hats like nobodyās business, and neck scarves as well, and [I]thatās[/I] what they wanted to see.
At the monthly meetings, held at a memberās house, there are only five to seven women. A nice, small group. As I was walking by one of them after having put a hat on the stack in April, she was āmagicallyā making loops on her needle with (wow!) ONE HAND. I stopped dead.
āAre youā¦casting on?! with one hand?!ā [excitedly]
āSure. Anything to get loops on the needle fast is fine.ā
āButā¦I had no idea there was another cast-on than the one I was showed that Iāve never been able to remember. This is great!ā
āOh; there are [I]so many[/I] cast-ons that I donāt think I even know them all.ā
ā!ā [staggered]
So that logjam was broken. Yes: Backwards Loop Cast-On.
Then I looked in books, etc. (Internet, too, but didnāt have the vocabulary yet) for alternate methods of knitting. It was that right-hand thingā¦and I also saw some of the [I]many[/I] cast-ons.
Now Iām a beginning knitter, working in Continental style, and have taken a couple of hat- and scarf-making classes at an LYS.
But not everyone has the benefit of two fully functioning hands. I didnāt even always have that: for 15 years I had to choose between crochet and my job due to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is how I [B]know[/B] from the inside out about hand trouble.
Soā¦knooking may be the only knitting-like craft available to some people. Donāt just jump in and tear it down before realizing that, for them, it may be their only possibility. For others, it may become a bridge to knitting.
DCM
Some people feel more comfortable with just one tool in one hand than using 2 with both hands. It makes nice looking items too.
I am sorry as I didnāt intend to upset people but I think we should try to share our knowledge and not make a profit to extremes. I have said for years that knitting and crochet had lots in common.
Knooking isnāt just a gimmick to make money. Itās similar to Tunisian crochet and it or a variation, has been used for decades in the Netherlandsand scandinavian countries. See this blog also
[B]suzeeq[/B], that is truly amazing. The āDutch knitting,ā as the blogger says itās called in her family, is also called āBosnian slip-stitch/crochet,ā and the crochet hook sheās using is sold by Lacis as a āPjoning crochet hook.ā
I purchased one a couple of months ago to work with slip-stitch crochet. My jaw completely dropped when I clicked on the Netherlands blog and saw a Pjoning-hook twin being used in a completely different way!
There seems to be a continuumāor, perhaps, constellationāof techniques that includes tambour work, igolochkoy, locker hooking, crochet (English/American type), Tunisian crochet, knitting, knooking, āDutch knittingā (per the blog), Bosnian/slip-stitch crochet, Korsnas "crochet," nalbinding, tvaandstickning, and (probably the Ur-Teknik of them all) sprang, which some textile-history researchers now believe gave birth to both weaving [I]and[/I] the ātool + fiberā arts.
The ālet them eat cakeā (āLearn to knitā) statements always sadden/infuriate me based on my own many years of difficulty and the knowledge that there are people who would like to learn to knit but cannot.
The other statements (which Iāve read on this very board, one from a highly regarded moderator) along the lines of āwell, crochet is [insert your favorite derogatory phrase]ā also are depressing/baffling. If both crochet and knitting are related arts, why must one be āsuperiorā and the other āinferiorā?
With so many fields of endeavor, I very much regret the 15 years I had to lose to the needle arts of all kinds. I donāt have time to put down the arts I canāt do; I want to learn as many as possible.
Swimming against the tide uses more energy than simply coming to this knitting board and reading about knitting [B]should[/B], even though I restrict myself to the How To, Patterns, and other brass-tacks areas. Then, to find in the āCrochetā area, someone saying the same āLet them eat cakeā phrase about knooking is prettyā¦wellā¦āamazingā is probably the most polite word I can use to describe my feelings when I read the OPās post earlier today.
Clearly, based on the Dutch blog, the research by Dora Ohrenstein on Bosnian/slip-stitch crochet, and other ādiscoveriesā by English-language researchers, academicians, and yarn-workers of folk and ethnic fiber techniques around the world, what we know as ācrochetā and āknitā are only two of many styles of working the yarn.
A little more flexibility of attitude would be very welcome.
DCM
The other statements (which Iāve read on this very board, one from a highly regarded moderator) along the lines of āwell, crochet is [insert your favorite derogatory phrase]āā¦
I donāt believe Iāve read this from anyone on this board, let alone a moderator.
I havenāt been around here enough to notice any hostility against crochet, but I just want to say I like them both, but for different projects. I generally donāt care for crocheted clothes, but I like it for household items like blankets and stuff. Thatās just a personal preference. :shrug: I think if someone says knitting is better, you have to be careful not to interpret that as āknitting makes you superior.ā If that [I]is[/I] what theyāre saying though, I do agree that isnāt right.
I donāt place knitting or crochet as one better than the other. I do both and enjoy both! I prefer knitting most clothing and crochet is house items and whatever catches my interest. I have been doing both for over 48 years. I do many other needle crafts as well as sewing, quilting. I will say after watching some videos on it I think if you want a knitted looking item without knitting it then this would be your method. I did learn Tunisian and found it took too long for me and went back to my knitting. I am always on in the learning mode but this is one technique I will leave alone as I like my current knitting method.
@suzeeq: please see my PM.
And thank you again for the mind-stunning blog from the Netherlands. Wow.
DCM
I recently came across the Knook as an advert on Facebook or something. I canāt recall, it was just last week though. I posted in the General Knitting section asking if anyone used it, just because I was curious about it. I never come to the crochet forum b/c I canāt crochetā¦correction until yesterday, I couldnāt crochet! I never learned to crochet b/c I associated it with the itchy afghans and abundance of doilies my grandmother used to make. Well, I started knitting about a year ago and became enlightened. Her crocheting had nothing to do with the itchiness, it was the cheap acrylic yarn she was using!! Ding ding. I felt quite dumb realizing this but hey, I was a kid. Anyway, I decided to learn crochet, and I am now a beginner! I agree with other comments that neither is superior but we are on the internet. Itās hard to justify being offended while on the internet. Itās a matter of personal preference and ability. I think the Knook would be great for people with some disabilities, and also for someone that really wants to incorporate a little knitting and a little crocheting together. I do agree with the original poster, I thought it was a money gimmick at first too. There are so many especially in the arts/crafts arena. Anyway, I just wanted to say I was ignorant to crochet before, and now I am really enjoying learning it. i intend to mainly crochet amigurumi. I prefer how it looks over knitted.
As someone who both crochets and knits, I am always amazed to find that some people (not so much on this site, though) seem to look down on one or the other. Why not try both?
I do find it interesting that some people still see crochet as only for household items. I realize thatās a preference (and, of course, a very valid one), but when I look at patterns, say, in [I]Crochet! Magazine,[/I] I do not see dowdy, old-fashioned, unwearable patterns. Many of todayās crochet patterns for clothing are [B]quite[/B] fashionable and very wearableāparticularly since the light-weight clothing uses the finer yarns, making them much less bulky! And there are SO many interesting crochet stitches to use ranging from very lacy to a nice, dense fabric.
Iām always open to learning new skills! After all, what AM I going to do with all this yarn in the closet behind me? So thanks for posting about the different ways you can create stuff!
I just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth here. I just wanted to say, I honestly love both knitting and crocheting equally. I love the variety of thing that you can do with both crafts. I honestly like crochet more for blankets and things. But I also love making crochet hats, dog sweaters, that kinda thing. Anything that will peak my interest, in all honesty. And I enjoy learning new things in both crafts.
I am new to knooking. I got the knook kit for christmas.I donāt know much about knitting and only the basics in crocheting. I have watching videos on how to knook. I am working on making a scarf from the book that came in my kit. I am wondering why they tell you to chain 26 but only cast on 25?
Thanks.
I am as new as new can get.
I have wanted to learn to knit or crochet for awhile but never really had the time. I didnāt know much at all about either. Just yesterday literally I decided to buy the stuff for one or the other and give it a go. Ran across the Knook and thought Iād try that instead and bought the beginners kit. I for some reason just couldnāt figure it out for the life of me- read the instruction book, watched a few videoās and still nothing. So I happened to run across a how-to video on how to knit and watched itā¦ didnāt have any knitting needles but did have the 3 Knook needles. I decided to give it a go with those and made my first swatch last night, which didnāt turn out too bad for a first-timer. I am now working on a simple headband. Still need to get some actual knitting needles but canāt complain. Maybe Iāll give the Knook a go again sometime in the future when I have gotten a better handle on knitting.
OMG!!! I love it!! You bought the knook but learned to actually knit instead. Congratulations on learning to knit!!! I think youāll enjoy it a lot.
Thereās nothing wrong with knooking and some people seem to love it, I watched a few videos and thought Iād never get it and didnāt bother trying. The same with loom knitting, it just looks cumbersome and more difficult.
I find that knitting with the knook is easier than knitting with two needles and I am a beginner. Though it does seem a bit slower. I have had to restart on the scarf I am working on a few times. But I need the practice. lol
Everything takes practice, Iām sure youāll get better at it and find it enjoyable. I donāt knit very fast but I do enjoy it. However we do it, seeing something take shape from a ball of yarn is amazing and darn near miraculous IMO. Enjoy playing with string!