Yarn Usage II: Crochet vs. Knit

All four swatches were made.  Each is 6.25" or 15.875 cm square; each prepared with the same sized yarn and needles or hook.  It took 25 stitches to get the appropriate width for the knit swatches and only 20 stitches for both of the crocheted squares.  That already says something, but I'll get to it in a minute.  (Don't know what I'm talking about here?  Check out this post first.)

Unfortunately, you'll just have to trust me that four swatches were prepared and that they were all the same size.  In the excitement to get to measuring and weighing of the swatches, no photographic evidence was taken.  Luckily for me the results of this research doesn't have to be reviewed by a jury of my peer.  This blog post will be the sum and total of where this information is published.

The remains of my four swatches

What can be shared, however, are the balls of yarn rewound after the weighing and measuring was completed.  You will note the size of the balls vary.  Now one can argue that may be because they are hand wound, but I know which ball of yarn was used for which project and the size reflects the results.

Drum roll please--listed below are those results
                                         
                                                Weight in Gms               Length in Yards/Meters
Garter Knit                                    17.1                                   33.215/30.3718
Stockinette Knit                             13.8                                   26.333/24.0789
Single Crochet                               19.5                                   38.021/34.7664
Double Crochet                             16.4                                   25.125/22.9743

So what conclusions can be drawn from this data.

• First the garter knit stitch and the single crochet create the most dense and less drapey or flowy fabric.  Thus they require more yarn.  Or perhaps the reverse is more accurate, they use more yarn because they are more dense.
• The stockinette knit and double crochet stitches are less dense and create a fabric that is more flowy; thus they require less yarn to create.  
• And as a secondary hypothesis, yes the garter stitch requires more yarn than the stockinette stitch to create the same sized swatch.  In fact, it is approximately 20% more yarn.

But the concept that knitting uses as little as one-third less yarn than crocheting does hold.  The idea it can take up to 3 times more yarn to crochet than knit something similar does not, according to this experiment.

• The garter and single crochet are the most similar type of fabric and the percentage difference in my little experiment is 12.3% by weight and 12.6% by length.  (Since my weight and length measurements are done with rather unsophisticated instruments [a postage scale and yardstick], the difference in percentages can be expected.)  Although these difference are roughly 12.5% that does not equal 33%.  
• However, should one compare the stockinette stitch to single crochet, stitches that yield completely different types of fabric, the percentages jump up to this:  weight is 29.2% and 30.7% for length.  This difference gets much closer to 33% rule of thumb.

Thus, perhaps my experiment supports the statement about yarn usage in knitting versus crocheting.  But more clearly at least for me, it supports the notion that yarn crafters need to know what type of fabric they wish to create.  And this is directly influenced by the type stitches and which technique is used.  Both knitting and crocheting can generate thick dense projects and thin ethereal ones as well.  The crafter needs to choose carefully.  Remember how airy my Churchmouse Crochet Moebius is?  It is crocheted with very fine yarn and a rather large hook.  Thus the size of tools and the yarn used will create widely varying results.  So beware of using the one-third rule of thumb regarding knitting and crocheting, you might just be comparing apples and oranges, IMHO.

But you don't have to take my word for it.  Here's a link to another crafter's POV about the topic.  She takes a slightly different approach looking at stitches per inch, but the conclusion remains the same.  I believe the myth isn't totally busted, but its reliability can be called into question.  The comparison is not a simple one to make.