Crochet guide
Crochet compared with macrame, tatting and loom knitting
Crochet makes fabric by pulling loops of one yarn through each other with a hook. Macrame ties knots in cords, tatting makes a knotted lace with a shuttle, loom knitting is knitting done on pegs, and embroidery puts stitches onto cloth that already exists.
On this page 6 parts
Side by side
| Craft | Tool | How the fabric is made | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crochet | One hook | Loops of one yarn pulled through each other, one stitch at a time | Clothes, blankets, toys, lace |
| Macrame | None needed beyond cord and scissors | Lengths of cord tied to each other in knots | Wall hangings, plant hangers, belts and bracelets |
| Tatting | A small shuttle | Knots and loops made in thread | Lace |
| Loom knitting | A frame with a row or ring of pegs | Stitches formed on the pegs, one to a peg: knitted fabric | Tubes and flat pieces, such as hats |
| Embroidery, cross stitch and needlepoint | A needle | Stitches sewn onto cloth or canvas that already exists | Decoration and pictures on fabric |
Knitting has a page of its own: knitting vs crochet.
Macrame and crochet
Macrame is knotting. Lengths of cord are cut, hung side by side from a rod or a ring, and tied to each other. The cords are mounted with a knot called the lark's head. Most of the work is then two kinds of knot: square knots and half hitches.
Crochet is looping. One hook draws one yarn through a loop to make a new loop, and the fabric grows a stitch at a time from a single ball.
So the two differ in three plain ways:
- Tool. Crochet needs a hook. Macrame knots are tied by hand: the basic supplies are cord, scissors and a tape measure.
- Yarn. Crochet works from one continuous yarn. Macrame works with many cut cords at once.
- Structure. Crochet is made of loops. Macrame is made of knots.
Both can make open, lacy pieces.
Tatting and crochet
Tatting is a way of making lace by hand out of knots and loops in thread. The usual tool is a small shuttle.
Crochet can make lace too, with fine thread and a small steel hook. The difference is the structure. Tatted lace is built of knots. Crocheted lace is built of chains and crochet stitches. See the thread size chart and steel hook sizes for crochet thread and hooks.
Loom knitting and crochet
Loom knitting is knitting, not crochet. The loom is a frame with evenly spaced pegs, round or rectangular, that takes the place of the needles. The yarn is wrapped round the pegs, and every peg holds a stitch. The fabric that comes off the loom looks like knitting done on needles.
A crochet hook holds one live loop. A loom holds a whole row of loops at once, one on every peg, as knitting needles do.
Embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint and crochet
These three decorate a fabric that is already there. A needle carries thread or yarn through cloth, or through canvas, to make stitches on its surface. Cross stitch builds a picture from stitches shaped like an X. Needlepoint is worked on canvas.
Crochet starts with no fabric at all. The hook and the yarn make it. This site has a section for each of the three: Cross stitch, Hand embroidery and Needlepoint. Each is linked at the foot of every page.
Where to go next
- For what crochet is and where the word comes from, see what is crochet?
- For whether a machine can make it, see can a machine crochet?
- To begin, see how to crochet.