The scarf race: and the winner is.....

One of the things that persuaded me to learn to crochet was the opinion expressed by many people that crochet is quicker than knitting.  I have knitted more scarves than I can remember.  But I have crocheted only 2 scarves.  As they were my first proper crochet projects, I was painstakingly slow and careful.  "Faster than knitting?  Not the way I crochet!", I thought to myself.  Then I realised that I had crocheted both scarves in less than a week.  I have never knitted 2 scarves in such a short time.

So I decided to conduct an experiment.  I knitted a scarf and I crocheted a scarf.  Spot the difference.....

Both are made with the same size needle and the same Aran wool.  Both have a similar ribbed pattern.  The knitted scarf on the right is smaller than the crocheted scarf on the left.  Amazingly, it took twice as long to complete.  Yes, the scarf that crossed the finish line first by a mile was the crocheted scarf.  I could see it galloping along before my eyes, whereas the knitted scarf stubbornly rewarded 30 minutes knitting by moving only an inch or so.  Guess which method I will be backing in future.

These are scarves for children and will be going off soon to a charity.  Just for information the knitting pattern is as follows:
Aran wool and size 6mm needles
Cast on 27 stitches
Row 1: (knit 3, purl 3) and repeat to the end of the row
Row 2: (knit 1, purl 1) and repeat to the end of the row
Repeat these rows until the scarf measures between 36 and 48 inches.
For an adult scarf, I would cast on 33 stitches and work until the scarf measures about 60 inches or whatever suits you.

The crochet pattern can be found here:
http://jennozkan.com/2010/uncategorized/crochet-ribbed-scarf-its-like-knitting-only-better/

Both patterns produce a pleasing end result.  But, as my very unscientific experiment  proved, the crochet pattern is quicker even for a novice.