The earliest, existing piece of evidence of knitted wear is a pair of socks, dating from around 2,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians knitted fabric more than 5,000 years ago. Later, Arab traders introduced knitted items to Europe and parts of Asia. During the Middle Ages, skilled European craftsworkers formed groups called guilds. These guilds promoted knitting as both an art and an industry.
Guilds are still prevalent in America, as well as Europe.
It is the tools used that make the difference between crocheting and knitting. To crochet, one hook is used to form a chain of stitches from which variations of designs can be created. Knitting uses long needles in order to form fabric by interconnecting loops of yarn. The chain stitch is used to cast loops onto the hook and create pattern spaces. Double crochet is used in the same manner as single crochet, but is twice the width.