According to the textile anthropologist Irene Emery in the book The Primary Structures of Fabric, knitting is a single element interlooping fabric. It is single element, because its one continuous element (the yarn) worked into rows, and interlooping, because it is constructed by making loops through previous loops. This is why knitting unravels so easily. It is also constructed vertically. Crochet, in contrast, according to Emery, is both lateral and vertical. The loops are worked both with the one below it, and the one proceeding it horizontally.
Generally speaking, knitting is easier to unravel than crochet, as with crochet, a pulled loop only pulls the previous loop, it stays quite contained along one axis. With knitting, an unsecured loop can pull through the loop below it
There's multiple different ways to form the structure of knitting. The most common way (by hand, at least), is using needles. However, it is also possible to create the same fabric on a pegged loom. This is how machine knitting works. Loom knitting illustrates the vertical interlooping that characterizes knitting with clarity, it is easier to comprehend the process of