In the UK, we have three different ways to explain a yarn over: yarn forward (yfwd), yarn over the needle (yon), yarn round the needle (yrn).
Basically these versions all do the same thing: they make a new stitch by taking the yarn over the right needle. The different names depends on which stitch comes before or after. So if you're making a stitch between two knit stitches, it's called yarn forward. The other two terms are used if you're making a new stitch between two purl stitches, between a knit and a purl stitch or between a purl and a knit stitch. I can never remember in which situation yrn or yon is used and I know many other knitters struggle with this too.
When you knit the continental way, these terms are even more confusing because we hold the yarn in a different way to English knitters and it's especially confusing if you use the Norwegian purl rather than the standard continental purl
Americans seem to use yarn over to cover any situation when you take the yarn over the right needle to make a new stitch and I quickly decided to adopt this approach. So I use yarn over any time I make a stitch by taking the yarn over the right needle. So instead of using yfw, yon, yrn, I use yo (for yarn over).
How you work the yarn over depends on your knitting style and which stitch comes before and after the yarn over. The yarn over is only 'taking the yarn over the right needle'. The stitch before or after is not part of the yarn over.
So let's look at a few examples. I'm assuming you're using either the English style or continental style of knitting.
Yarn over between two knit stitches:
- Your yarn is at the back because you knitted the previous stitch.
If you knit the English way, take the yarn between the needles to the front (just as if you're getting ready to purl) then knit the next stitch. Your yarn over is just taking the yarn to the front.
If you knit the continental way, take the yarn between the needles to the front then over the right needle to the back. You're then ready to work the next stitch.
Yarn over between two purl stitches:
- If you knit the English style or purl the regular continental way, your yarn will be at the front after purling a stitch.
- If you purl the Norwegian way, your yarn will be at the back after purling a stitch.
For English knitters and knitters using regular continental purl, take the yarn over the right needle to the back (that's your yarn over) then because you're purling the next stitch, you need to take your yarn between the needles to the front again, so you're ready to purl the next stitch.
If you use the Norwegian purl, then take your yarn to the front between the needles, over the right needle (that's your yarn over) and then take the right needle behind the working yarn so you're ready to purl the next stitch.
Yarn over between a kit and a purl stitch:
- Your yarn will be at the back because you've just knitted a stitch.
If you are an English style knitter or use regular continental purl, take the yarn between the needles to the front, over the right needle (that's your yarn over) then between the needles to the front again, so you're ready to purl the next stitch.
If you use the Norwegian purl, then take your yarn to the front between the needles, over the right needle (that's your yarn over) and then take the right needle behind the working yarn so you're ready to purl the next stitch.
Yarn over between a purl and a knit stitch:
- If you are an English style knitter or use regular continental purl, the yarn will be at the front after the purl stitch.
For English knitters and knitters using the regular continental purl, if you just leave the yarn at the front where it is, that's your yarn over. Then as you knit the next stitch, you take the yarn over the right needle.
Does that all make sense? Instead of trying to remember exactly how to move your yarn, just think about in order to make a yarn over (which creates a hole in your knitting), you need to take the yarn over the right needle from front to back. So depending on where your yarn is after the previous stitch, just do what is necessary to take the yarn over the right needle from front to back then take the yarn to where it needs to be for you to work the next stitch. So if you're purling the next stitch, the yarn needs to be at the front and if you're knitting the next stitch, it needs to be at the back.
If you find this all a bit confusing, I've recorded a video to show you what I'm talking about. The video can also be viewed here.
In my patterns I use yarn over (yo) instead of yarn forward (yfwd), yarn over the needle (yon) or yarn round the needle (yrn) but many British based designers and British publications still use these terms instead of yarn over and that can be confusing. Every pattern should have a list of abbreviations which should explain each abbreviation.
If a pattern or publication uses the British terms, then it's probably aimed at knitters who knit the English way, so if you knit any other way like Continental or Eastern methods, you will need to adapt the instructions to your way of knitting. This is much easier if you understand what the stitch you're attempting should look like after you've worked it. So with yarn overs, make sure you know what it looks like on the row you've worked it and after the next row. That way, if you do the yarn over the wrong way around, for example, you can easily identify the mistake and fix it.
If you have any questions, do ask me and I'll do my best to help.
You can find Monday Mini Tip tutorials and all my other tutorials on my Tutorials & Pattern Support Page.
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