Figure It Out Friday

The yarn over stitch for English knitters

Today is a continuation from last week’s thoughts on the series of stitches: [yo, sl1, k1, psso].  The confusion comes for those of us who are English Knitters (hold our working yarn in our right hand). This simple stitch wracks our brains! Time to break it down. The essence of a yarn over stitch is to add a stitch between two already established stitches. If you think of the mechanic of this stitch, and the fact that you are adding a stitch, SOME of the confusion surrounding this stitch can be eliminated.

The yarn over stitch is abbreviated as yo. It functions differently depending upon the stitch prior to and following the yarn over. Here are four variations:

• Yarn Over (between 2 knit stitches): abbreviated as [k1, yo, k1] When you get to the point where it says yo, bring your yarn to the front and then proceed with the following knit stitch KEEPING YOUR WORKING YARN IN THE FRONT. This series of stitches, I feel, would be better abbreviated for English knitters as [k1, k1wyif].
• Yarn Over (between 2 purl stitches): abbreviated as [p1, yo, p1] When you get to the point where it says yo, your working yarn will already be at the front because you just purled a stitch. Next, take your working yarn (which is in the front), wrap it over and around your right needle and back to the front again (counter-clockwise wrap). Proceed with your next purl stitch. In this case, I think of the yarn over as a wrapping of the yarn over and around the needle.
• Yarn Over (between a knit stitch and a purl stitch): abbreviated as [k1, yo, p1] When you get to the point were it says yo, you  need to bring your working yarn to the front, and then wrap it again around the needle in counter-clockwise motion ending with the working yarn in front again. Proceed with the purl stitch.
• Yarn Over (between a purl stitch and a knit stitch): abbreviated as [p1, yo, k1] When you get to the point where it says yo, your working yarn will be in the front of your work because of the purled stitch you just made. Keeping your working yarn in the front, simply just knit the next stitch. I feel that this series of stitches would be better abbreviated as [p1, k1wyif].

​Here’s a quick video illustrating each of the above yarn over combinations. Hope this clarifies some confusion with such a bugger of a stitch. Happy Friday! Happy knitting!