A yarn over creates a deliberate hole in your knitting by wrapping yarn around the needle without knitting a stitch
A yarn over (often abbreviated YO) is one of the most useful techniques in knitting. It adds a new loop to your needle by straightforward wrapping yarn around it, which increases your stitch count by one and leaves a small, intentional eyelet or hole in the fabric. Yarn overs are the foundation of lace patterns, decorative eyelets, and buttonholes. Once you understand the basic motion, you can use yarn overs in dozens of different stitch combinations.
The exact method changes slightly depending on what stitch comes before and after the yarn over, but the core idea stays the same: you're moving your working yarn to the front or back of the needle to create that extra loop. Most knitters learn the basic yarn over between two knit stitches first, then adapt the technique as patterns demand.
Key Takeaways
- A yarn over wraps working yarn around the needle to create a new stitch and a visible hole in the fabric.
- Between two knit stitches, bring yarn to the front, then knit the next stitch normally—the yarn automatically wraps the needle.
- The yarn over sits on your needle as a new stitch that you'll knit or purl on the next row.
- Yarn overs between different stitch types (knit, purl, slip) require slightly different hand positions to avoid accidental extra wraps.
- Pairing a yarn over with a decrease stitch (like a knit two together) keeps your stitch count level while creating lace patterns.
The basic yarn over between two knit stitches
Start with your working yarn in the back of your work, as it would be after finishing a knit stitch. Bring the yarn forward between the needles to the front of your work. Then knit the next stitch normally. As you insert the right needle into the stitch and wrap yarn around it, your yarn naturally wraps around the needle shaft once before you pull the loop through. That wrap is your yarn over.
On the next row, you'll see a small loop sitting on your left needle where the yarn over was. Treat it like any other stitch—knit it, purl it, or work it according to your pattern. The hole appears because you've added a stitch without decreasing elsewhere, so the fabric spreads slightly at that point.
The key is that your yarn ends up in front of the needle before you knit. If you forget to bring it forward, you'll just knit normally and create no yarn over at all. If you bring it forward but then purl instead of knit, you've still made a yarn over, but the stitch type changes how it looks.
Yarn overs between a knit and a purl stitch
When a knit stitch comes before your yarn over and a purl stitch comes after, the motion is slightly different. After finishing the knit stitch, your yarn is already in the back. Bring it forward between the needles, then continue forward and over the right needle to the back again. Now purl the next stitch. The yarn has wrapped around the needle once, creating your yarn over.
This extra step—bringing yarn over the needle to the back—is necessary because purl stitches require the yarn to start in front. If you only brought yarn to the front and then purled, you'd wrap the needle twice by accident, which creates a twisted stitch or a dropped loop on the next row.
Yarn overs between a purl and a knit stitch
This is the reverse situation. After purling, your yarn is already in front. straightforward knit the next stitch. As you wrap yarn around the needle to knit, you've created your yarn over. The yarn naturally moves from front to back as part of the knit motion, so no extra hand movement is needed.
This is often the easiest yarn over direction because it requires the fewest steps. Many lace patterns are designed to take advantage of this—they place yarn overs after purl stitches whenever possible to keep the rhythm smooth.
Yarn overs between two purl stitches
After purling, your yarn is in front. Bring it to the back over the right needle, then bring it forward again to the front between the needles. Now purl the next stitch. Your yarn has wrapped the needle once, creating the yarn over.
This direction requires the most hand movement because you're moving yarn back and forth. It's less common in patterns, but it does appear in some all-purl textures and reversible lace designs. The motion becomes automatic with practice, but it's worth drilling separately if your pattern uses it frequently.
Yarn overs after a slip stitch
When you slip a stitch and then need a yarn over, the position of your yarn matters. If you slipped with yarn in back, bring yarn to the front between the needles before working the next stitch. If you slipped with yarn in front, bring yarn to the back over the needle before working the next stitch. The goal is the same as any yarn over: wrap the needle once with your working yarn.
Slip stitches are common in lace patterns because they create clean edges and help stitches sit evenly. Yarn overs often follow them, so understanding this combination helps you read complex stitch patterns more confidently.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most frequent error is forgetting to move your yarn at all. You'll knit or purl normally and wonder why no hole appeared. The solution is to pause before each yarn over and consciously move your yarn to the correct position—front or back—before working the next stitch. Some knitters place a finger on the yarn to guide it deliberately until the motion becomes automatic.
Another common mistake is wrapping the yarn around the needle twice instead of once. This usually happens when you move yarn in the wrong direction or don't pay attention to where it ends up after the previous stitch. If you see a twisted or loose stitch on the next row, you likely wrapped twice. Slow down and watch your yarn path, especially when yarn overs follow purl stitches or slip stitches.
Accidentally creating a yarn over when you didn't intend one is also possible. This happens when you move yarn between stitches without realizing it. Reading your pattern carefully and counting stitches after each row helps you catch these mistakes early. If your stitch count climbs unexpectedly, you've probably added unintended yarn overs.
Using yarn overs in lace patterns and buttonholes
Yarn overs by themselves increase stitch count, so lace patterns pair them with decreases—usually a knit two together (K2tog) or slip-slip-knit (SSK)—to keep the stitch count level while creating the lace effect. The yarn over adds a stitch, the decrease removes one, and the result is a fabric with intentional holes arranged in a pattern.
For buttonholes, you typically work a yarn over on one row, then decrease it away on the next row. This creates a small eyelet that a button can pass through. Larger buttonholes require binding off a few stitches and casting them back on, but small yarn-over buttonholes work well for delicate garments or baby items.
Once you're comfortable with the basic yarn over, you can experiment with placing them in different positions to create your own straightforward lace patterns. A row of evenly spaced yarn overs with matching decreases creates a classic openwork look that works on almost any garment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean if my yarn over looks twisted on the next row?
A twisted yarn over usually means you wrapped the needle twice instead of once. This often happens when yarn overs follow purl stitches or slip stitches, because the yarn path is less obvious. On your next row, knit or purl the twisted stitch through the back loop to untwist it, or frog back and redo the yarn over more carefully.
Can I make a yarn over on the purl side of my work?
Yes. The technique is the same—you're still wrapping yarn around the needle once. The only difference is which side of the fabric you're looking at. If you're working flat (back and forth), you'll work yarn overs on both the knit rows and the purl rows depending on your pattern. The hole appears on whichever side faces outward when you wear the finished piece.
What happens if I forget to decrease after a yarn over?
Your stitch count increases by one for every yarn over that isn't paired with a decrease. If your pattern calls for yarn overs and decreases but you skip the decreases, you'll end up with more stitches than expected and your fabric will grow wider. Always count stitches after a row with yarn overs to catch this mistake early.
Do I need to tension my yarn differently for yarn overs?
No. Yarn tension stays the same for yarn overs as for regular stitches. However, the loop created by a yarn over is often slightly looser than surrounding stitches, which is normal and part of the lace effect. If your yarn overs look dramatically loose or sloppy, check that you're wrapping the needle exactly once and not accidentally creating extra loops.