What a yarn over is and why you need it
A yarn over is a deliberate loop you create by wrapping yarn around your needle without knitting a stitch. It leaves a hole in your fabric and adds one stitch to your row. Every lace pattern, eyelet, and decorative hole in knitting starts with a yarn over.
The hole itself is the point—it's not a mistake to fix. Yarn overs are how you create intentional gaps in socks, shawls, sweaters, and blankets. They also increase your stitch count by one, which is why patterns pair them with decreases (like knit two together) to keep the width steady.
The mechanics are straightforward: you move your yarn to the front of your work, then knit the next stitch normally. That's it. The wrapping motion is the yarn over; the knit stitch that follows secures it.
Key Takeaways
- A yarn over is made by bringing yarn to the front of your needles, then knitting the next stitch—the wrap itself creates the hole and adds one stitch.
- The yarn over sits on your left needle as a new loop before you knit it; you'll see it as a hole in the finished fabric.
- Yarn overs work the same way whether you knit flat or in the round, but the yarn position changes depending on what stitch comes next.
- Pairing yarn overs with decreases keeps your stitch count from growing row after row in lace patterns.
The basic yarn over between two knit stitches
This is the most common yarn over and the one to learn first. You'll use it in almost every lace pattern.
Knit one stitch normally. After you pull the loop through and the stitch is complete, your yarn is at the back of your work (where it always is after a knit stitch). Bring the yarn forward between your needles to the front of your work. Knit the next stitch as usual. That forward motion of the yarn is your yarn over.
When you look at your needles after you knit that next stitch, you'll see a new loop sitting on your left needle—that's the yarn over. It looks like an extra stitch, because it is. On the next row, you'll knit or purl it like any other stitch, and the hole will appear below it in the finished fabric.
Yarn overs before a purl stitch
When the next stitch after your yarn over is a purl, the motion changes slightly because purl stitches start with yarn at the front.
After you complete a knit stitch, your yarn is at the back. Bring it forward between the needles to the front of your work. Now purl the next stitch. The yarn is already in position, so you just insert your needle and purl normally. The yarn over is complete.
The result is the same: a new loop on your left needle and a hole in the finished fabric. The only difference is that you don't have to move the yarn twice—it's already where it needs to be for the purl.
Yarn overs in the round
Knitting in the round (on circular needles or double-pointed needles) uses the same yarn over technique, but you need to think about yarn position differently because there is no "front" and "back" of the work—you're always working on the outside.
If you're about to knit a stitch, bring your yarn forward over the top of the right needle, then knit. If you're about to purl a stitch, bring your yarn back under the right needle, then purl. The yarn over is the motion of moving the yarn into position; the stitch that follows locks it in place.
Many knitters find yarn overs in the round easier because the motion feels more natural—you're just moving yarn out of the way before each stitch, rather than thinking about front and back positions.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most frequent error is accidentally creating a yarn over when you didn't mean to. This happens when you move your yarn to the front of your work between stitches but then forget to move it back before the next knit stitch. The result is an unintended hole and an extra stitch.
To prevent this: after every purl stitch, your yarn is already at the front. Before you knit the next stitch, move the yarn to the back. If you knit without moving it, you've made an accidental yarn over. Developing the habit of moving yarn deliberately between stitches will stop this from happening.
Another common issue is a yarn over that looks loose or sloppy. This usually means the stitch before or after the yarn over is too loose. Tighten the working yarn slightly as you knit the stitch that comes after the yarn over—that tension will anchor the hole and make it look neat.
Pairing yarn overs with decreases in lace patterns
Lace patterns use yarn overs to create holes, but they also need to control stitch count. A yarn over adds one stitch, so patterns pair it with a decrease (usually knit two together, or k2tog) to remove one stitch and keep the row width the same.
This is why you see instructions like "yarn over, knit two together" repeated across a row. The yarn over makes the hole; the decrease prevents the fabric from getting wider. Without the decrease, each yarn over would add permanent width to your piece, and the pattern would distort.
When you're reading a lace pattern, look for the pairing of yarn overs and decreases. Understanding that relationship will help you see why the pattern is written the way it is and make it easier to catch mistakes as you work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I accidentally skip a yarn over in the middle of a row?
You can usually fix it on the next row by picking up the missed yarn over with a crochet hook and pulling it up through the stitches above it, then placing it back on your needle. If you don't notice until several rows later, it's usually easier to frog back to that row and redo it than to try to fix it from a distance.
Does a yarn over look different on the front and back of the fabric?
Yes. On the side facing you as you work (the right side of stockinette), the yarn over looks like a neat hole. On the back, it looks like a small bump or bar. This is normal and expected. In lace shawls and garments, both sides are often visible, so the back texture is part of the design.
Can I make a yarn over if I'm holding yarn in my left hand instead of my right?
Yes. The motion is the same—you move the yarn into position before the next stitch. If you hold yarn in your left hand (Continental style), you'll move your needle under the yarn instead of wrapping the yarn around the needle, but the result is identical: a new loop on your needle and a hole in the fabric.
What's the difference between a yarn over and a yarn forward?
They're the same thing. "Yarn over" and "yarn forward" both mean moving your yarn to the front of your work. Some patterns use one term, some use the other. The abbreviation is usually YO in patterns.