Put Your Best Yarn Forward
Monday June 2, 2008
I've been getting a lot of questions lately having to do with the term "yarn forward" in knitting patterns. It's also abbreviated yf or yfwd, and can even be found in more mysterious forms such as yfon (yarn forward over needle) and yfrn (yarn forward 'round needle).
No matter which one of these terms you find in a pattern, they all mean the same thing, much more commonly described as a yarn over.
Yarn overs are really simple; you just wrap the yarn around the needle in the same direction you move the yarn to make a regular stitch. Bring the yarn back to the back to knit the next stitch or all the way around to the front to purl the next stitch.
Yarn overs are an easy way to increase the number of stitches on the needle, and they make a hole, which can be used to decorative effect as in Garter Stitch Eyelet Lace and the Cloverleaf Eyelet, among many other patterns.
No matter which one of these terms you find in a pattern, they all mean the same thing, much more commonly described as a yarn over.
Yarn overs are really simple; you just wrap the yarn around the needle in the same direction you move the yarn to make a regular stitch. Bring the yarn back to the back to knit the next stitch or all the way around to the front to purl the next stitch.
Yarn overs are an easy way to increase the number of stitches on the needle, and they make a hole, which can be used to decorative effect as in Garter Stitch Eyelet Lace and the Cloverleaf Eyelet, among many other patterns.
Comments
So funny about yarnovers because when I first started knitting, I made them all the time without meaning to. I’d cast on 20 stitches and end up with 25.
I think that’s a pretty common beginner’s issue, actually…
I’ve been knitting for 40+ years and came across the term recently. The description in the glossary of this particular pattern didn’t equal “yarn over”. Many thanks for this clarification.
my knitting pattern says both yarn forward and yarn over which implies to me that they are different HELP!
This helped me immensely. I was knitting a lace dishcloth and came across the abbreviation “yfwd” which is what I usually use to change from a knit to a purl(bringing the yarn under the needles). I tried several times to knit the pattern, noticing that I was decreasing stitches (k2tog)(psso) without increases.