Tutorial: How to yarn over (yo).

(Okay, I'm a few days late with this tutorial, but I didn't want to go a whole week without one.)

Yarn overs are amazingly simple, in fact, there's not even a Step 1, 2, 3, 4.

When you are doing the knit stitch, the yarn is usually in the back of your needles.



To yarn over (yo), simply move the yarn to the front.


Then, with the yarn still in front, complete the next stitch as directed (knit, knit two together, slip slip knit, whatever!)

Easy, eh?

For something that is executed so easily, yarn overs are really versatile. They are used to create increases, lace, and buttonholes. This is what a yarn over looks like on a background of garter stitch:


Something to keep in mind with yarn overs - yarn over simply means bring the yarn to the front. When I was first learning about this technique I was confused - it had to be more complicated than that! - and thought that to yarn over you had to knit the next stitch. This is not always the case, which I found out after embarrassingly emailing a famous sock designer to tell her that her pattern was incorrect.

If you have any questions about this or any other technique - or notice an error in this post - email me at tonyawagner AT theshizknit DOT com or leave a comment!