So, um, what's this "yfwd" thing?

A yarnover, or YO, is pretty much an American term.  The British term, you may have been told, is "yfwd", or "yarn forward".  Right?  Well, sort of.

British knitters use yfwd, but they also use three other terms: yrn, yon, and yfrn, standing for "yarn round needle", "yarn over needle", and "yarn forward round needle", respectively.

Shove your bugged-out eyes back where they belong, and calm down; it's not that hard.  The four terms basically differentiate between the slightly different steps you do depending on whether your preceding and following stitches are purls or knits, and each of them stands for one of the four possible combinations of that.

Since we broke the YO down in the last post to three steps, two of which may or may not be done, let's refer back to those: step 1 is where you move the yarn forward in preparation for the YO if it's not already there; step 2 is the YO itself, where you flip the yarn over the needle; and step 3 is where you move the yarn forward again if the next stitch needs it to be there.  We'll see how each of the Brit terms indicates a different combination of those.

YFWD: This is a YO done between two knit stitches.  This is the type you're doing if you follow those bad instructions I referred to in the last post: you bring the yarn forward between the needles, and then when you work the next stitch, since it's a knit, that automatically causes you to bring it over the top of the needle.  It's the same as doing steps 1 and 2 of our YO.  And if this were the only type of yarnover maneuver that existed, those instructions wouldn't be bad; unfortunately for them, it isn't.

YRN: This is a YO done between two purl stitches.  You're starting with the yarn in the front, so you bring it all the way around the needle until it's back in the front again; you're doing steps 2 and 3 of the YO.

YON: This is a YO done after a purl and before a knit.  You're starting with the yarn in front, and you want to end with it in back, so you just flip it over the needle; it's step 2 all by itself.

YFRN: This is a YO done after a knit and before a purl.  The yarn is brought forward and then brought all the way around the needle until it is forward again; it's steps 1, 2, and 3 of our YO method.

You can see from this how the various names go with the steps that you do, and how they fit with YOs by our method.

Every once in a while, you may encounter a pattern that uses YFWD in a place where it clearly is meant to indicate some type of yarnover, but it's not between two knit stitches.  Usually, what this means is that it's an American designer writing for a British publisher, and someone has bulk-substituted YFWD every time the designer wrote YO, without thinking about whether that's the proper type to do in that circumstance.  Occasionally, however, this may mean that they want you to bring the yarn forward for some other reason, such as to slip stitches with the yarn in front, so double-check that you understand what you're being asked to do, and then go ahead and do the YO steps that are appropriate if that's what's called for.

Comments

[Julia]

great, exactly what I was lookin for. Thanks, I'll bookmark your blog at once!

[Frith]

Thank you for posting this blog. It is so helpful. I've been knitting for years, but as I was working on a lace project this evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I've been twisting my yarn-overs (even carefully twisting missed yarn-overs that I pick up later), and that this makes the YO smaller and interrupts the lines of the stitches, and was, well, probably incorrect. I was too lazy to go upstairs and look the question up in my reference books, and googling it led me to your blog. Not only did your instructions set me straight --and you're absolutely right about unclear YO instructions, as I thought I was supposed to bring the yarn to the front over the needle, which puts the leading leg in the back, and then knit or purl through the front leg on the following row -- but now I understand exactly what the different British instructions mean.

This pair of socks will be my last project with twisted YOs!

[jes]

since you seem to know this sort of thing well I was wondering if you could clear up what a pattern might mean by "(yfwd)twice". It is : (yfwd, k1)twice, (yfwd)twice, k1...

[Peggy]

Thanks for breaking down the whole yfwd, yrn, yon mess for me! I found your site from the Knitty Forums and I'm so glad I did. Yours is the clearest explanation I've come across. Thanks again!

[Lisa]

Thank you! I just bought a Rowan pattern book and was perplexed by the whole "yfwd" thing. Thanks for explaining! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to continue with my project, but thanks to you, I can!

[sof frankesntein]

Thank you so much. In french we just have the word "jet�". I don't see at first glance the difference between an english or american explanation... untill i stop asking myself : what's this????

[Terri Lynn]

Nice blog, I will be linking it on mine....thanks so much for your time and effort to do this great service to knitters!

[zarah rudd]

Hello,

Please help. I am trying to knit a ladies jumper. In the first line of the pattern it says P1, *sk, k1, psso, yfwd, yrn, yon k2tog. I know what it all means but I just cannot work out how to do all the yfwd, yrn and yon all after one and other!!! I'm totally confused. Canm you help please.

[Amber K.]

OMG thank you! I'm going to be starting the Victoriana Top featured with yarn I purchased from Elann.com, and was superbly confused when one line in a stitch pattern read with both yfrn & yon in the same line. Rock!

[Becky in Iowa :O)]

TY These are the only instructions I've found that make any darn sense. Someone on a list was trying to explain the difference between a YO and a YFWD and how to do a YO before a purl stitch. All that kept coming to my head was WTF???? All looks the dang same to me. lol

[Wendolyn Ramsbottom]

Thank you, Miss Marple! ~_^

I am blessed to have found you, and your erudite explanations.

To Becky in IA, clean it up, hon, this is a knitting forum, not a pool hall.

[Alex]

THANK YOU for explaining this!!! I struggled for four hours last night trying to figure it out, you are a lifesaver!

[ginger howard]

This is really helpful. I have a sweater pattern, by a reputable designer, meant for beginners and it's been very chanllenging in terms of the fit; now I have to deal with the button placket and it's very different from most American patterns! Thanks again.

[Jane]

Dear Sara,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've taken concepts that other resources I've tried have made impossibly confusing and made them crystal clear.

I'm knitting my very first project - a blanket for my first grandchild - and was beginning to think I might not get it to him until HIS first child was born.

If I were across the water I'd bake you some scones!

[Marie Ippolito]

Thank you I could not have followed this Bernat pattern without you, Sara.

[Donna]

I am just starting to learn to knit and this was very confusing to me. But thanks to your blog I understand it now. I can't thank you enough.

[sonokoahitobito]

I want to thank you so very much for all the help you've inadvertently done. I've looked everywhere for this answer, and no one seemed to know that it was an intercontinental discrepancy... well, that's no matter now. I thank you for your help!

`koa

[hadley]

Oh thank you so much for these wonderfully simple explanations of the UK terms. I am writing a knitting pattern book and many of my old vintage patterns are from the UK and I have been so confused as I read them. I will add a link to your blog so my readers can also discover your talents.

[tia from the D]

Thank you! Thank you and thank you again.

[Chelsea]

i have been trying to figure out my pattern with a 'yfwd, k1' in it and this has completely turned on the light for me thank you!!!

[Air Jordan Shoes]

If you love two persons, select the second; Because you will not love someone else if you truly love the first.