Continental knitter confused by YF

#1

http://www.patternfish.com/patterns/8815

I am working on the above pattern - the sweater in pink. This pattern has yfrn, yon, and yf. I understand the yfrn and yon but this yf has me confused.
Row 3: K2, yf, sl i, k2tog, psso, yf k3, yf, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf to last 2 - k2
Why would I need to bring the yarn forward after the first K2 to do a slip stitch? I just have to take it to the back again to do the K2tog OR is it to have a band around the slip stitch?
The first row was k1, yfrn, p1, p3t, p1, yon, k1
The fifth row is p2tog, p1, yon, k1, yfrn, p1, etc.
The seventh row is k2tog, yf, k3, yf, *sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf, k3, yf, etc.

I really have searched around on the net regarding these terms but my sense is something is different with the yf and the slip stitch. Thanks in advance.

#2

The yf is the same as a YO; what I do is wrap the yarn to the back as if making a knit st, then slip the next one and k2tog and psso. The other terms - yon, yfrn - are also YOs, just done between different sts. This is the british way of writing yo and describes how you move the yarn, while YO is in US patterns and just gives it to you as a result.

#3

Thanks - that is what I tried last night but ended up with a wrong count but perhaps it was my mistake somewhere and not using the yf as our yarn over. Wel I’m on row 3 again - lets see what happens. That’s what a get for buying British patterns - LOL - but they do have some great baby sweaters!

#4

Row 3: K2, yf, sl i, k2tog, psso, yf k3, yf, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yf to last 2 - k2 Everyone thinks about things a little differently. For a yf I just think of it as bringing the yarn to the front between the needle tips. So K2, then bring the yarn to the front, leave the yarn in front, slip 1 knitwise, with the yarn still in front, K2tog, psso, bring the yarn to the front again * with the yarn still in front k3, bring the yarn to the the front, slip 1kw, with the yarn still in front knit 2 tog, psso, bring the yarn to the front* to the last 2, K2.

I missed that you are a Continental knitter. So am I. When I bring the yarn to the front between the needles for the slip stitch I hold the yarn to the top of the right hand needle with the tip of my right index finger as I do the slip 1 knitwise, and keep my index finger there while I do the k2tog. On the yf followed by the k3 I don’t need to hold it down, but the yarn comes to the front and over the top of the right needle very naturally into position to k the first stitch. You can hold the yarn to the top of the needle like on the yf, sl st if you need to. Just make sure you end up with a yarn over for each yf.

1 Like