Knit 2, Purl 2 Yarn-Over Problem

#1

Hey all! I’m new to this forum and also a brand new knitter!..Well, I’m trying to be, anyway. :slight_smile:

I’ve done well with creating several stockinette swatches and want to make for my first project, a ribbed infant hat using knit 2, purl 2.

My problem is that I’m doing something very wrong, and I can’t quite figure out how to correct it. I’m learning ALL of my knitting by way of YouTube, and have only just found this site a few days ago.

Whenever I try to yarn over when I move from knit to purl stitches, all it seems to do is add another stitch. Where am I messing up there? I’ve been doing test rows of about 8 stitches, and after about 3 rows in, the whole thing just looks like a tangled mess of knots. I’ve watched videos about this, and thought I was following what they were doing, but…Something just isn’t right, and it’s so frustrating trying to figure it out!

Should I try again and post a photo of what’s happening to my swatches to give a better idea of what’s going wrong? I thank you all in advance for any help!! :slight_smile:

#2

Well, I’m not sure what you’re doing. If you have a link to the pattern it would be very helpful.

First think you need to know is YO is an increase so there will be another stitch each time you do it. The increase of a YO in a pattern is often along with a decrease so you get the eyelet, but the stitch count remains the same.

Just in case you’re maybe doing it incorrectly -

To add a YO before a K stitch you bring the working yarn forward between the needles. Then you bring it over the right needle to the back and knit the next stitch.

To add a YO before a P stitch you bring the working yarn forward, then back over the top and between the needles again then purl the next stitch.

#3

If the hat is k2,p2 rib you don’t do a yo to change from one stitch to the other. All you need to do is k2, bring the yarn to the front [I]between[/I] the needles, p2, bring the yarn to the back [I]between[/I] the needles (not over the needle).

Welcome th KH and good luck with the first project!

#4

The yo will add a stitch, but if the pattern is just k2 p2 you don’t put the yarn over the needle to change stitches. Move the yarn [I]between[/I] the needles to get it to the back for the knit st or the front for the purl stitch. If you’re supposed to do a yo to increase sts, when you go from a knit to purl you wrap the yarn around, then move it between the needles to the front.