New Abbreviations!!!!

General Knitting
1

Hello to everyone!!

Every so often I see some abbreviations that confuse me and I have no idea what they mean!!

yrn
yfwd

What do these mean and how do I do them??

Thanks
Knitcindy

2

Yrn is yarn round needle - I’m not confident I can explain it properly without a diagram or video, but you wrap the yarn round the needle once (anti clockwise I think) then work the next part of the instructions from there :sweat_smile:
Yfwd is ‘yarn forward’ - you bring the working end of yarn from the back of the work to the front, in between the two stitches you’ve just worked and the next (there’s also ‘yarn back’ which is basically the reverse of this).

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3

This site has bullet points about 1/3 of the way down that summarize the places these different types of yarn overs occur. American patterns tend not to make distinctions but call it all yo. European patterns are more specific about the details.

And as Shintoga indicated, here a video for yarn round the needle (yrn)

The only thing to watch out for is that some pattern say yfwd to mean just that, bring the yarn to the front and leave it there. A stitch or two later (possibly slip sts) there is the direction to move the yarn to the back. Just something to be aware of.

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4

So it’s basically the same thing as a yarn over??

Knitcindy

5

Yarn over is an increase and creates a hole, but yarn forward isn’t an increase. It’s more to help create texture or patterns :slight_smile:

6

It depends on the pattern. Most of the time it’s yarn over. Once in awhile it may be used instead of “yarn to the front” in a textured or slip stitch pattern of the kind Shintoga is referring to. In that case there’s usually a “yarn back” a few sts later.

7

Great!! Maybe I’ll wait a while until I use these types of patterns.

Knitcindy

8

I had a really hard time with these. I think because I’m a Continental picker it was more confusing. They’re generally found in UK patterns written for throwers. The motions are different. I prefer wyif if you’re simply moving the yarn to the front and yo if that’s the desired result. I now mentally change them. This is a good example of TMI IMHO. YMMV

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9

I think I’m a “thrower” myself, must admit I still get confused by some of these, too!

10

The important thing is to have an extra loop over the needle when you’re finished, however you work the yarn over. It’ll create an intentional hole in addition to this extra stitch.

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11

Interesting. I couldn’t get comfortable holding the yarn in my right hand and then the light came on and I realized I could knit almost like I crochet. Yes! I could knit. It wasn’t until later I found out this is Continental knitting. For a right hand dominant person I sure do have a clumsy right hand, it refuses to hold the yarn effectively but I keep trying. The critical thing is determining whether you need a hole or not to know whether the yif or yfwd means yo.

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12

Thanks for that handy tip about yif or yfwd.

Knitcindy