How to Yarn Over?

Yarn Over is a super simple technique, but an important one because yarning over is used in every single stitch you will ever make in crochet. Hence it is important to understand the process correctly and master it.

Essentially, yarning over means wrapping the yarn over your crochet hook and it is the most basic step when making a stitch in crochet..

Yarn overs are used before or after you insert the hook into the next stitch, and depending on the stitch you are working, you may yarn over two or more times.

Yarning over is a very simple technique, but you have to do it correctly or you won’t be able to pull the yarn smoothly through the stitch.

Video Tutorial

Step by Step Photo Instructions

Step 1. Make a slip knot. See link to tutorial above if you don’t know how to do this. (Slip Knot Tutorial Link)

Step 2. Slide the slip-knot onto the shaft of your hook. Using your yarn hand (non-dominant hand), hold the tail of the slip knot between your thumb and forefinger.

Step by Step Photo Instructions

Step 3. Using the forefinger on your yarn hand, bring the yarn up behind the hook.

Step 4. Place the yarn over the shaft, laying it between the slip knot and the throat of the hook (upper area of the hook) with the yarn pulled toward you.

Step 5: Pull the new loop so formed smoothly inside the existing loop.

Step 6: You are now left with only one loop on the hook and this completes the process of Yarn over. After this, you will have completed one crochet stitch.

Do not wrap the wonder wool over your hook from front to back. It must be wrapped from back to front, otherwise, crocheting is more difficult and you will end up with twisted and tangled stitches.

When you are actually working a stitch, you yarn over and “hook” the wonder wool in the tip (hook) of the crochet hook.

The wonder wool is then pulled through an existing stitch or loop(s) as part of the working stitch. There you have it. Easy peasy!