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Yarn over needle (YON) is a fundamental knitting technique that creates a new stitch by wrapping yarn around the needle without using a separate length of yarn. The working yarn is simply looped over the needle shaft, and on the next row or round, this loop is worked as a regular stitch. The result is a visible hole or eyelet in the fabric, making YON essential for lace knitting, decorative increases, and structured openwork patterns.

YON serves two distinct purposes in production knitting. As an increase, it adds a stitch to the active loop count without consuming proportional yarn, creating a thinner fabric area. As a decorative element, the resulting hole becomes part of the design, particularly in lace, ribbed garments, and fitted pieces where strategic eyelets improve stretch and drape. The technique is common in both flat-bed and circular knitting machines, where it is controlled by needle timing and yarn guide positioning.

On hand-knitting machines and industrial flatbeds, YON is executed by advancing the yarn guide over the needle without feeding new yarn into the work. On circular machines, the yarn carrier moves over the needle head, leaving slack that the stitch mechanism converts into a loop. Machine operators must time this carefully; mistiming creates dropped stitches or uneven eyelets. Variations include yarn forward (YF) and yarn back (YB), which position the yarn differently depending on the stitch type and desired fabric direction.

The acronym YON appears frequently in machine knitting specifications, dial and cylinder markings, and pattern cards. It is sometimes confused with yarn over techniques in hand knitting, which differ slightly in execution but achieve the same visual result. In industrial settings, YON is often combined with decreases (such as knit-two-together or slip-slip-knit) to create balanced, stable lace patterns that do not distort the garment shape.

Properly executed YON produces consistent eyelet dimensions and maintains fabric integrity along the selvage and in transition areas. Poor tension or machine timing results in loose, irregular holes or runs that spread across adjacent courses. This technique is fundamental to fashion knitwear, where small eyelets serve both functional and aesthetic purposes, from decorative stripes to structural shaping in fitted sleeves and bodices.