How to Work Several Knit and Purl Stitches into One Double Yarn Over

A double yarn over is made by wrapping the working yarn around the needle twice. Those wraps supply extra yarn for a larger eyelet or another pattern-specific treatment. Ysolda’s yarn-over tutorial explains that double yarn overs are commonly worked as knit one, purl one—or the reverse—on the following row; some patterns instead drop a wrap to create an elongated stitch.

The two wraps do not limit you to making two stitches. When the pattern explicitly requests a larger group, the double yarn over supplies an enlarged loop into which that group is worked. A KnittingHelp discussion with detailed instructions describes retaining that loop while repeatedly alternating knit and purl stitches, then releasing it after the group is complete.

Before starting, read the pattern’s abbreviation list and the entire instruction for the following row or round. The requested treatment determines how many stitches you make and when you release the wraps.

Count the individual knit and purl operations inside the group before working it. The following examples assume that the entire displayed sequence is explicitly assigned to one double yarn over.

Instruction into one double yarn over	Expanded sequence	New stitches produced
(k1, p1)	Knit, purl	2
(k1, p1, k1)	Knit, purl, knit	3
(k1, p1) twice	Knit, purl, knit, purl	4
(p1, k1) three times	Purl, knit, purl, knit, purl, knit	6

These totals are a direct count of the written operations. For example, “(k1, p1) twice into the double yarn over, k2” means four stitches into the opening, followed by knitting the next two existing stitches. The final k2 belongs outside the group.

Keep the starting stitch as written. Knit-first and purl-first versions both occur in double-yarn-over instructions; La Visch Designs demonstrates the purl-first version. A surrounding purl row does not automatically change an explicitly written knit-first group.

For practice, use yarn and matching needles with which you can easily see individual loops. The directions below assume conventional stitch mounting and that you work stitches from the left needle onto the right needle.

Between two knit stitches, begin with the working yarn at the back. Bring it forward between the needles, then over the right needle to the back. Repeat that movement once more, then knit the next stitch. This is the two-wrap method illustrated in La Visch Designs’ double-yarn-over tutorial.

On the following row, work up to the double yarn over. For a group of three or more stitches, let one extra wrap slip off while retaining the other wrap securely on the left needle. This leaves one enlarged working loop. Release only the extra wrap; keep the remaining loop available for every stitch in the group. The KnittingHelp explanation describes how the two wraps form this larger loop.

If your pattern requests only two stitches, you can work one into each wrap instead. La Visch demonstrates purling the first wrap and knitting the second. For a larger group, using the enlarged loop makes it easier to keep returning to the same opening.

For the instruction “(k1, p1) twice into the double yarn over,” prepare the enlarged loop as described above. You will make four new stitches while retaining that loop until the fourth stitch is finished.

1. Knit one: With the yarn at the back, insert the right needle knitwise into the enlarged loop. Wrap and draw through a new stitch, but leave the original loop on the left needle.
2. Purl one: Bring the yarn forward between the needle tips. Insert the right needle purlwise into the same original loop and draw through a new stitch. Keep the original loop on the left needle.
3. Knit one again: Move the yarn between the tips to the back. Knit into that same original loop without releasing it.
4. Purl one again: Move the yarn between the tips to the front. Purl into the original loop, then let that loop slide off the left needle.

You should now have four new stitches on the right needle above one opening. This extends the same retain-and-alternate movement shown in Tin Can Knits’ knit, purl, knit tutorial. That tutorial uses an ordinary stitch; here, the receiving loop comes from the double yarn over.

For three stitches, finish after knit, purl, knit and release the original loop after the third stitch. For six stitches, continue the alternating sequence until six new stitches are complete. Follow the exact order and total stated by your pattern.

Check the new group before moving far along the row. Count the loops newly made on the right needle, excluding neighboring stitches. Each completed knit or purl contributes one stitch to the group; moving the yarn between the tips contributes none.

There are two useful counting points: before making the double yarn over, and after working into it. In the usual two-stitch treatment, a double yarn over adds two stitches relative to the fabric before the wraps were made, unless decreases elsewhere offset them. La Visch’s worked example balances that addition with two decreases.

For a larger group, use this illustrative calculation: start with 20 ordinary stitches and make one double yarn over without decreasing. You then have 20 ordinary stitches plus two wraps. If the following row turns those wraps into four stitches, the result is 24 stitches. Compared with the wrap row’s count of 22 loops, that row adds two; compared with the original 20 stitches, the completed operation adds four.

This distinction helps explain a count that changes on both rows. When checking a full lace repeat, include every decrease and every other increase specified in those rows.

You made only two stitches when four were required. Check whether you worked knit one, purl one just once. Write the expanded sequence beside your instructions and count each completed stitch before releasing the original loop.

You have an extra loose loop between new stitches. Check the path used to change yarn position. Tin Can Knits specifies moving the yarn between the needles for the knit–purl transitions. Taking it over the needle can introduce an unintended yarn over.

The original loop slipped off before the group was finished. Stop before working the neighboring stitch. Return the receiving loop to the left needle if you can clearly identify it. If the structure is unclear, undo the incomplete group and remake it from the double yarn over.

Two ordinary knit stitches collapse into an elongated stitch. Check that you followed the requested alternating sequence. The Knitting Circle explains that simply knitting both wraps normally, or purling both normally, does not preserve the usual two separate stitches.

The pattern requests a twisted stitch. Follow that instruction rather than substituting the open alternating treatment. For example, DROPS explicitly demonstrates purling the first wrap and purling the second twisted. This is a separate, deliberate treatment.

Try this illustrative swatch exercise to isolate a four-stitch group. Use an easy-to-see yarn and suitable needles. Here, k means knit, p means purl, and WS means wrong side.

1. Cast on 12 stitches and knit four rows.
2. On the next row, knit 6, make a double yarn over, then knit 6. You now have 12 ordinary stitches plus two wraps.
3. On the following WS row, knit 6. Prepare the enlarged loop and work knit, purl, knit, purl into it, releasing it after the final purl. Knit the remaining 6 stitches. Count 16 stitches.
4. Knit two more rows, working each of the 16 stitches individually, then bind off.

The exercise deliberately includes no balancing decreases, so the stitch count grows. Its purpose is to let you inspect four distinct stitches emerging from one opening before applying the movement to a lace repeat.

When you return to your pattern, identify the double yarn over, expand the requested group, and keep the receiving loop until the final stitch is complete. Count the new stitches before continuing; that small checkpoint catches mistakes while the whole group is still easy to inspect.

• Learn to Knit: Yarn Over — Ysolda
• tutorial – working a double yo — La Visch Designs
• Knit, purl, knit increase: KPK all in the same stitch — Tin Can Knits
• P1, (p1,k1) into double yo, p1 — KnittingHelp Forum Community
• How to Work a Double Yarn Over — The Knitting Circle
• How to increase 2 stitches by making 2 yarn overs from right side, 1st purled, 2nd purled twisted — DROPS Design