How to Knit Eyelets: A Complete Tutorial for Beginners and Beyond

Eyelets are one of those small but transformative techniques that open up a whole new world of knitting possibilities. Once you understand how they work, you’ll see them everywhere — in delicate lace shawls, in the drawstring channel of a cozy hooded sweater, in the airy yoke of a summer top, and in the intricate repeat of a heirloom baby blanket. Whether you’re a newer knitter looking to expand your skills or an experienced crafter who wants to refine their eyelet technique, this guide walks you through everything you need to know.

What Is an Eyelet in Knitting?

An eyelet is a small, decorative hole deliberately created in your knitted fabric. Unlike a mistake hole — the kind that happens when you accidentally drop a stitch or yarn over in the wrong place — an eyelet is intentional, controlled, and usually part of a larger pattern or design element.

Eyelets are formed by pairing a yarn over (abbreviated YO) with a decrease, most commonly a knit-two-together (k2tog) or a slip-slip-knit (ssk). The yarn over adds a stitch and creates the hole, while the decrease removes a stitch to keep your overall stitch count the same. The result is a neat little opening in the fabric that can be purely ornamental, functional (think buttonholes and drawstring channels), or the building block of a lace pattern.

Understanding eyelets means understanding this fundamental trade-off: gain one with the yarn over, lose one with the decrease. That balance is what gives your fabric structure even as it introduces openwork.

Tools and Materials You’ll Need

Before diving into the technique itself, it helps to have the right setup. You don’t need anything special to practice eyelets — the same needles and yarn you already own will work fine — but a few things make the learning process smoother.

Yarn: Choose a smooth, light-colored yarn for practice. Fuzzy yarns like mohair or heavily textured yarns can obscure your stitches and make it hard to see what you’re doing. A light fingering, sport, or DK weight wool or cotton in a pale color will let you clearly see each eyelet as it forms.

Needles: Use needles sized appropriately for your yarn. If your gauge feels a little looser than usual, that’s actually helpful when practicing — it makes the stitches easier to work and the holes more visible.

A stitch marker: Optional, but useful when you’re learning to place eyelets at specific intervals across a row.

Scissors and a tapestry needle: Always handy for finishing your practice swatches.

Understanding the Yarn Over

The yarn over is the heart of every eyelet. If you’re not fully comfortable with yarn overs yet, it’s worth spending a few minutes getting this motion into your muscle memory before combining it with decreases.

To work a yarn over between two knit stitches, simply bring the yarn from the back of your work to the front by passing it between the needle tips, then take it back over the right needle to the back as you work the next knit stitch. That loop sitting on your needle is the yarn over. On the following row, when you come to it, you’ll work it as a stitch — usually by knitting or purling into it, depending on your pattern.

The yarn over creates a loose loop that becomes the hole of the eyelet. The looser the yarn over, the larger and more open the hole will appear in the finished fabric. If your eyelets look tight or barely visible, try using a larger needle size for your practice swatch, or consciously keep the yarn relaxed as you make the yarn over.

One important note: a yarn over done between a knit and a purl stitch, or between a purl and a knit stitch, requires a slightly different hand motion because the yarn needs to travel to a different position. Specifically, if you’re working a yarn over between a purl and a knit, the yarn is already at the front from the purl stitch — you simply bring it over the needle to the back and you’re done. Between a knit and a purl, you bring the yarn to the front between the needles (for the yarn over), and then keep it at the front ready to purl the next stitch. These are small distinctions, but getting them right ensures your yarn overs are consistent and your eyelets look tidy.

The Basic Eyelet: Step by Step

Now let’s put the yarn over and the decrease together to make a classic single eyelet. This is the foundation of almost every eyelet pattern you’ll encounter.

Cast on a practice swatch of about 20 to 30 stitches and work a few rows in stockinette stitch (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) so you have a stable base to work from.

To work a basic right-leaning eyelet (YO, k2tog):

On a right-side row, work to the position where you want your eyelet. Bring the yarn to the front between the needle tips, then pass it over the right needle to the back — that’s your yarn over. Without pausing, insert the right needle through the next two stitches on the left needle as if to knit, and knit them together as one stitch. You have now made one stitch (the yarn over) and lost one stitch (the k2tog), so your count is unchanged. Continue knitting to the end of the row.

On the following wrong-side row, purl across normally, treating the yarn over just like any other stitch when you reach it.

When you look at your swatch, you should see a small, neat hole right where you worked the yarn over. That’s your eyelet.

To work a basic left-leaning eyelet (ssk, YO):

This version places the decrease before the yarn over rather than after it, which makes the stitch lean to the left. Work to the position of your eyelet. Slip the next stitch as if to knit, then slip the following stitch as if to knit, then insert the left needle through the fronts of both slipped stitches and knit them together — that’s your ssk. Immediately bring the yarn forward and over the needle for the yarn over. Continue to the end of the row.

The resulting hole looks very similar to the k2tog version, but the decrease slants in the opposite direction. In a simple eyelet row, you might not notice the difference much, but in lace patterns, mixing right-leaning and left-leaning decreases creates the flowing, organic shapes that make lace so beautiful.

How to Work a Row of Eyelets

A single eyelet is charming, but a whole row of eyelets transforms your fabric. Rows of eyelets are used as decorative bands, as the slot through which a ribbon or drawstring is threaded, or as the transition between sections of a garment.

To work an evenly spaced eyelet row, you’ll typically see a pattern written something like this:

K3, (YO, k2tog) repeat to last 3 sts, k3.

This means you knit three stitches, then work the YO-k2tog combination repeatedly across the row, ending with three plain knit stitches. The plain stitches on either end create a clean edge, and the repeated YO-k2tog creates a row of small holes separated by one knit stitch each.

If you want more space between your eyelets, you simply increase the number of plain stitches between each YO-k2tog pair. For example:

K3, (k2, YO, k2tog) repeat to last 3 sts, k3.

Experimenting with the spacing is one of the best ways to get comfortable with eyelet placement and to develop your eye for how fabric changes with different arrangements.

Common Eyelet Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic eyelet, there’s a whole family of variations to explore. Each one has its own texture, visual effect, and best use case.

Double eyelets are formed by working two yarn overs in a row (YO twice) paired with a double decrease. The double yarn over creates a larger hole and is often used in drop-stitch patterns or when you want a more dramatic opening in the fabric. On the following row, you typically knit into the first loop of the double yarn over and purl into the second, which settles the extra yarn into a stable stitch.

Centered eyelets use a central double decrease (slip 2 together as if to knit, k1, pass the two slipped stitches over — abbreviated s2kp) flanked by two yarn overs (one on each side). This creates a symmetrical hole with a stitch that leans perfectly straight up the center, making it ideal for vertical lace motifs and leaf patterns.

Nupps with eyelets combine a small cluster of stitches with an adjacent hole, creating a bobble-like texture alongside lace. This pairing is particularly popular in Estonian lace knitting.

Yarn-over increases use the yarn over without a paired decrease, which intentionally grows the stitch count. This is not an eyelet in the decorative sense but is the same mechanical motion, and understanding the difference helps you read patterns accurately.

Reading Eyelet Charts

Many knitting patterns present eyelet and lace instructions in chart form rather than written row-by-row notation. If you’ve been avoiding charts, eyelet patterns are actually an excellent introduction to reading them because they tend to use just a handful of symbols.

On a standard knitting chart, a yarn over is usually shown as a small circle (O). A k2tog is typically shown as a right-leaning diagonal line (/). An ssk is shown as a left-leaning diagonal line (). A knit stitch is a blank square, and a purl stitch is a horizontal dash or a dot.

Reading a chart for a basic eyelet repeat might show a row that looks like: blank, blank, O, /, blank, blank — which you read as: k2, YO, k2tog, k2. Charts are read from right to left on right-side rows and left to right on wrong-side rows (unless the pattern specifies otherwise, as with some circular knitting charts). Once you get used to this visual shorthand, charts can actually be faster and more intuitive than written instructions, especially for complex lace patterns.

Eyelet Techniques for Different Fabric Types

Eyelets behave slightly differently depending on the fabric you’re working in, so it’s worth knowing what to expect.

In stockinette stitch, eyelets are clean and graphic. The smooth surface lets each hole stand out clearly, making stockinette the best background for simple eyelet rows and scattered eyelet motifs.

In reverse stockinette (purl side facing out), eyelets are softer and slightly less defined. The bumpy texture of the purl stitches makes the holes less sharp, which can give the fabric a more rustic or organic look.

In garter stitch (knit every row), eyelets create a particularly charming effect. Because garter stitch is thicker and squishier than stockinette, the holes are small and round, almost like little punctuation marks in the fabric. Garter stitch eyelet rows make lovely button bands and are very beginner-friendly because you work every row the same way.

In ribbing, eyelets can serve as simple one-row buttonholes. Work to the position of your buttonhole, YO, then k2tog (or p2tog, depending on your rib pattern at that point). The hole is small but sturdy and sits neatly within the rib without distorting it.

Fixing Eyelet Mistakes

Mistakes happen to every knitter, and eyelet rows can feel especially daunting because a miscounted repeat throws off everything that follows. Here are the most common issues and how to handle them.

If your eyelet row has an extra stitch at the end, you likely worked a yarn over without the paired decrease somewhere in the row. Unknit back to the mistake and redo that section carefully, counting your yarn overs and decreases as a matched pair each time.

If your eyelet row has one stitch too few, you probably worked a decrease without the yarn over. Same solution — unknit to the error and work it again.

If your eyelets look uneven, with some holes larger than others, the most common culprit is inconsistent tension on the yarn overs. Try consciously making each yarn over with the same relaxed motion, and block your swatch when finished. Blocking (wetting the swatch and laying it flat to dry) evens out tension considerably and opens up the holes beautifully.

If you have a hole where you don’t want one, you may have accidentally worked a yarn over without realizing it — perhaps by bringing the yarn to the front to purl and forgetting to take it back before knitting. This is especially common when switching between knit and purl stitches in the same row. The fix is to either drop down and correct the stitch with a crochet hook, or simply unknit back to the mistake.

Project Ideas to Practice Your Eyelet Skills

The best way to cement any new technique is to use it in a real project. Here are some ideas that naturally incorporate eyelets and are well suited to different skill levels.

A drawstring bag is a perfect beginner project. You knit a simple tube, work one eyelet row near the top (this is the channel through which your drawstring will thread), and seam the bottom. The eyelet row is both functional and decorative, and the project is small enough to finish quickly.

A baby bonnet or hat often features an eyelet row at the brim through which a ribbon is laced. These are small, quick projects that give you plenty of chances to practice before committing to a larger garment.

A simple shawlette in fingering weight yarn lets you practice scattered eyelets or eyelet repeats in a larger piece of fabric. Many beginner-friendly shawl patterns use a simple “knit a few, YO, k2tog” formula across every right-side row or every few rows, giving you repetition in a satisfying, meditative rhythm.

An eyelet yoke sweater is a step up in complexity but is very achievable once you’re comfortable with the basics. Many modern patterns use a simple all-over eyelet repeat in the yoke section to create an airy, feminine look without requiring full lace competence.

Blocking: The Final Step That Makes Everything Better

No tutorial on eyelets would be complete without emphasizing blocking. Raw, unblocked eyelets often look disappointingly small and uneven. After blocking, the same fabric looks completely transformed — the holes open up, the stitches settle into place, and the whole piece gains a polished, professional finish.

For wool and wool-blend yarns, wet blocking is ideal. Submerge your finished piece in cool water, gently press out the excess water (never wring), then lay it flat on a blocking mat and use rust-proof pins to shape it. For lace and eyelet pieces, pin with particular attention to the openwork areas, gently stretching the fabric so the holes open fully. Leave it to dry completely before unpinning.

For cotton and cotton-blend yarns, steam blocking is often more effective. Hold a steam iron just above the surface of the fabric (don’t press down) and allow the steam to relax the fibers. Then shape the piece by hand while it’s still warm and let it cool before moving it.

The difference blocking makes to eyelet knitting specifically is remarkable. If you’ve ever looked at a finished knitting project and thought the eyelets looked nothing like the pattern photo, it was almost certainly because the sample in the photo had been blocked and yours hadn’t. Block your swatches. Block your projects. You’ll be amazed.

A Few Final Tips

Always count your stitches at the end of an eyelet row when you’re first learning. Each YO must be paired with a decrease, and the only way to catch an error before it compounds is to check your count.

Work your first eyelet rows in a strongly contrasting color if you have leftover yarn from two different projects. The color change makes it easier to spot where your eyelets sit in the fabric.

Don’t rush. Eyelet rows take slightly more mental attention than plain knitting, especially when you’re new to them. Give yourself a quiet moment and work at a pace that lets you feel each yarn over and each decrease as a deliberate, paired action.

Finally, embrace the learning curve. The first time you work an eyelet row, it might feel awkward and your holes might be uneven. That’s normal. By the third or fourth attempt, the motion will start to feel natural, and by the tenth, it will be second nature. Eyelets are one of those skills that suddenly click — and once they do, you’ll find yourself adding them to everything.

Happy knitting.