What is the Right Side of Crochet Amigurumi?
Figuring out which side is the right side the wrong side in your amigurumi might sound like a small deal, but it’s key to making your final creation look professional.
The Right side of crochet is the one you want everyone to see, displaying the best side of your stitches and patterns.
Since amigurumi is worked without turning, there is a ‘Right’ side of crochet and a ‘Wrong’ side.
Surprisingly, people can get quite emotional about these terms. They’re not morally ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but simply used to denote the side you want to see (right) from the side that should be hidden (wrong). Most fabrics will have right and a wrong side – including knitting, weaving, and sewing – even crochet patterns worked in rows, such as garments, will sometimes have a ‘Right’ side.
Crocheters new to amigurumi can get easily confused by which is the right side. It’s common when working in the round for crochet to fold inward as you work with the wrong side facing out.
If that happens, all you need to do it turn the piece inside out (right side showing) before you complete the decreasing. This happens due to how you hold the piece as it’s being worked and has nothing to do with being left-handed or crocheting “wrong”.
Here are a few tips to know whether your amigurumi is the right side out:
1. Get to know your stitches:
With single crochet stitches (the most common stitch in amigurumi), the right side is the one with the V-shaped stitches (or an X if you’re using the Yarn Under method – we’ll talk about this in the next article). The wrong side is where you see the horizontal bars or dashes at the back of the stitches.
2. Check the direction you’re crocheting:
If you’re doing continuous rounds, the right side of crochet should be facing outward as you crochet. What direction are you crocheting around the top of your piece? If the right side is facing out, you will be crocheting clockwise; if the wrong side if facing out, you will be crocheting counter clockwise.
3. Noodle in the bowl:
Generally (unless you’ve pulled the tail through), the side with the magic circle tail is the wrong side. Hence the popular crochet saying, ‘Keep the noodle in the bowl’ (i.e. the starting tail of the magic circle should be inside your amigurumi piece).
