Genuine question about "inside out" crocheting

[Julesgurumi]

Hi everybody, thanks for taking the time to read this!

I’m a lefthanded crocheter. I was taught more than a decade ago by a very sweet old lady who was completely flummoxed at how to teach me the specifics lefthanded, I ended up figuring out a lot on my own from tutorials and trial and error. This is a craft that accommodates a lot of variations: hook grip style, tension/yarn holding style, and so on. So since January 2011 I have crocheted the same way, with no issues from customers or other crocheters. My projects’ stitches typically look like this:

(Pattern by Amigurumei on instagram)

I had noticed that my stitches do look different than most people’s, and that even in lefthanded videos they seemed to be crocheting opposite to my way. I work the far side of the amigurumi/project in the round, and crochet clockwise around. Most content I see shows people working from the side closest to their body. I do not really recall ever coming across a pattern instructing me to turn my pieces inside out at the end before stuffing, or to get a few rows started and then rotate it to work it the other way around. I’ve never had another crocheter tell me I was doing it wrong until a few weeks ago, when I had a very negative reply to a comment I left on a reel that said “you’ve been crocheting since 2011 and never figured out how to turn your work right-side out?”
First of all, creepy, they had to go to my profile and look at my posts first to see my actual work. But that’s beside the point, the point is I’m genuinely feeling a little confused about how people regard this - is it serious, is it that deep??? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve put up with negative comments from other crafters before. But I’d like to start applying to be a tester, and I’m writing up some of my own patterns to put up for sale. I’m concerned about how this might affect my chances for being selected to test, or potential customers passing over my hard work because it’s been done “wrong” in my pattern photos.
TL;DR I crochet “inside out” and I was wondering if that is actually an issue, or just an excuse for weirdos on the internet to dunk on stranger.

[Petoctopus]

Its very cute but does look a little off to me. I was confused by the whole inside out thing at first because my finished projects didnt look the same as the pattern or tutorial. Nothing ever mentioned flipping at some point so even though im a righty i might be doint something different too. What i eventually caught on to is that after several rows in the piece starts to curve so i started flipping it right side out then.

[ArtsAndNaps]

No worries this isn’t really a serious issue/deep it’s honestly a personal preference, Right side and Wrong side is purely based on what the pattern states and if there is none it’s what side you prefer to be the right side or wrong side, the wrong side being what will go inside and the right side what is shown. It’s merely to label them, but no way is considered wrong

Also not sure if you knew this but just in case I thought I’ll mention it, there’s actually an accessibility option here on Ribblr for Left handed crafters that will shows the hyperlinks/videos in patterns for stitches for left handed crafters!

On another note love how adorable your amigurumi octopus is

[Julesgurumi]

I did NOT know about that accessibility option, thank you so much!! I’m glad to hear it really is just a preference thing. And thank you for the octopus compliment!! I wanna make a ton of them

[ArtsAndNaps]

No problem, glad to help!

[gizmo705ok]

Your stitches look different but not wrong. I’m curious what the other side looked like.

[kodaa]

First off, your octopus is adorable! I’m an amigurumi crafter as well!

Second off, like @ArtsAndNaps mentioned, there really honestly is no right or wrong way to crochet a piece! Crocheting is an art form, not a set of guidelines and rules that need to be followed. Art is fluid, and so is crochet, things can change and designs can always look different!

Third off, I’m also a left handed crocheter! I make my magic ring in a way that nobody else does lol (or at least that I have seen) so it causes my piece to come out the “right way out”.

Fourth off, my personal preference is the right side outwards, which is how most people crochet. In my opinion the stitches look neater and are more pleasing to look at, this in no way means that stitches that are “wrong side out” don’t look pretty :)! To a non-crocheter, the direction in which one crochets should not be an issue, but to someone who does crochet, they might recognize it and see it as a “mistake” when in reality there is nothing wrong with the piece, just thought I would give a heads up about that!

[AdolosFlow]

I think that for the majority of customers, they would not look at it and see it as wrong side out.
It’s typically something that someone who does crochet amigurumi would even notice.
my first few projects were “wrong side” out and I loved them so much, and I got a lot of positive feedback on them from people who do not crochet. they had no idea, they just thought that what I had made was cute.
I only found out that I was making my crafts the wrong way out from reading posts in some crochet groups I am in on facebook. I think specifically, the Beginner Amigurumi group.
I had also watched a video not long after that gave me an example and showed me and mentioned flipping the work so that the “right side” was out.
I think most pattern creators forget to mention it and assume that someone would know to flip their work. It’s also hard to assume that someone’s work would be inside out when they start. I always tend to start my pieces with the wrong side facing me, and as I continue working, I will end up flipping it so that they right side is out, usually when I start doing sc around and the work starts curling. I had to mess around with it and really look at it when I first noticed the whole right side and wrong side thing, and figure out how I was holding it and pay attention to which direction I was inserting the hook and crocheting in. I was just starting out, really, though and it was easy enough for me to change up what I was doing then. But if you have been crocheting a certain way for 11 years, it may be much harder to go against your established patterns with how you crochet.
I don’t personally think that it is wrong or right, honestly.
I like that everyone crochets a bit differently and that it is a craft that can be adapted to most people and still have similar outcomes. If it works for you, and you are happy with it, then that is great. I also find that people tend to put a little bit of their energy into things that they make, everyone’s creations are unique and I also love that.
I would not personally turn down a tester just for something like that, your work is still clean looking, even stitches, and absolutely adorable, and those are more the things that I would be looking for. You also have experience with crochet, and would be able to help point out any mishaps with the pattern, which is the most important thing, really.
I also do not think that it would deter me from purchasing and using a pattern that you created. I understand that I could adapt your pattern to my own way of crocheting, and I would chose it more based off simply, “is this something that I want to make?”

I am truly sorry that you have come across some type of “crochet snob” that felt the need to make such a rude comment to you. They could have easily said that they felt your work was inside out in a much nicer way, if they thought that you did not know. Instead they chose to say it in a such a way that it sounded and felt judgemental and harsh. That says way more about the person who made that comment, than it ever could about you and your work. Unfortunately, when posting things online, we leave ourselves open to receiving such things, but we have to try not to let it really get to us. You know that you can crochet, and your work is awesome! Do no let anyone tell you otherwise and make your doubt yourself in any way.

I’m sorry this is so long of a reply, but really, the TLDR version is simply that I love your work. I think that it is super cute and clean looking! No, I would not use it against you in pattern testing, nor using a pattern of yours, and no I do not think it really matters. It is personal preference with how you choose to crochet.

[MakesbyMalin]

Oh, another leftie crocheter!
I’m sorry you had to experience that comment. I’ll second what the others have said above–it’s completely up to you which side you choose to show!

But you also mentioned that you might want to start writing patterns and do pattern tests etc, and that’s where I’ll pop in to say that it might be good to reconsider and turn your work so the “right” side faces out.
(I’ll pop a post in here, in case: Inside Out - #5 by MakesbyMalin)

The reason why I’d recommend doing that is that some patterns using certain stitches might not work for you if you have your work facing “the wrong way out”. Someone who bought my cauldron pattern experienced this first-hand. That pattern uses front post single crochet, back loop only, and front loop only, and since these stitches are made for some of the outside pieces to work, it didn’t really work for her because they ended up on the inside instead (she didn’t know she had the “wrong” side facing out and contacted me to find out what went wrong).

So if you start testing patterns you might find faults with it that other people don’t experience because it’s assumed you’ll have the “right” side facing out, and if you create patterns with the “wrong” side facing out, you’ll either have to mention that in the pattern, or have people sometimes ending up with parts they think are made wrong because they are made in a way that isn’t too common.
Sometimes it’s just easier to adhere to the standard

I’ll add that I also crocheted “inside-out” for a while, but when I started crocheting everything with the “right” side out, smaller pieces became much easier to create since you crochet from outside of the stitches instead of having to press the hook through the inside of the piece.
No one could figure out how to teach a leftie to crochet when I was young, so I have Youtube to thank for the start of my craft! I’m happy for you that you had someone who eventually made it click for you!

Good luck, whatever you choose to do

[BernerCrochet]

I am also a left-handed crocheter, my stitches don’t really look different though, but sometimes a have trouble with a magic ring in chunky yarn, and my sister can’t help me because she is right-handed.

[RainbowPenguin2]

I’m right handed so this might be a little different but I always flip my work. This is because there are some loose loops in the magic ring and I don’t like the look of them. It seems to me that you don’t have that problem so it doesn’t matter.

I recently made an amigurumi penguin with multicolored yarn (color switched about every cm). I liked the look on the outside but there was lots of orange rather than the ither colors so I was tempted to flip it. On the inside, each stitch had about 3 colors due to the nature of the stitches. I ended up not flipping (because of the loose loops) but it would have beautiful if I did.

Again, personal preference. I know you said nobody makes magic rings like you do but if you find a tutorial without the loops, can you link it? I will look too but I am trying to learn how to get rid of those for future projects that I want to sell.

Have a wonderful day friend​

[MakesbyMalin]

@RainbowPenguin2 You might want to try the “chain 2” method instead? Maybe it helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDYclDtOtxU&ab_channel=SharonOjala

[CosmikEluminatedC]

As a designer I don’t see this as an issue. Your work looks very neat tight stitches. As someone who purchases patterns. It wouldn’t be an issue for me either. Not sure why anyone would make mean comments your work is phenominal
I also want to point out if this is how you crochet it’s others issues. There really isn’t a correct way. I’m sure I crochet differently then the videos I learned from.

[DreamCrochet]

I personally like your work! Just because you dont flip it inside out doesnt make it bad. The problem i encounter crocheting with the side is that circles can be a lil bit lumpy. But its ok to not know that.that person was just very rude.

[TheEnchantedCrafter]

Crocheting is different for everybody! Like how some have different tension than you! I’m going to be honest that I do my crochet work “right side out” but that’s the right side out for you! Some people can be very judgmental but don’t pay attention to them! You never know… maybe your work looks better than theirs and are just jealous lol

Good job on the Octopus!

[craftycellist]

This is not serious at all, you’d just need to turn you’re work right-side-out before finishing! Even if you don’t, my first pieces were like that two, because I didn’t completely understand the ‘turning right side out’ concept. It’s still super cute, and people buying it wouldn’t think it’s “wrong”!