The Rights and Wrongs

RIGHTS AND WRONGS (Front and Back)
Please click on thumbnails to view larger image.

When I say right side, I really mean the front of the piece. If I say wrong side, I mean the back. The terms are common in the crochet world, but I think wrong side gives a negative idea. It's not really the wrong side. It is just the back of your project.

Good news! If you are working a square, or afghan where you chain and turn for each row, you really don't have to worry about right and wrong or front and back, because every other row is a "front" and the next row is a "back" so to speak. :-) That's good news, isn't it?

If you want to call your first row the "front" all you have to do is tie a little piece of yarn or place a paperclip or stitch marker around one of the stitches to remind you where you began. That's what the pattern means when it says mark this as right side. (And you thought you couldn't read a pattern!) Also, you will see the little "tail" where you started your foundation chain. When you finish your first row, the "tail" will be on your left.

If you are going to work a border around your work, I personally like to use my first row as my "right" or "front" side and work the border on that side. In my patterns when I talk about "right side", that's what I mean. That doesn't mean that you have to do that. That's just what I do. However, if I mess up and use the other side for my border, I don't have a panic fit. It's perfectly fine.

First, I'm going to show you how to tell the front from the back on the first row, worked into the foundation chain. There are several ways to work that first row and everyone has their preference. None of them are right or wrong IMHO. What works best for you, that gives you the look you want, is the right way for you. Crochet is all about creativity. So be creative.

1) Method 1 - left shows the right side of a single crochet row worked into the foundation chain, going under the top two loops. The picture on the right shows the back or "wrong" side of the same row.

2) Method 2 - Some people like to work under the top loop only on their foundation chain. Here's how it would look done that way. The picture on the left below shows the front. The picture on the right is the back. If you look closely, you can see that when viewed from the back, the stitches make a sort of bump. They seem to stick out a bit whereas the front looks smoother.

3) Method 3 - The method below is my personal preference, but it is also the hardest to explain. You place your hook in the back of your stitch in the little hump or nub that sticks out when you're looking at your stitches from above.

Let's see if I can make it clear. First, you need to get familiar with your foundation chain.

Below is the FRONT of your foundation chain.

Below is the BACK of your foundation chain. See where the nub is?

One picture explains it all:

Below I show two views of inserting hook into the back nub

And here's a picture of a row of sc worked into the foundation chain back nub, front view

Below I will show you the front and back of your stitches. That way, no matter what row you're on you can tell whether you've just worked a right side or wrong side if you leave the project and come back to it later.

Note that the bottom-most row is the wrong or back of side, and the top row is the right or front side. That's because I worked the first row into the foundation chain, and then chained 1 and turned to work the second row. The picture shows the end of the second row, so the first row is showing its "back" to us.

The bottom row is, once again, the wrong or back side. The top row is the right or front of the double crochet stitches. You might notice that in a double crochet when you are working a front stitch the top loops, though they are at the top of the stitch of course, are also a little bit to the right of the post. When you're looking at the back side, the top loops are still at the top but a little bit to the left of the post. This will help you when you are trying to match stitches to join squares, especially with granny squares that are worked without turning.

It's easy for you to see it here while I'm telling you this is the right, this is the wrong. But what about when you're ready to put together those squares, huh? Or perhaps you want to make a border, and you want to put it on the "right" or "front" side. As I noted before, you can mark your first row if you want to. I usually try to finish my piece so that the first row I've done on it and the last row are both "fronts", showing the front of the stitches and not the back. Then I put a border round it and that clinches the right side for me. You need only look at the border (if you've done it right) to see which is the right (front) side.

Some squares are worked in the round and usually these are not turned. The side you are working on is the "right" or "front" side.

The square below is done in single crochet with a single crochet border. Since I turn each row, there is really no right or wrong side, but I am showing the square from what I consider the right side -- the last row of the border, which shows the front of the single crochets. This is the side I will use when joining this square to others.

If you guessed the one on the left (Fig. 1), you win. That's the one with the right side of the border facing you. (Go get a Hershey bar as your reward! If you guessed wrong, go get one anyway as a consolation prize. Hee hee!)

Now granny squares are different. They are usually worked "right side only". Generally, you don't turn when you work a granny. You work in rounds and attach to your first stitch each round. Then you go up and continue.

If you guessed Fig. 3 on the left, you are correct. Now, no more Hershey bars - do you want to be big as a house? Well, okay, maybe a few M&M's. You are working hard. :-)

Now below I've show you a completely different pattern. This uses crossed stitches within a granny square. Since it's a granny, it is worked on right side only, with no turning. You can easily see that there is a front and back. Which one is the right side? Well, I guess it's the one you like best, huh? However, the front is, once again, the picture on the left. (Do you see a pattern here? I'm pretty predictable.)

Now, as far as front and back, right and wrong go, the best way to learn is to be observant. When you work, notice what you're doing. Examine your own work and others' work. You might even join an exchange within a crochet list e-mail group, where you make items for and receive items from others. Compare and you will see that everyone does it just a little bit different, yet the same.

There's one other stitch I want to show you in this section, and that is the puff stitch. It has an obvious front and back, but you might be surprised by it. The puffs actually stick out more on the back side than the front, and this is the side I use as my "right" side. .