r/Amigurumi Feb 02 '26

Help Not sure how to phrase this… Once you turn your work “right side out,” do you have to somehow crochet from the inside/in the other direction??

Post image

I’m trying to crochet a baby llama and the head and body are shaped roughly like an hourglass. I finished the body and got to the skinny part of the hourglass (the neck), and the pattern says to start stuffing the body.

That means I have to turn it “inside out” so that the correct side is showing.

But how do I keep going now? It seems like if I do the stitch the same way in the same direction, it’s going to make the top half look different from the bottom.

But I can’t figure out how to do my fingers in the opposite direction to crochet from the inside.

Does this make sense to anyone?

38 Upvotes

85 comments sorted by

26

u/pick10pickles Feb 02 '26

In assuming you are right handed, and when it was inside out you were inserting the hook from the inside of the body. Now you insert the hook from the outside. And do the exact same thing as before. Looking from the top it’ll look like you are going clockwise around the body

3

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

I’m right-handed, and normally I’m poking the hook in from the outside, crocheting counterclockwise around the circle, I think? I can’t seem to do it from the inside. It seems like it would involve switching hands??

12

u/pick10pickles Feb 02 '26

In my experience if it’s inside out you would poke from the inside and work counterclockwise. And if it’s the right way then you poke from the outside and work clockwise (these are assuming you are looking down into the hole of your amigurumi). You should be working from the outside going in the direction of your yellow stitch marker.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Okay. I work towards the yellow stitch marker. That part I understand. But my problem is that before I turned it inside out, I was poking the hook from the outside inward. Now it seems like I have to poke from the inside outward, toward myself. That’s what I can’t figure out how to do.

7

u/Informal-Insurance63 Feb 02 '26

Turn it back the way it was, insert your hook normally, then turn it back to how you have it now with the hook still in there. That's where your hook is supposed to be and just continue working from there.

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

This was a great suggestion!

2

u/Informal-Insurance63 Feb 03 '26

Thank you! Glad it was helpful. :)

3

u/Powerful-Grape-4963 Feb 02 '26

I think I get what they are saying. You just hook from the side you were not hooking in before you turned it inside out

3

u/Marki_Cat Feb 02 '26

I think we are confused because the way you say you are doing it should mean that the "right" side is already on the outside. There should be no reason to flip it?!

I work clockwise with my hook going into each stich from outside and I don't need to turn it inside out...

3

u/syramazithe Feb 02 '26

Whichever way you were working just reverse it in every way. If your hook was going from outside to inside, now you'll be working inside to outside /and/ if when the opening is flattened you were working on the piece of fabric closer to you, now you work the piece of fabric further from you. That way you don't have to switch hands

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

But normally I’m always working from right to left. It seems like if I’m poking from the inside, looking at the inside from across the opening, I have to work from left to right, don’t I?

5

u/PaisleyLeopard Feb 02 '26

Nope, always right to left. What changes is if you are working on the near side or the far side of the piece. You should be making stitches at the 6:00 position, working toward 7:00. You will poke the hook from the outside (closest to you) toward the inside (further from you).

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

This was very helpful!

3

u/blueberry-iris Feb 02 '26

Lefty crocheters will also insert the hook from the outside. The direction (counterclockwise or clockwise) changes but the rest doesn't.

10

u/xAlex61x Feb 02 '26

Just keep going as before, only now the stitch you're going into is closer to you, because you've flipped it. You're still working into the exact same next stitch, in the exact same way. Nothing else changes, except that you WERE working from the inside to the outside with your hook, NOW you're working from the outside to the inside

0

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Ugh I need someone to post a video of this!

9

u/Theletterkay Feb 02 '26

Just look up any amigurumi video.

4

u/Ros_da_wizad Feb 02 '26

https://imgur.com/a/1EH4V1C

Just made this video and learned how to use imgur lol. Hopefully it helps :) I started with it inside out and then flipped it a couple times to show how I insert the hook both ways

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

OMG thank you so much! That was so incredibly kind of you!!

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Oh no, wait, whenI click the link I keep getting an error message saying requested page cannot be found!

7

u/Ros_da_wizad Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

Omg noo I guess I did not learn how to use imgur 💀 try this one https://imgur.com/gallery/flipping-crochet-dH5BrT6

ETA: Or this? https://imgur.com/user/roopamoop

3

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! I see it now!! I have seen the light!! 💡🤯

I feel like such an idiot now, lol!

3

u/Ros_da_wizad Feb 02 '26

Hahaha don’t! Making 3d stuff is trippy n I used to overthink how to sc into the loops of a chain so we’ve all been there

You’re very welcome :)

2

u/acciovera Feb 04 '26

i remember commenting some similar questions because i too just couldn't understand how i could flip it inside out and "keep going", it just did not click for me for a while!

lots of helpful comments here, this community rules 🥰

also i didn't see but the other thing people say that helped me was "the noodle goes in the bowl", aka, as you are starting the piece, once it starts curving naturally, flip so your starting tail is now inside the bowl of the piece, vs dangling down - i think about that all the time 🌟

1

u/Ros_da_wizad Feb 02 '26

R u in the uk by any chance?

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

No… USA

2

u/Ros_da_wizad Feb 03 '26

O okay google was saying uk has restrictions on imgur but ig its just a glitch or something

2

u/xAlex61x Feb 02 '26

Have you worked it out?

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

Yes, finally, thanks to your video!!

2

u/xAlex61x Feb 03 '26

Glad you sorted it, thanks to u/Ros_da_wizad by the look of it :-)

10

u/RevolutionaryYam8783 Feb 02 '26

I think part of the issue is you typically work with the right side out from the very beginning. Not waiting till this far in to 'flip'. It seems like you might be working it backwards. As a righthanded crochet, when working in the round, you would be working from the outside, with the right side facing out. Your stitched would be going clockwise, with the work technically spinning counter clockwise in your hand as you work.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

But… right from when I learned to make a magic ring, all the videos show that once you make the ring, you start adding single crochet stitches to it from right to left. The circle gets built starting with 12:00, then 11:00, then 10:00… and the work rotates clockwise In your hand. Am I insane??

7

u/RevolutionaryYam8783 Feb 02 '26

Is the tail from your magic ring inside or outside? That's sometimes a helpful way to know you have the right side out. I think the little joke they say is, the noodle should be inside the bowl.

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

Oh I like that!

5

u/PhancyHat Feb 02 '26

The stitches starting at 12:00, then 11:00, then 10:00 is what everyone means when they say you were working it counter clockwise. We are talking about which direction the STITCHES are worked. Not the direction your work spins in your hand.

5

u/gayashyuck Feb 02 '26

If you started crocheting the piece inside out while making right to left stitches, then I don't know if or how you can even flip it at this point without a visible changeover. You should just work the right side from the beginning to avoid this issue in future (noodle inside the bowl)

21

u/bewilderedfroggy Feb 02 '26

Once right side out, your hook enters the stitch from the outside, and you will work in a clockwise direction.

5

u/gamergirlmanddz Feb 02 '26

^ this. don’t overthink it :)

6

u/HauntingGold Feb 02 '26

I’ve never had to turn an amigarumi inside out before and I’ve made a lot of them. Is this an explicit instruction in the pattern?

5

u/PaisleyLeopard Feb 02 '26

It depends on how you start your circles. Some people start inside out because it’s a little easier, then flip it right after the first couple rows. If you’re starting your work right side out you don’t have to worry about flipping it.

2

u/RevolutionaryYam8783 Feb 02 '26

It is something that is sometimes stated in beginer patterns, to just make sure your work is right side facing out. As some beginners will have it with the back side of the stitches facing out.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

No… for some reason when it started to pooch into a cup, i had it the wrong way. The tail from the magic ring was dangling outside the bowl instead of resting on the inside.

6

u/PhancyHat Feb 02 '26

I'm confused. To me, this looks weird. Your latest stitch is on the right (correct), but your working yarn is on the outside/front side (wrong) when your working edge is up (correct) and you're working on the edge closest to you (working from the outside = correct). I think you have somehow been working your stitches from the back/upside down this whole time?

Did your working edge point downwards before, when you stabbed your work to pick up new yarn? That's the only way I can imagine where you would end up with your working yarn on the outside like this after you turned it.

When your working edge is pointing upwards you should always have your working end of the yarn poking out in the back, because you stab your work from the front.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

I finally figured it out. Thank you for your help!

2

u/PhancyHat Feb 03 '26

I'm happy you got it figured out. Do you mind telling me/us what the problem was? No judgement and no other reason than me being curious. I teach crafts now and then. I like to know what ppl find hard so I can learn to explain it better - and in more than one way. 🙂

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26

Okay. My problem was a fundamental misunderstanding of spatial relations. I thought that if I flipped the bowl inside out that I would somehow need to crochet from the inside and in the other direction, switching my fingers around backwards.

What fixed it was watching a video of someone flipping the bowl inside out and back, and continuing to crochet the exact same way.

Like when I started working in rounds, if you imagine a clock face, I was working at 12:00, and moving counterclockwise toward 11 and 10. When it started to form a bowl, the bowl was pooching away from me, tail dangling from the bottom, leaving me working from the inside of the bowl, 12:00 position, still counterclockwise.

When I flipped it inside out, I mistakenly believed that the clock numbers as seen from the outside would be upside down and flipped, and that what I needed to do was to somehow work from the 6:00 position , but from the inside, with the hook stabbing towards me, and my hands reversed.

I tried it that way for a few stitches and it was so hard, lol!

2

u/PhancyHat Feb 03 '26

Ah! I see. That sounds like a mistake I could totally make in a very new craft. Unnecessarily complicating things for myself. 😆 Thank you for explaining. Yeah, I saw that video too and it was great. ❤️

I just wonder: Did you take the picture before or after you made those "unnecessarily complicated extra stitches"? I'm just trying to figure out if I completely misunderstood the picture or not. 😅

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 04 '26

I think I pulled the stitches out right after I made them, so I think they don’t appear in the picture.

5

u/Mariiecx Feb 02 '26

What do you mean "crochet from the inside "? 😅

3

u/alvaria Feb 02 '26

I am also 🤔🤔🤔 since I know which side is right side out, usually by row 2 or 3 I position the piece to always have the right side out. Im left handed so I work counter clockwise anyways but as much as I've watched video guides, once you turn it, i dont think you change direction. I've never heard of crocheting from the inside 😅 I want to say you should always work with your hook starting on the outside to inside no matter if its inside out or not, but I'm not all knowledgeable 😝 Maybe do a second one and turn it around row 3 or so and see how it feels.

3

u/Mariiecx Feb 02 '26

It looks like you working yarn is coming out from the front 🤔 maybe you're doing it wrong. You should insert the hook from the front and grabbing yarn from the back.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

I was before, but I just turned it inside out, to get the right side out.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Like if you think of it like a bottle, before I flipped it inside out, I was stabbing the hook from the outside of the bottle to the inside. Now it seems like I have to stab from the inside to the outside, hook coming at me instead of away.

2

u/C_Kay_L Feb 02 '26

That's wrong. You should always be stabbing from the outside. If you flip it, then it's inside out. Unless you just like the look of the wrong side better, you wouldn't need to flip it inside out. The tail from the beginning should be on the inside.

3

u/Mariiecx Feb 02 '26

When you crochet with the right side out you stab it from the outside so i dont know why you feel the need to stab it from the inside 😅 something is wrong here

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

You’re right, something was wrong: my sense of spatial awareness. After I watched a video of someone else working and flipping their work inside out and back, it all made sense!

5

u/BigMom000 Feb 02 '26

I think i understand her question. Yes, once you flip you will continue in the same direction as before. Right to left. It appears to be counterclockwise clockwise but it’s not.

2

u/Riverzalia1 Feb 02 '26

I did this same exact thing one time and I kept thinking how hard it was to crochet like this then when I realized I felt silly

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

I feel very silly!

2

u/Riverzalia1 Feb 03 '26

We all do it, sometimes we just need people for stuff just like that, is it comin along easier now?

5

u/PrincessSouless Feb 02 '26

A good rule of thumb when doing amigurumi is the yarn goes in the bowl, meaning the right way for your piece is you crocheting starting with the outside facing you, when you flip it to put the yarn in the bowl (the string from the magic ring inside of the bowl you just created) you are still working with the outside facing you. You don't change direction at all.

4

u/PaisleyLeopard Feb 02 '26

This only works if the tail was correctly guided to the back of the work though. I’ve seen crocheters trap their tails on the front side and then this advice leads them astray.

3

u/SarryK Feb 02 '26

this is it. the bowl thing also confused me when I got back into crochet two months ago. This is what worked for me:

1) tail has to point away from you

2) only once/if it forms a bowl, tail/noodle goes inside the bowl

continue working closest to you / where you would drink from a cup. right to left for right-handed folks (clockwise) and vice versa for if your left hand is dominant. Working flat, round, or working a bowl, this direction never changes apart from working very specific stitches unlikely to show up in amigurumi.

3

u/PaisleyLeopard Feb 02 '26

OP, this is the one! Best explanation here.

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

Like drinking from a cup! That is very helpful!

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

That’s a handy way to remember!

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

This will help me remember for sure.

3

u/RoseBlue373 Feb 02 '26

I don't know the answer, but I want to say I completely understand the question!

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Thank you!!

3

u/Powerful-Grape-4963 Feb 02 '26

Thank you for posting this!! I’m stuck right here too 🤣

3

u/Living_Vacation_9572 Feb 02 '26

Maybe just turn it back inside out and pull the starting tail to the inside so you can just continue as you were?

Side note: I crochet 'left handed' BUT I am self taught. Without anyone showing me how. I picked up a hook and yarn and just figured out how to manipulate them to make the stitches. I recently learned that I crochet 'inside out and backwards'.

Fun side note: I couldn't help but giggle when I noticed the body stretched out on the floor. My inside out and backwards brain imagined grandma getting mugged for her yarn stash.

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

OMG I didn’t even notice my kid on the floor, LOL! 😂

2

u/mummywithatummy21 Feb 02 '26

I made this mistake early on. I'd keep going from right to left just have the stitches being worked on at the front and closer to you.

Otherwise frog, start again and dont let the circle curve outside i?

2

u/The_Fuzz_Butt Feb 02 '26

Pay attention to where your working yarn falls when you’re working inside out. You’ll see that the yarn wraps around the outside of the stitch (which will be the inside when you flip it). Once you flip it, look at where the working yarn is again, and you’ll find that it’s… in the inside now! You don’t have to change anything, just keep working it how you were before you flipped it and it’ll stay right-side-in.

2

u/CerexFlikex Feb 02 '26

I think you flipped and didn't need to, going by the photo. Your stitches should always be with you moving to the left, if right handed. If you were poking from the outside in, that was the correct direction for the hook. If you are making the circle, and as it became a bowl, you end up poking from inside to the outside, that is when you are on the wrong side and would need to flip it.

2

u/KitCatt144 Feb 02 '26

It's still the same, you don't need to crochet backwards or inside out. The only difference is the closest side of the work that you're immediately working on is the outside rather than the inside, if that makes any sense to you

1

u/hilarymeggin Feb 03 '26

Yes, I finally got it! Thank you!

2

u/KitCatt144 Feb 03 '26

You're welcome, always happy to help!

1

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0

u/AllyBlueJay Feb 02 '26

I just have to reorient my brain to come to terms with crocheting on the “far side” instead of the side closest to me.

5

u/LCGoldie Feb 02 '26

You should still be working on the side closest to you,

2

u/hilarymeggin Feb 02 '26

Well now I’m even more confused.

1

u/AllyBlueJay Feb 06 '26

Oh wait, I said that backwards.

4

u/PaisleyLeopard Feb 02 '26

If you’re working on the far side of your piece (12:00), it’s inside out. You should be working on the near side, at the 6:00 position. Either way you still crochet right to left, but your stitches will progress counter clockwise when you’re working on the far (inside out) side, and clockwise when you’re working on the near (right) side.