Knitting on the wrong side means working from the back of your fabric instead of the front, and it changes how your stitches look

When you knit on the wrong side, the stitches you make appear reversed compared to what they would look like if you were working from the front. A knit stitch becomes a purl, and a purl becomes a knit. This happens because you are looking at the fabric from the opposite direction — the bumps and valleys that face you are the opposite of what faces the other side. If your pattern tells you to knit on the wrong side, you read every instruction backward: knit becomes purl, purl becomes knit, increases and decreases flip their direction.

The most common reason to work on the wrong side is when you are knitting in the round on circular needles and need to turn your work, or when you are working flat and your pattern specifically calls for wrong-side rows. Some colorwork patterns and textured stitches require you to work from the back to create the right effect on the front.

Key Takeaways

  • Every stitch instruction reverses when you work the wrong side: knit stitches become purl, purl stitches become knit, and increases and decreases flip direction.
  • The easiest way to track which side you are on is to mark your right side with a safety pin or stitch marker before you start, so you always know which way you are facing.
  • If your pattern does not tell you to reverse instructions on wrong-side rows, you read and work them exactly as written — the pattern already accounts for the direction.
  • Turning your work mid-row is different from working a wrong-side row; turning means you stop, flip the fabric, and keep going on the same row from the other direction.

How to read a pattern when working the wrong side

Most knitting patterns written for flat work (knitting back and forth on straight needles) already tell you which rows are wrong-side rows. These are usually labeled WS or marked with an even number if you are numbering from the bottom. The pattern instruction for a wrong-side row is written the way you should work it — you do not reverse it yourself.

For example, if a pattern says "Row 2 (WS): Purl across," you purl the entire row. You do not convert it to knit. The pattern writer has already done that work for you. The confusion happens when you are reading a pattern that only shows right-side instructions, or when you are improvising and need to reverse stitches on your own.

If you are working from a chart, the chart itself shows you what to do. Charts are drawn as you look at the fabric from the right side, so when you work a wrong-side row, you read the chart from right to left instead of left to right, and you work the opposite stitch of what the symbol shows.

Reversing stitches when you work the wrong side

If you need to reverse stitches yourself — because your pattern only gives right-side instructions, or because you are fixing a mistake by working backward — use this rule: knit becomes purl, purl becomes knit. Yarn overs stay yarn overs. Increases and decreases flip: a right-leaning increase becomes left-leaning, and vice versa.

A knit two together (K2tog) becomes a purl two together (P2tog) on the wrong side. A slip-slip-knit (SSK) becomes a slip-slip-purl (SSP). If your pattern uses abbreviations like "ssk" or "k2tog tbl," you reverse both the stitch type and the direction. This takes practice, and many knitters keep a small chart next to them listing the reversals.

Yarn overs do not change — they are the same stitch whether you are on the right or wrong side. The hole they create stays in the same place on the finished fabric.

Marking your right side so you do not lose track

The fastest way to avoid confusion is to mark your right side before you start knitting. Use a safety pin, a stitch marker, or even a piece of yarn tied to the edge of your fabric. Pin it to the right side of your first row, and it will travel with your work as you knit. Whenever you look at your needles, you can glance at the marker and know exactly which side you are facing.

This is especially useful when you are working a pattern with many wrong-side rows, or when you are picking up your knitting after a break and cannot remember which direction you were going. A marker takes two seconds to add and saves you from frogging back several rows because you worked the wrong side as if it were the right side.

The difference between turning your work and working the wrong side

Turning your work mid-row is not the same as working a wrong-side row. When you turn, you stop in the middle of a row, flip the fabric so the other side faces you, and keep knitting on the same row from the opposite direction. This creates a short row — a section of the fabric that is shorter than the rest because you did not complete the full row.

Working the wrong side means you have finished a complete row and are now starting a new row from the opposite side of the fabric. You will knit across the entire width, then turn and work back. Turning mid-row is used for shaping (like in heel flaps or shoulder shaping), while working wrong-side rows is the normal back-and-forth of flat knitting.

Common mistakes when working the wrong side

The most common mistake is forgetting to reverse the stitches and working a wrong-side row as if it were a right-side row. This creates a row where the texture is flipped — you will see it when ready when you look at your finished fabric because the pattern will not line up. If you catch it right away, you can tink back (undo stitch by stitch) or frog back (pull the yarn and unravel) to the mistake.

Another mistake is reversing stitches when the pattern has already done it for you. If your pattern explicitly says "Row 4 (WS): K1, P2, K1," that is the instruction you work — do not convert it. The pattern is telling you exactly what to do.

A third mistake is losing track of which side is which after setting your work down. This is why the safety pin marker is so useful. Without it, you might work two right-side rows in a row, or two wrong-side rows, and not notice until the fabric looks wrong.

When you need to work the wrong side in colorwork and textured patterns

Some colorwork patterns, like stranded knitting, require you to work from the wrong side to create the right effect on the front. The pattern will tell you this explicitly. When you work from the wrong side in colorwork, you still reverse your stitches, but you also reverse the color order — if the right side calls for blue yarn in the right hand and white in the left, the wrong side calls for white in the right hand and blue in the left.

Textured stitches like cables and bobbles also change appearance when worked from the wrong side. A cable that twists to the right on the right side will twist to the left on the wrong side. Again, your pattern should tell you if you need to work from the wrong side, and the instructions will already account for the reversal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to reverse every stitch when working the wrong side?

Only if your pattern tells you to work the wrong side and does not give you the instructions. Most patterns written for flat knitting already include wrong-side rows with the stitches reversed, so you work them exactly as written. You only reverse stitches yourself if you are improvising or fixing a mistake.

What does it mean if my pattern says "knit the knits and purl the purls" on the wrong side?

It means you work the opposite of what you see. If the stitch looks like a knit bump facing you, you purl it. If it looks like a purl valley, you knit it. This creates a reversible fabric where both sides look the same. It is common in garter stitch and brioche knitting.

Can I work the wrong side on circular needles?

Yes, but you have to turn your work. Circular needles are designed for knitting in the round, where you never turn. If you want to knit flat on circular needles and work wrong-side rows, you turn the needles around at the end of each row, just as you would with straight needles.

What happens if I accidentally work a wrong-side row as a right-side row?

Your fabric will show a row where the texture is reversed — the knits and purls will be flipped compared to the rows above and below. If you notice it right away, tink back or frog back to fix it. If you do not notice until later, you can often live with it if it is only one row, but it will be visible in the finished piece.

How do I know if my pattern wants me to reverse stitches on the wrong side?

Read the pattern introduction or legend. It will say something like "work wrong-side rows as written" or "reverse all stitches on wrong-side rows." If it does not say, assume the pattern has already reversed the stitches for you and work the rows exactly as written.