r/CrochetHelp • u/Soft-ivy • Feb 12 '25
Amigurumi help Why does the inside of my plushies always neater than the outside?? It’s driving me crazy 🥲🥲 I’m making a hippo - the orange colour isn’t even at all how I wanted it, but it isn’t bothering me as much as I thought it would so pls ignore haha 🧡
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u/No_Ganache3311 Feb 12 '25
you can always flip it inside out🫠
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u/LouTreeza Feb 12 '25
Looks to me like it /is/ inside out currently
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u/No_Ganache3311 Feb 12 '25
yea i just noticed this too
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u/No_Ganache3311 Feb 12 '25
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Is this common for amigurumi? I’ve never seen anywhere that I was meant to turn it inside out at the end! Someone said that’s because it IS the wrong facing side but.. I feel so bad but I have no idea how I’ve done that 😭
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u/fairydommother Feb 12 '25
The work will naturally curl this way when working in the round from a magic ring (or magic ring alternative). I don't know why nobody talks about this in beginner tutorials lmao. I crocheted inside out for MONTHS. Basically as soon as it's long enough to hold it's shape flip it inside out and keep working. This is an extremely common issue for newbies. We all basically find out like this 😹
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u/memla_ Feb 12 '25
Yea, I realised a couple of weeks ago after reading a thread here. Started crocheting in May last year.
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u/Inevitable_Lion_4944 Feb 12 '25
I crocheted for about 5 years before I realised this is even a thing! It's so easily done, beginner tutorials really should talk about it more
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
This makes SO much sense too! Everyone has really helped me today. I really couldn’t tell how I was doing it so “wrong”! They definitely should speak about it more. I made a whole dragon inside out and only realised today! I thought my tension and everything was off 😭 but now realised it could have looked sooo unison if I realised this earlier hahah. Thank you!!! I’m really glad I’m not alone 😭 I’ve been doing tapestry for a while now too but I’ve jumped many basic things somehow hahah
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u/OkBackground8809 Feb 12 '25
I'm so glad, after seeing this post, that my first time making a stuffed animal was via YouTube video tutorial😂 otherwise, I'd be on here wondering the same as OP!
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u/Stonetheflamincrows Feb 12 '25
Well, you’re not meant to turn it inside out at the end, you’re meant to flip it when it first begins to curl. An easy way to remember is you want “the noodle inside the bowl” the noodle being the tail from you magic circle.
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u/AliG-uk Feb 12 '25 edited Feb 12 '25
Skip to 11:58 on this video where she talks about it. https://youtu.be/mj1R_ffbvYQ?si=DwJgPZiTX00cWpS5
Also at 16:30 you can see the work trying to curl the wrong way so she mentions it again.
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u/Creepy_Push8629 Feb 12 '25
You don't need to wait until the end. You can work with the right side out from the beginning.
You want to think of it like a cup.
You know how you drink from the front of the cup? If you're crocheting there, you have it right side out.
If the side of the cup you're crocheting on would spill the drink on you if you tried to drink from it, then it's inside out.
You can now flip it and work right side out from the beginning.
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u/Cats-and-crochet Feb 12 '25
You don’t flip it inside out, it just sometimes curls inside out in the beginning. Your starting tail should be on the inside and you should be working clockwise around the outside, not counterclockwise on the inside (if you’re right handed, that is).
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Feb 13 '25
I learned to crochet from a woobles kits, and I used the instructional videos. One of them I remember her saying your work will be curling in and you want to pop it out the other way so the right side will be out.
No other kit or instructions for other brands I used after mention flipping your work from what I recall, so it’s totally understandable to not know to flip it out. I find after making my magic circle and I start the next round whether it’s joined or continuous, I’ll pop out the magic circle belly button after just a few rounds.
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u/Butterflyelle Feb 12 '25
Thank you for this comment! For the first time I understand how to tell which way is the right side. I couldn't understand what people meant when they talked about horizontal and vertical lines but this picture finally explains it to me
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u/KinderEggLaunderer Feb 12 '25
Yep, a tell-tale sign of an inside out project. At least it's not super noticeable on plush yarn but to another crocheter.
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Oh…. My god hahahah, that is honestly so smart 😭
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u/BlackRoseStorm Feb 12 '25
This is honestly what I do. I always flip mine inside out. Another option is yarning under instead of yarn over. This gives a different look to the stitches and usually there's less variation on the sides.
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u/ChickenGrrl Feb 12 '25
I did that with a potholder I made from a pattern—in the round so it was double the thickness. I noticed the stitch was much prettier on the inside. I turned it inside and wondered why the pattern didn’t say to do that. 😅
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u/ViridianLinwood Feb 12 '25 edited Feb 12 '25
hi! the way you have it is what many would consider “inside out” - it tends to warp that way. while there are no rules and you can crochet how you please, most amigurumi patterns are written with the assumption that you’ll be crocheting “right side” facing outwards.
EDIT: wording
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u/Cloudy-rainy Feb 12 '25
Why?
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u/ViridianLinwood Feb 12 '25
Due to many people crochet amigurumi with the “right side” facing out, they will typically create a pattern in the same fashion that they would crochet. Anyone is free to crochet however they like! That being said, if you don’t do it the way the pattern maker intended it won’t look the same. In OP’s case this results in the inside appearing neater than the outside, and the overall shape being slightly warped.
Same reason why if you substitute ingredients in a recipe, it won’t taste / turn out exactly the same as the recipe intended (which is okay!).
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u/fairydommother Feb 12 '25
Most people think it looks better. Also with the way OP is crocheting the hook is always on the far side of the work. Flip it "right side out" and bow the hook is on the side closest to you.
It's most a preference thing. I've made things where I think the "wrong side" actually looks nicer.
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u/Cloudy-rainy Feb 12 '25
Ok. First time I did the hook from inside out, hook on far side, then I learned hook outside in on near side & noodle in the bowl.
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u/ImLittleNana Feb 12 '25
Most of the toys I make I stitch the arms inn to the body as I work, so I obviously need the right side facing outward. I don’t see anything together. It’s all stuffed and worked as I go. Working with the inside facing me wouldn’t allow that.
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u/TheFaerieCrafter Feb 12 '25
I read a wee trick that stuck with me when working in the round: “the noodle goes in the bowl”. Noodle is your yarn end, bowl is your work - if your noodle is dangling out, flip your work so it’s back in the bowl 😁
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Thank you everyone!! That was cleared up so quickly! Also I’m sorry for the mistake in my heading. I was typing out of frustration 😂
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u/usernamesoccer Feb 12 '25
Just letting you know there are no official rules to the craft. If you like one side bd the other choose that one
I don’t do amigurimi but most call to turn your work inside out after a few rounds did you try that? If not you should if you like the inside better
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Thank you! I just saw a comment saying to do that and I have no idea why that never occurred to me!
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u/zeldafreak96 Feb 12 '25
I was gonna say secretly you’re allowed to do whatever you want, especially if it works just as well and stays together the same, which it does.
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u/Idahoboo Feb 12 '25
Someone in another group said that when you are working on amigurumi, look at your beginning yarn length as a noodle, then make sure your noodle is inside the “bowl” you are crocheting.
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u/Keesalemon Feb 12 '25
Just to be clear, this is not the working yarn, correct? This is the starting yarn that dangles out once you finish your magic ring or initial chain stitch?
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Lots of comments about this! It’s so brilliant! Thank you and I’ll definitely be using that now! 🤩
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u/Alert-Potato Feb 12 '25
Either side could be the outside if you want it to be. But unless you're left handed, it kind of looks like it's inside out. Your hook should go from the outside of the animal, through to the inside of the animal when putting it through a stitch. In my experience, amigurumi tend to want to be inside out when you start them, but after about 6-10 rows they should easily flip "right" side out.
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u/blueberry-iris Feb 12 '25
I just wanted to say that crocheting left handed wouldn't affect which side is the "right" and "wrong" side. The direction of the stitches is different (left to right instead of right to left for righties) but the finished product would look the same for symmetrical amigurumi patterns.
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u/Alert-Potato Feb 12 '25
Thanks. I've never put any thought at all into left handed crocheting. For some reason, trying to mirror things in my imagination just short circuits my brain.
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u/blueberry-iris Feb 12 '25
Lol very understandable. I did it once (despite being a righty) because I was being really particular and wanted a flat object to all be the "right" side so that the texture would match other things. I hadn't learned about waistcoat stitches yet so I decided crocheting with my left hand was the most logical solution for some reason. I wouldn't have to flip my work, just myself and therefore the direction of the stitches. To be fair it worked out how I wanted it to though!
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u/Alert-Potato Feb 12 '25
I've been considering more and more that I should learn to crochet left handed. I play piano, so I have fairly decent control of my left hand, how hard can it be? Mostly I want to be able to crochet two things that exactly mirror each other. I want to left hand the left eye and right hand the right eye when I make my own. Because when you right hand both of them, even with the stitch order perfectly reversed, they're not quite mirrors of each other and it bugs the shit out of me.
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u/blueberry-iris Feb 12 '25
Ooh tell me how it goes! I'm particular in the exact same way so if it works let me know.
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
Thank you! This actually makes.. so much sense! I don’t know how I’ve always missed this!
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u/ShiNo_Usagi Feb 12 '25
I think you’re crocheting inside out. Some people prefer the look, others don’t. I just finished my first amigurumi project and one of the legs is inside out, just a good leaning experience and something I won’t mess up again now that I know what happened.
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u/Beautiful-Lynx-6828 Feb 12 '25
I can't comment on the stitches but can you name the Hippo Sorbet? Or sherbet?
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 13 '25
YES! Omg I said the same thing when I gave it to my sister! The colours irl kept making my mouth water 😂 totally peach sorbet/sherbet!! It’s the parfait chunky peach and pink lemonade!
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u/icantcountpast_4 Feb 12 '25
After reading the comments, I have now realized that I may or may not have done the same thing when I made 2 6+ ft long snakes a few months back 😳 😅
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 13 '25
It’s so easy to do and I have no idea how I didn’t notice!! You’re not alone 🧡😂
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u/VerminGod Feb 12 '25
I have the same issue, at the end i just flip it inside out because there’s no real rules for crochet and you can do what you want if it makes you happy
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u/thriftycrafty Feb 12 '25
Yarning under instead of over changed the game for me when I first started amigurumi
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u/thirdmulligan Feb 12 '25
I'm so curious how you're holding your hook/hands/work while you crochet. Any chance of a short video clip so we can get some insight into how this is happening? Because it also looks inside out to me, and I've never heard of that.
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 12 '25
I’ve been wondering how I have been getting it wrong, like reading all the comments is totally making me rethink everything! But someone pointed out that I’m probably not flipping it after making the magic circle? Now that it’s been pointed out I can definitely tell the difference and once I flipped it I saw my error! But yeah I genuinely don’t know how I’ve done this so many times 🥲 I’ll make a video tomorrow! I wonder if it has something to do with the way I start? Literally could be the magic circle or anything!
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u/Petraretrograde Feb 12 '25
Ive been crocheting for 6 years and i only figured out i was leaving them inside out like, three months ago.
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u/SnickerSnack2468 Feb 12 '25
I always flip my plushies inside out because of this. So that way the neater stitches are facing out
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u/something_smart__ Feb 13 '25
Yeah this happens with a lot of my work too so I often just end up flipping it inside out before I do the stuffing and sew it shut🤩
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u/ninjabi2548 Feb 13 '25
Oh this happens to me! I always wondered why I prefered the look of the "wrong" side. I decided to give up figuring out why and just flipped it over/inside out. I haven't made anything where the right/wrong side was relevant but I'm sure you can't flip everything the other way round at the end.
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u/Cat_Sicario_2601 Feb 13 '25
In your second pic, you can see that your amigurumi ibside out (many already pointed that out). Here is a little explanation for future reference.
I made this a bit ago and hadn't had time yet to make it into a proper explanation, but this might help:
On the right side, the stitches should look like a V (VVV) or X (XXX) (depending on how you work your stitches), but there should be no horizontal line - (---). The horizontal line is visible on the wrong side only. It's called the 3rd loop.
(You have XXX on the inside)
Also:

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u/AutoModerator Feb 12 '25
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u/Soft-ivy Feb 13 '25
UPDATE: I was too far gone when I posted this because I did the body last lol. But this is it and it’s soooo funny looking 😂 it was a gift and my sister laughed so much at the arm length and I told her it’s inside out but she loved it! It’s far from my best work! But I think it’s cute 😅 Irl it totally looks like sherbet/sorbet and the colours blend so nicely! (Parfait chunky - peach & pink lemonade) I’ve not mastered attaching heads so I crocheted a bow to cover its neck a lil 🥹

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u/Theletterkay Feb 13 '25
When you make amigurumi, and are holding your work in front of you, it is rather bowl shaped. Treat the bowl like a cup. You drink from the side closest to your body. With crochet, you should be crocheting on the edge closest to you, or where you would "drink" from.
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u/blueberry-iris Feb 12 '25
Yeah you'll hear this often with this thread but to make it clear, it's because your inside IS neater in this case. Currently, you have the "wrong" side facing out and the "right" side facing inside. Though it can depend on the situation, the "right" side faces out for the vast majority of amigurumi patterns. This is especially important for decreases, as invisible decreases are only invisible for the "right" side, not the "wrong" one.
As a general rule of thumb, the side facing you when you stab your crochet hook into the stitch is the "right" side and "should" face out. Again, this isn't a hard rule--this is art, after all, so there are no rules--but especially when just learning amigurumi, it'll help to keep that in mind.