Knit fabric has two sides, the right side (RS) and wrong side (WS). Sometimes also known as the public side and the private side.
The right side is the side of the fabric seen when the garment is worn. It’s also sometimes called the “public side” of your knitting. The wrong side is the side not seen when a garment is worn.
We keep track of the RS right side so that orientation of the piece we are working is clear. Knowing which is the RS right side is important when doing shaping, following stitch patterns, and for counting or tracking rows worked. This is mostly done when working your knitting flat. In the round, we only work from one side (the right side), so we keep track of pattern rounds and rest rounds.
Example Instructions using RS and WS:
- Work St st, ending with a WS row.
- Work right and wrong side rows until piece measures 7″ from beginning.
- Work final wrong side row.
See also: wrong side (WS)
