Carriage on the Left (COL)

Carriage on the Left (abbreviated COL) tells you where the main carriage should be positioned before you take the next pass. It simply means the carriage is resting on the left side of the needle bed.

Patterns use COL as a quick reminder to check your starting point. This matters because many techniques—like shaping, short rows, increases, and decreases—depend on starting the row from the correct side.

You’ll often see COL paired with COR (Carriage on the Right) so you always know where to place the carriage before continuing.