diff --git a/visidata/sort.py b/visidata/sort.py
index 7c082a07a..c629f6a2a 100644
--- a/visidata/sort.py
+++ b/visidata/sort.py
@@ -39,9 +39,9 @@ def __lt__(self, other):
 @Sheet.cached_property
 def ordering(sheet) -> 'list[tuple[Column, bool]]':
     ret = []
-    for col, reverse in self._ordering:
+    for col, reverse in sheet._ordering:
         if isinstance(col, str):
-            col = self.column(col)
+            col = sheet.column(col)
         ret.append((col, reverse))
     return ret