How to Add a Border in Crochet

So you’ve finished crocheting that blanket and you’re ready to add a border, eh? Adding a border in crochet definitely isn’t on my list of favorite things to do, but many times it is a necessary evil for crochet projects to turn out beautifully.

How to Add a Border in Crochet

There are many different kinds of crochet borders. We could do a simple crab stitch around or a reverse shell stitch repeat.  Or, we could do a double crochet or a picot stitch around. It’s all good but there is ONE thing I do before all others when adding a border in crochet and I do it every.single.time.

The trick? Single crochet around FIRST! See the video tutorial for adding to single crochet, double crochet AND for adding a border to c2c below.

Why add a border?

If a crocheted border does nothing else, it cleans up your edges and helps to hide minor imperfections. We’re all human, and according to some cultures having at least one mistake (intentional or otherwise) is necessary to remind us that no one is perfect. Now, will I knowingly miss a stitch or make a mistake? Nope – my brain can’t handle that. But if I have two double crochets where there should have been three and I’ve gone several rows past before I realize it? I’ll stick with my mistake, thanks.

How to make a clean border in crochet

When finishing a blanket or other project to which you will be adding a border, always start with a single crochet row first. It is the smallest (read: shortest, least conspicuous) of the crochet stitches and if you choose your yarn color wisely, you may not be able to see it at all. All this row does is clean up the edges and prepare for the actual border to follow.

Note that when placing your border stitches (going up the SIDE of the stitch instead of the top or bottom of the stitch) a single crochet gets one stitch, a double crochet gets two stitches and a triple crochet gets three.  And you’ll want to stay as consistent as possible when placing those stitches.  If you’re putting a border on a double crochet blanket, for example, you’ll want to place two border single crochet stitches in the same exact spot of each as you go up the side creating that border.

How to choose a color when adding a border

Before starting, you’ll first want to decide on yarn color. Will you use the main color of the blanket itself, or use the color that will be the border? Choosing the color of the single crochet row is all personal preference, but I find that a color as inconspicuous as possible looks best. If my blanket is all one color, I’ll use that same color. I can then go back with blue, pink or green to create the pretty border.  If the blanket is striped or uses multiple colors I might choose the most subdued of those colors and go from there.

Going back through your border

After adding the single crochet border to clean up those edges, adding subsequent rows (in whichever manner you prefer) is easy as pie. Instead of going through with red or blue where you can obviously see the imperfections, that first colored row is uniform and gorgeous.  In my son’s Power Rangers blanket for example (pictured above), the first row of gray looks so nice as it is worked into an actual row of white yarn instead of simply the sides of the C2C graphghan.

Does it add an extra step? Sure. But it looks soooo much better. How do YOU add a border in crochet? Give my method a go and let me know what you think!

See more Crochet Tips before you go!

How to Crochet the Triple Crochet (Treble Crochet) Stitch
Reverse Shell Stitch Tutorial :: Crochet Technique (with photos)
How to Crochet: Understanding Crochet Gauge and How to Measure It
Super Slim Hidden Fanny Pack Free Crochet Pattern
Power Rangers Graph Pattern for Graphghan
How to Crochet the Moss Stitch (Written and Video Tutorial)
The Crab Stitch Crochet Stitch + Video Tutorial