Keeping edges neat

#1

I’m just a beginner - I’ve been knitting a lot of dishcloths lately. The edges of my cloths look messy though. How do I make the edges look neater? Any tricks?

Thanks,
Anna

#2

A lot of people will say to slip the first stitch of every row, but those are messier and looser for me than just working it. I get them fairly snug though by knitting or purling the first stitch, then pull the yarn a little, and do the next couple sts a little tight and the rest of the row with a normal tension.

#3

I’m one of the people who do slip the first stitch. :lol: I find it gives me a very pretty chained edge. Here’s how I do it -

With the yarn in front of the right hand needle slip the stitch off point to point (often said as if to purl) then move the yarn to the back between the needles and knit. Then knit the last stitch regardless of what the pattern is.

As long as you have the yarn in front when slipping and you knit the last stitch it will create the chain.

#4

Ahhhh, I see! I knew there must be a secret! Thanks for responding guys. I was pulling the stitches tight at the beginning of each row like you suggested Suzeeq but I don’t find that it’s working unfortunately. So, I’m going to try the slip stitch technique on my next project.

Thanks!!

#5

I slip the last stitch instead of the first; the same technique that Jan suggested and looks the same…I just find it easier to slip the last stitch and knit the first instead.

#6

I have had better results slipping the last stitch instead of the first. But they’re still loose for me and I just don’t care for the look.