Slipping first stitch with fair isle

I have a problem where my edge stitches are very loose on one side (like another poster has said). I’ve tried slipping the first stitch on a swatch and it did make it look better.

But what do I do if I’m knitting fair isle? I can’t slip the first stitch if it has to be a different colour? Or maybe I’m wrong!

I was knitting a little jumper for a toy rabbit that I made and struggled to pick up the stitches for the sleeves. I’m making another little jumper by the same designer that is a lovely fair isle pattern. My first go looked terrible because I was trying to pull the yarn harder to tighten the edges and it went really warped.

Is knitting/purling the first stitch from the back on each row an alternative? And can you still pick up stitches for the sleeves easlily this way?

Thanks

Working them through the back will tighten them up a bit and it’s certainly worth a try. If the edge is being seamed, though, a loose edge or slipped stitch won’t really show. It won’t hinder picking up stitches, either.

To avoid a loose edge stitch, I find that holding the yarn tight and working the second and third stitches tightly tends to keep the first stitch tighter.

For fair isle you could slip the first stitch without changing color. Pick up the pattern stitch with the second stitch on the row. Alternatively, add in a slipped edge stitch at each end that does not include in the fair isle pattern.