Crochet help please

[PioneersAndPirateShips]

I am in the middle of crocheting a blanket, but I am a new crocheter and the edges are not even as I have made mistakes when turning and starting a new row. Can anyone please suggest any way of adding a border to neaten it up at all or will it look worse if I try that?

Tia

IMO a crocheted blanket will always need a border. I tend to put a couple of rows of half treble crochet round and then something decorative.

Obviously, it's easy to add the border on the top and bottom where there are stitches to crochet into. The edges are trickier as you need to decide how many stitches to do - I find that 2 in the edge of each treble crochet is about right for me.

Thanks, I'll try and find a tutorial on doing a border. It is supposed to be a present but it looks awful

It will always look worse to you than it does to another person. :) When I make something, I know where all the mistakes are and I can see them - no one else can!

A border is great for neatening the edges. It transforms a blanket from a piece of fabric into a finished piece.

Pioneers, are you on Facebook? if so and you haven't already, look for the Mumsnet yarnaholics. You can post a pic and you will get an honest opinion on if it needs a border.

Yes, come and show us a pic I do agree with others though that blankets always need borders.

I would always add a border, it absolutely transforms a blanket and makes it look more finished.

I'd also block it - dunk the whole thing in water and spread it out somewhere to dry flat. This helps the stitches settle into place, and you might find your work looks a lot more even.

And finally, even if it still looks a little wonky, the recipient should know that it was made with love and won't care about mistakes.

You could always buy some edging tape and sew it on. This is the stuff which is used on blankets you buy in shops. Not sure exactly what the name of it is though. edging tape just sounded right...

If you decide to do a border in DC be careful on the sides. Work out exactly how many stitches you require to keep the piece square, because too many and it will stretch out and too few will pull it in - making the whole thing non-square. make sure the stitches are evenly spaced too.

Thanks, sorry I forgot I posted and never came back, I will have a look for the facebook page. It really is very wonky, I keep getting it wrong when I go into the stitches on a new row, I would start again but I don't have time. I'm a bit worried about making it worse if I try to add a border, I've never crocheted anything before!

I made a blanket out of a mix of crochet squares and knitted ones. It was all quite wobbly because the knitted squares had different tensions but double crocheting a few rounds made a huge difference in pulling it all together.