Learn how to crochet a neat, professional single crochet border with this step-by-step tutorial and video!
This tutorial shows you exactly how to work a single crochet border around a blanket or a square. You’ll learn how many stitches to work into different row heights, and how to turn a neat corner. There’s a full video tutorial below too, if you’d rather watch than read 🙂
This technique works great as a border for a crochet blanket, on washcloths and dishcloths, and pretty much any project that would benefit from a neat and tidy edge!
What You Need to Know
A single crochet border finishes any crochet project with a neat, even edge. Work roughly 1 sc per sc row, 2 sc per dc row, and 3 sc (or sc, ch 2, sc) into each corner to keep it from rippling or pulling tight. It also makes a great base for a fancier decorative edge afterward.
In This Post
What You’ll Learn in this Tutorial
This tutorial covers everything you need for a neat and tidy single crochet border:
- How many stitches to work for each row height – sc, hdc and dc rows are different heights, so they need a different stitch count worked into the row edges. Getting this right is what keeps your border from rippling or being too tight.
- How to turn a corner – so your border sits flat and square, not pulled or bunched.
- How to finish with an invisible join – for a seamless edge with no obvious join point.
This tutorial assumes you already have a crochet piece ready for a border. I’m demonstrating on a sample piece with three sections, so you can see how the technique changes depending on the stitch: four rows of double crochet, four rows of half double crochet, and four rows of single crochet.
What you’ll need
Yarn: Any! I used a contrast color for my border so it’s easy to see in the video, but you can also match your border to your last row.
Hook: Whatever hook matches your yarn weight, although sometimes you might find that you get a neater result by going down a hook size for your border. (I’m using a 5mm hook with my worsted weight yarn).
Why Work a Single Crochet Border?
A row of single crochet around the edge of your work does a lot more than just finish it off:
- It creates a neat, even edge. Row ends and turning chains can look a little uneven on their own. A single crochet border straightens all of that out.
- It’s the perfect foundation for a more decorative border. If you want to add a shell edge, a picot border, or any other fancy stitch pattern afterward, working a plain single crochet round first gives you an even stitch count and a stable base to build on.
- It evens out lumps and bumps before you change color. If you’re planning to work a border in a contrast color, working one round of single crochet in the same color as your project first smooths out any unevenness, so your contrast round goes on nice and neat. In my video I used a different color throughout so it’s easy to see, but working the first round to match your project is a great trick if your edges need a bit of tidying up first.
- It adds a bit of structure. A row of single crochet around a blanket or washcloth edge helps stop curling and gives the finished piece a slightly firmer edge.
Try it out!
I’ve used this exact border on dozens of my own patterns over the years – it’s definitely one of my go-to finishing techniques. These patterns all make use of a single crochet border for a perfect finishing touch!
Tips for a Perfect Crochet Border
- Right side first. Decide which side is your right side before you start. You can begin your border at the corner of any right-side row.
- Matching yarn? If your border yarn matches your last row, you don’t need to cut your yarn – just keep going straight into the border.
- Weaving in vs. working over ends. While it is possible to work your border over your ends, it can make your border more bulky in some spots than others. I tend to wait and weave them all in once the border is done.
- Edges are an art, not a science. Just find an entry point that feels natural, especially at turning chains and color changes.
- Big project? Pop a stitch marker in every 10-20 stitches as you go. That way if you lose count, you only need to recount back to your last marker, not from the very start.
- Working in a spiral? If you’re not joining each round, pop a stitch marker at the start of your round too – it’s easy to lose track of where you began without one.
- Want a crisper edge? Try dropping down half a hook size for your border round. It’s a nice trick if your project’s edges are curling or looking a bit floppy.
- Blocking. You can block your piece before adding the border, after, or both. Blocking first can straighten out any wonky edges before you start, and blocking again afterward helps the border itself sit flat.
Common problems and how to fix them:
- Rippling or wavy? You’ve worked too many stitches along that edge – rework it with fewer stitches. If your count seems right, try a smaller hook for the border instead.
- Gaps along the edge? Work through the center of the stitch rather than around the whole post – it gives a much tighter result.
- Uneven side to side? Double check you’ve worked the same number of stitches on opposite sides of your piece – it’s an easy way to catch a miscount before you get too far.
How to Work a Single Crochet Border (step-by-step)
Learn how to work a neat single crochet border on any project, with exact stitch counts for sc, hdc and dc rows, how to turn corners, and finish off with a seamless invisible join.
Abbreviations (US Terms)
– ch = chain
– dc = double crochet
– hdc = half double crochet
– RS = Right Side
– st = stitch
– sc = single crochet
Edge Stitch Counts
Single crochet rows: 1 sc per row
Half double crochet rows: alternate 2 sc, then 1 sc, then 2 sc, then 1 sc, and so on
Double crochet rows: 2 sc per row
Corners: 3 sc worked into the corner stitch. Some crocheters (myself included, sometimes!) prefer (sc, ch 2, sc) into the corner stitch instead – it gives a slightly more open, pointed corner rather than a rounded one. Either works well, so try both and see which you prefer.
Join your border yarn
With RS facing, choose your starting corner and join your border yarn into that stitch. For this sample, I started in the top right corner. Ch 1 – this does not count as a stitch.
(If you are continuing on with the same color as your last row, there is no need to join in, just continue working on the RS.)
Work top edge
Single crochet in each st across the top edge.
Turn the first corner
When you reach the last stitch of the row, turn the corner by working an extra 2 sc into that same stitch (for a total of 3 sts at the corner). The first sc of the three is the last st of the top edge, the center one is your corner stitch, and the third is the first of the next edge.
Work down the left edge
Work down the side edge, matching the number of stitches to the row type that you are working into:
– Single crochet rows: 1 sc into each row edge (in this example 4 row edges = 4 sc).
– Half double crochet rows: alternate 2 sc and 1 sc per row (in this example 4 row edges = 6 sc).
– Double crochet rows: 2 sc into each row edge (in this example 4 row edges = 8 sc).
Work along remaining edges
Turn the second corner with 3 sc in the last st as before.
Continue to single crochet along the bottom edge and up the remaining side edge, working 3 sc to turn each corner. Tip: once you turn a corner, that corner stitch counts as the first stitch of the next side.
End with 2 sc in the same st as the first st of the border round (this forms the 3 sc for that corner).
Finish with an invisible join
I like to finish off my border round with an invisible join as follows:
a. Cut yarn and pull through last st.
b. Thread a yarn needle with the tail, and insert the needle from bottom to top through both loops of the first st of the round.
c. Insert the needle in between the front and back loops of the last st and all the way out the back. Pull gently.
Single Crochet Border Video Tutorial
Check out the full video tutorial to see exactly how to work this border → How to Single Crochet a Border
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial!
I love seeing all of your projects – tag me on Instagram @nedandmimi and use #nedandmimi to show off your work.
Happy crocheting!
Sarah