How to place a border on Single Crochet

Confused by where to place your stitches when working a border on single crochet stitches? Tired of placing stitches willy nilly and hoping the project turns out okay? I’ve got you! This tutorial on how to place the first round of a a border on single crochet stitches is for you.

Borders are incredible finishing techniques that can skyrocket the look and feel of our finished work. They can be as simple or as fancy as we’d like them to be which can heighten the finished look of the project.

But if you’ve never been taught how to crochet into the edges of your work, you might be wondering just how in the world you achieve the first round of a border.

Let’s take the confusion out of placing borders by going over how to place a border on single crochet stitches.

Once you know how to place a border on single crochet stitches, you can move on to learning how to place one on double crochet and half double crochet stitches too.

What to know before we get started

This tutorial will teach you how to place a border on a swatch of single crochet. When making the border, we will use single crochet stitches. You can, however, use half double crochet or double crochet when crocheting the first round of the border.

The most important thing to know when learning to place the first round of a border is where to place the stitch, not what stitch to use.

Through this tutorial, I will teach you my preferred way to place a border on single crochet stitches, including where to place your stitches and how to create corners using a chain 2 space.

What to know before starting this tutorial:

• Get to know what the “raw edge” of your project means to help understand the border directions easier in a pattern. We will go over this below.
  
• You need to be able to count your rows properly to ensure that you’re placing the correct number of stitches. My How to Count Crochet Rows tutorial will teach you how to count your rows and what the “right” and “wrong” side of the stitches look like which will be very helpful in following this tutorial.

Notes to keep in mind when placing a border on single crochet:

There are a few things to keep in mind while placing a border on single crochet stitches that will help ensure your border doesn’t make your work wonky.

Generally, the “rules” of placing a border on single crochet stitches are:

• Place the same number of stitches on each side of the project as there are stitches or rows.
  
  • This means if there are 10 stitches in a row, you will want to work 10 stitches on the top and bottom of your project (Numbers 1 and 2 in the image below).
    
  • This means if there are 11 rows worked in your project, you will want to work 11 stitches on the raw edges of your project (Numbers 3 and 4 in the image below).
    
• Each corner of your project needs to have a corner created to ensure that the border does not pull in. This is typically achieved by creating a chain 2 space or by placing 3 stitches into the last stitch on each side. I’ll teach you how to use a chain 2 to turn the corner.

What is the “raw edge”?

First things first, you need to know what a raw edge even is when we’re talking about borders. You may also see references to a “edge”, “raw side”, “the sides of stitches” or “the sides of rows”.

These all refer to the sides of the project that are not the top or the bottom of stitches. Let’s take a look at a swatch:

In this image, we can see a swatch of 11 rows of 10 single crochet. Each side of this swatch is labeled with a number.

Side 1 is the last row worked. This is the “top” of the project.

Side 2 is where we created chains and worked our first row. This is often referred to as just “chains” or sometimes “bottom of chains”.

Side 3 is one of the raw edges.

Side 4 is the other raw edge.

When placing a border, we have to use all of these sides. This is true regardless of if you’re working a border on single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet or a mix of these or any other stitches.

How to Place a Border on Single Crochet Stitches

We’ll begin our border on single crochets using the swatch below. This swatch has 11 rows with 10 single crochet in each row.

Typically when starting a border on any project, you would turn your work as if you’re going to work a new row. This is what we’ll learn here.

However, this is not always the case. Some patterns may tell you to not turn and instead start working down the raw edge (the sides of the rows) first. That’s okay and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ll simply work our first side last.

To begin placing a border on single crochets, we will turn our work.

If you’re using the same color as your swatch or project, you will chain 1 and turn.

If you’re using a different color like I am (for better visibility in these tutorial photos), you will turn your work and join the new color in the first stitch as seen in the image below.

Now, for the easiest part of placing a border on single crochet: We place 1 single crochet (or taller stitch, if you’d like) in each stitch across the row to the end as the black dots in the image above indicate.

You can see this completed in the image below.

Now, instead of chaining 1 and turning our work to begin a new row, we are going to instead rotate the project to work along the first raw edge. This makes it so that the sides of the stitches are facing up as if they were a row.

The black arrow that turns a corner in the image above indicates that we will rotate the work instead of turning the work.

When we rotate our work, we need to create a corner to ensure this border doesn’t pull inward. To do this, we will chain 2. This creates enough room for the border to lay flat and is an obvious corner for use in future rounds.

In the image above, I have rotated the swatch to now work down the first raw edge (or sides of the stitches). I have also chained 2, which a pink arrow points to. Black dots in the image indicate that we will work 11 single crochet into the side of each single crochet.

We will work 11 single crochet down the side of the project because there are 11 rows. As we know in our “general rules” of how to place a border on single crochet stitches, we want to place 1 single crochet in the side of each single crochet row.

It’s important to note that the single crochet prior to the chain 2 we placed in the border does not count as the side of a row. This can be confusing if you’re using the same color because it certainly looks like the side of a row, though it’s easier to see in my images because I am using a different color.

In the image above, a black arrow points to the last single crochet I placed in the first part of the border. A red X is at the top of this arrow. This is to indicate that this is NOT a stitch to work into for the border.

Placing the first single crochet on this raw edge is relatively easy. We’ll simply place a single crochet into the same stitch our last single crochet of the border was placed into.

In the images above, a tapestry needle points to where we will place this first stitch. In the bottom image, a black arrow goes through the top of the stitch to further indicate placement.

We have now placed our first stitch on the raw edge of the project. In the image above, you can see the 2 single crochet that are placed in the same stitch. Between the two single crochet is the chain 2 corner which a pink arrow points to.

Now, we will place 1 single crochet in the side of the next single crochet (or side of the row) as the black arrow in the image above indicates.

Note that the “right side” of the single crochet is facing. This means there is no chain 1 at the side of this row because it is the end of a row, not the start of a row.

Wondering what I mean by “right side of single crochet”? My How to Count Crochet Rows tutorial will explain in detail.

To place a single crochet in the side of this row, we will work into the space between the last single crochet and the single crochet next to it in this row.

When the “right side” of a single crochet is facing on this edge, this more obvious to see as the single crochet’s V shaped post is clear. The stitch we work for the border will need to go around this stitch.

This means that the single crochet we’re placing as a part of the border will wrap completely around the single crochet that is a part of a row.

Picture 1 in the image above has a tapestry needle pointing to the space between the two single crochet stitches of the row.

Picture 2 in the image above has a black arrow going into this space and out the other side with the hook prepared to go into the space.

Picture 3 in the image above shows the border single crochet completed.

Now we will place our next single crochet in the side of the swatch. This time, the “wrong side” of the single crochet is facing us.

When the wrong side of a single crochet is facing us on this edge, there is a chain 1 on the outside of the stitch. A black arrow points to this in the image above.

The loop the black arrow points to is the chain 1 to turn before we placed our first single crochet of the row. If you were to flip your swatch over and look at the other side, you would see a “right side” single crochet post that looks like a V with a chain 1 beside it.

To place a border single crochet on a “wrong side” single crochet, we’ll insert our hook into the space between the chain 1 and the single crochet. In the top picture of the image above, a tapestry needle points to this space.

In the bottom picture in the image above, you can see the single crochet placed.

Now, we place our next single crochet border stitch. The right side of the single crochet from the row is facing, so we will place 1 single crochet in the space between the last single crochet and the single crochet next to it in this row.

In the top picture in the image above, a tapestry needle points to the space between the two single crochet of the row.

In the bottom picture in the image above, you can see the single crochet for the border placed.

We have placed 4 single crochet stitches into the side of the swatch for this border so far. We will continue placing 1 single crochet in the side of each stitch down this first raw edge of the project.

Black dots in the image above indicate the sides of the 7 rows in which we still need to place 1 single crochet.

You can see all 11 stitches placed on this first side of the swatch in the image below.

Now that we are at the end of the first raw edge, we will chain 2 to create space for a corner and then we will once again rotate the project to work along the next side. Once rotated, the bottom of the chains will face upward as if they are a row to work into.

The black arrow that turns a corner in the image above indicates that we will rotate the work instead of turning the work. A pink arrow points to the chain 2 which creates the space for the corner.

In the image above, we can see the chains are now facing upward as if they’re a row to work into. Black dots over the bottom of each chain indicate that we will place 1 single crochet into each chain across this side.

I prefer to crochet in the back bump of the chains, which creates a clean professional finish and is much easier to work into for borders.

My chains may look slightly different to yours because of this. Crocheting in the back bump of the chain makes the chain look like the top of a stitch, which you can see below.

As the black arrows in the image above indicate, we will place 1 single crochet in the bottom of each chain until we reach the end of this side.

You can see this completed in the image below.

Now that we are at the end of this side, we will chain 2 to create space for a corner and then we will once again rotate the project to work along the final raw edge. Once rotated, the final raw edge of the project will face upward.

The black arrow that turns a corner in the image above indicates that we will rotate the work instead of turning the work.

Now that we have chained 2 to create a corner and rotated our work, we can begin working up the final “raw” edge of the project.

It is important to note that the last single crochet we just placed in the bottom of the chains prior to the chain 2 does not count as the side of a row.

Additionally, the bottom of the chain does not count as the side of a row.

In the image above, a red X and a black arrow point down to the side of the chain to indicate that this does not count as a stitch.

A green checkmark and a black arrow point down to the side of the first row of single crochets, indicating that this does count as a stitch and we will place our first border single crochet here.

In the top picture of the image above, a tapestry needle points to the space created by the last single crochet of this row. We will insert our hook into this space when placing our border single crochet.

Notice that the “wrong side” of the single crochet is facing and it looks a little different to the wrong side single crochet on the other edge of the swatch. This is because there is not a chain 1 on this side and the space is a little bigger.

When we work into this space, we’re technically working around the entire post of the single crochet. If you flip your work over before working your border stitch, you’ll see the V shape of the single crochet post on the edge. If you flip your work over after working your border stitch, you’ll see that the stitch has wrapped completely around the post of the single crochet.

In the bottom picture of the image above, you can see this first border single crochet placed. A pink arrow points to the chain 2 corner.

Now we will place our next border single crochet. This time, the “right side” of the single crochet is facing us and there is a chain 1 between the single crochet and the end of the row.

This means we will place our border single crochet between the chain 1 and the single crochet.

In the top picture in the image above, a tapestry needle points to the space between the single crochet and the chain 1.

In the bottom picture in the image above, the border single crochet is placed.

Now we will place our next border single crochet. In the image above, a tapestry needle points to the space created by the last single crochet of this row. We will insert our hook into this space when placing our next stitch for the border.

The this stitch is once again a “wrong side” single crochet. You can see the single crochet placed in the side of this stitch in the top picture of the image below.

Now we will place our next border single crochet. This is a “right side” single crochet.

This means we will place our border single crochet between the chain 1 and the single crochet.

In the top picture in the image above, a tapestry needle points to the space between the single crochet and the chain 1.

In the bottom picture in the image above, the border single crochet is placed.

We have placed 4 single crochet stitches into this edge of the swatch for this border so far. We will continue placing 1 single crochet in the side of each stitch down this first side of the project.

Black dots in the image above indicate the sides of the 7 rows in which we still need to place 1 single crochet.

You can see all 11 stitches placed on this last side of the swatch in the image below.

Now that all of the border single crochet stitches are placed, all we have left to do is create the final corner and join the round.

To create the final corner, we will chain 2 and we will rotate the swatch one final time so that the top of the swatch is facing upward.

In the image above, a pink arrow points to my chain 2 that will create the corner. A black arrow goes through the very first stitch placed in the border round.

To close the round, we will slip stitch into the first stitch (black arrow). You can see these steps completed in the image below.

This completes one round of a border on single crochet stitches. In the image above, pink arrows point to each chain 2 space which creates a corner.

You now have a nice even round that has cleaned up the raw edges on the sides. You can leave the border like this if you like or you can continue to work more rounds to create a fancier border if you prefer.

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Now that you’ve gone through this tutorial on how to crochet a border on single crochet stitches, I’d recommend practicing placing a border on swatches made of scrap yarn.

The more you practice a technique, the better you’ll be at using it, of course!

But I suggest practicing with a swatch made of scrap yarn so that you can really zero in and focus on learning without the pressure of finishing a project early.

Once you’re comfortable with placing a border on single crochet stitches, you can learn how to place a border on other stitches like double crochet and half double crochet or on double crochet projects that start with Stacked Single Crochet.

And once you’re comfortable with all of those stitches, you can make swatches with rows of single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet to practice placing borders for when a project doesn’t just use one stitch.

Did you find this tutorial helpful? Save it for later and share it with others by Pinning it to Pinterest!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might also enjoy these:

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Tired of your circles becoming hexagons? My How to Crochet a Perfect Circle tutorial will teach you how to make a more perfect circle with one easy change.

Did you know the slip stitch to close a round doesn’t count as a stitch? Let me tell you why that is and how to make sure you avoid using it.