[rootzdawta]

Does anyone have any tips for making the edges of your knitting work neater? I've tried slipping the last stitch of every row and also tightening up on the second stitch of every row but it's not as neat as I would like. I'm a pretty experienced crochetier and so it's frustrating to have such sloppiness going on! TIA.

 

[Sarah]

Knit edges are not going to be as pretty as a crochet edge- that's why so frequently a knit pattern calls for crochet finishing! The cast on and bind off edges are usually very pretty- but the edges of all your rows are probably going to be not as pretty as you are used to. The tricks you have already tried are the standard- more than that and you'd be getting into the territory of an applied edging stitch- lots of E. Zimmerman patters have a garter stitch edge that is about 4 sts deep. The garter actually makes a nice accent against lace or stockinette- and although the extreme edge is kind of knotty- it is very even and regular- I also like an I cord edge. If you have no reason to be a knit only snob- I'd suggest you just crochet an edge on there that you like.

 

[flapjack]

Generally, I use a garter stitch or moss stitch border on an exposed edge, and on an edge that will be seamed I slip the first stitch of the row. It's accepting the fact that this is one of the differences between knit and crochet, and working within the limitations of each craft.

 

[texmati]

I crocheted for a long time too before learning how to knit, so I know what you mean.... but another thing that has worked for me is to be very careful that I'm slipping knit wise or purl wise consistantly, depending whether you want a twisted stitch at the edge or not.

I knit combined so I'm not sure which does which in regular knitting. But if you do that, and make sure to give that stitch an extra tug, you'll find that your edges can look as neat as crocheting.