A border will add the finishing touch to a blanket, it will neaten a uneven edge, square everything up and give substance to your blanket. Your choice of crochet edge can make or break your blanket.
Leaving an edge unfinished is fine, but if you really want your project to stand out, choosing an appropriate edging can really give it 'the edge' !! ;-)
There are many decorative border designs, but sometimes for a busy blanket, a neat straight border is all that is needed.
For this border you will need to know:
How to make a Chain stitch (Ch) (st) HERE
How to make a Slip stitch (Sl st) HERE
How to make a Treble stitch (Tr) (USA Double crochet (Dc) HERE
I will be using UK crochet terminology for this tutorial (For conversion to USA see HERE)
This tutorial will show you how to crochet a simple border with tips for leveling the sides and overcoming a wavy edge as in the photo below.
One of the things that can happen when starting your border is that it can start to go wavy, But don't panic!
Most often this can be rectified simply by dropping down a hook size (or two) for the following rounds, this will 'pull in' your crochet, and tighten up the wavy edge. Try dropping down half a hook size at a time until you are happy with how it looks and feels.
On the other hand, if your crochet border is too tight and is beginning to 'pull in' or 'pucker', you will need to unpick this, and go up a hook size (or two) as unfortunately this cannot be corrected by increasing your hook size alone.
THE LEVELING UP ROUND
The first round of my border is the base round, for leveling up minor imperfections or creating a specific number of stitches for working into during your following round.
I like to crochet this round using a discreet color, the same color as the blanket or a color that wont 'stand out', as the stitches in this round may be irregular, so it helps to avoid drawing attention to them.
For the purpose of this demonstration I will edge my Amazing Daisy blanket.
To start
Round 1 Insert hook into any stitch along the side of the blanket, Ch1, Dc into each stitch
around the entire edge of your blanket, making 3Dc into each of the 4 corner spaces and leveling up any dips that may be noticeable.
For example: On the edge of my granny square blanket at the point where I have joined the squares together, there is a slight dip, so I will need to make a longer Tr stitch into the joining seam to bring it up to the same level as the Dc stitch on either side, thus counteracting the dip.
When you have crocheted all the way round, sl st into the top of the Ch1, Fasten off.
In the photo above USA stitch terms have been used. For UK terms the stitches would read, from left to right, Dc, Tr, Dc.
Round 2 New color
Insert hook into any st on a different side of the blanket (varying the starting places will make your joins less obvious), Ch3, Tr into next st and each st around, making 3Tr into the middle st of the 3Dc corner sts, sl st into the 3rd ch of ch3. (pics 1-3) 
Round 3 Ch3, Tr into same st, Tr into each st around, making 3Tr into the middle st of the 3Tr corner sts, Do not crochet into the last tiny sl st (pic 5). Fasten off (pics 4-6)
Round 4 New color
Insert hook into any st along a different side of the blanket, Ch1, Dc into next and each st around, making 3 Dc into the middle st of the 3Tr corner sts, sl st into top of ch1. (pics 7,8)
For an invisible and professional finish, cut yarn, pull out the end from the loop, thread end onto a tapestry needle, bring end though next st from back to front and then back though previous st from front to back, sew in all ends, this makes a false stitch :-) (pics 9,10)
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you have enjoyed my Border tutorial!
You may also like to try my Dinky Dot Blanket Pattern
Also see How To crochet A Straight Granny square
And my FREE Sunny Rainbow Blanket Pattern when you subscribe to my newsletter
Have a great day! Hope to see you soon!
Kerry :-) x
A HUGE THANKS Kerry. I’m new with crochet and had no idea how to put a border on my Afghan … until you kindly showed step by step how to do the dc border!!
Kerry, WOW! I am a hand and machine knitter who has never been interested in crocheting until I came across your site. I just love your designs, so cheerful and inspiring. I have just purchased the bobble blanket to have a go, with the help of your tutorials. Well done and thankyou xx
I’m just learning to crochet, but have found your website to be the best way by a mile! Can only do granny squares so far. So looking forward to progressing and using some of your beautiful patterns to make baby clothes.
I’m an experienced crocheter, but there is always more to learn and room for improvement! I sometimes struggle with borders and with my project edges becoming either “wavy” or “puckered”. This tutorial addresses all of the above by providing clear instructions, and also suggests solutions for specific problems that can arise with any crochet project and pattern. I love that the author encourages improvisation. (Ex. Leveling up any dips by using a taller stitch.) I’ve yet to see a pattern that accounts for inevitable variances that occur due to individual crochet styles or imperfections like ‘dips’, and it can be stressful to stray from a pattern to fix these.
I seldom post comments, but I have to say “thank you” for this great article and recommend it to others!
At the age of 70 I’m learning to crochet, your tutorials are excellent for a beginner. Thank you