Slipping first stitch with fair isle

[Lynseymac]

I have a problem where my edge stitches are very loose on one side (like another poster has said). I've tried slipping the first stitch on a swatch and it did make it look better.

But what do I do if I'm knitting fair isle? I can't slip the first stitch if it has to be a different colour? Or maybe I'm wrong!

I was knitting a little jumper for a toy rabbit that I made and struggled to pick up the stitches for the sleeves. I'm making another little jumper by the same designer that is a lovely fair isle pattern. My first go looked terrible because I was trying to pull the yarn harder to tighten the edges and it went really warped.

Is knitting/purling the first stitch from the back on each row an alternative? And can you still pick up stitches for the sleeves easlily this way?

Thanks

[Ingrid]

Working them through the back will tighten them up a bit and it's certainly worth a try. If the edge is being seamed, though, a loose edge or slipped stitch won't really show. It won't hinder picking up stitches, either.

To avoid a loose edge stitch, I find that holding the yarn tight and working the second and third stitches tightly tends to keep the first stitch tighter.

[salmonmac]

For fair isle you could slip the first stitch without changing color. Pick up the pattern stitch with the second stitch on the row. Alternatively, add in a slipped edge stitch at each end that does not include in the fair isle pattern.