Blue Butterfly and Flower Hanging Curtain Crochet Pattern

This curtain is a hanging panel of soft blue butterflies and little cream flowers, strung on fine chain strands below a lacy valance. Nothing is sewn into one solid piece. Every motif hangs on its own strand, so light and air pass through the open spaces and the whole curtain seems to float in the window. When the sun comes in, the cream yarn glows and the blue butterflies stand out as if they had just landed there. It is one of those projects that people stop and touch when they walk past it.

At the top sits a valance of six lacy triangles. Each one is worked as a small granny triangle from the point upward, then finished with a row of little shells along the two sloped sides. The six triangles are joined with two rows of single crochet across their tops, and that band carries seven yarn loops that slide over the curtain rod. The points of the triangles hang down in a row of soft scallops, which frames the strands below and gives the top of the curtain a finished cottage look. I like how it hides the rod and the starts of all the strands.

Below the valance there are thirteen strands in all. Seven of them are motif columns, and each column holds twelve motifs, six butterflies and six flowers, taking turns down the strand. The columns are offset, so the first, third, fifth and seventh columns start with a butterfly and the others start with a flower. That small trick turns the whole curtain into a gentle checkerboard of blue and cream. The other six strands are plain cream chains that drop from the points of the triangles and fill the gaps, so the curtain looks full without getting heavy. Every strand ends in a short cream tassel.

The butterflies are worked in the round from a magic ring. A ring of single crochet makes the center, long chain loops form the four wings, and the wings are filled with a mix of sc, hdc and dc before a lacy round of chain spaces gives them that open, airy edge. A small strip of hdc is sewn down the middle for the body, so each butterfly has a raised center that catches the light. The flowers are quicker, just three short rounds of single crochet, chain spaces and petals. Once you know them, you can make one in about ten minutes.

The finished curtain measures about 90 cm wide and 180 cm long (35 by 71 inches) from the top of the loops to the tips of the tassels. That fits a standard single window or a narrow door. The motifs are joined as you build each strand. You chain from the valance down, slip stitch into the top of a motif, carry the chain behind it, slip stitch out at the bottom and chain on to the next one. There is no sewing of motifs to each other, only weaving in ends, and that makes the assembly feel calm and steady.

The feel of the finished curtain is what surprised me most. Cotton gives the strands a little weight, so they hang straight instead of tangling, and the motifs stay flat and crisp after blocking. In the morning the light comes through the open wings of the butterflies and throws tiny lace shadows on the floor. In the evening, with a lamp on behind it, the cream flowers look almost like small lanterns. It changes with the hour, and I never get tired of looking at it.

I rate this pattern Intermediate. You only need basic stitches: ch, sl st, sc, hdc and dc. The challenge is making eighty-four motifs and keeping them all the same size, and you need a little patience to measure each strand so the bottoms line up. If you have made a few granny squares or small flowers and you can follow a round with a stitch count, you can make this. Plan on about forty to fifty hours. It suits someone who likes small, portable pieces and enjoys watching a big project come together slowly, one butterfly at a time.

I fell for this curtain the first time I hung a single test strand in my kitchen window. Even one column of butterflies changed the light in that room. The blue looked soft and a little dreamy against the glass, and the cream flowers between them kept it from feeling busy. I had made plenty of blankets before, but I had never made something that moved with the air the way this does. When the window is open, the strands sway just a little and the butterflies seem to flutter.

The thing I love most is how portable it is. Every butterfly and every flower is a small piece you can finish in one sitting. I kept a little zip bag with a ball of blue, a ball of cream, my hook and a few stitch markers, and I made motifs in waiting rooms, in the car while someone else drove, and on the porch in the evening. By the time I sat down to build the strands, I had a whole basket of them waiting, and it felt like opening a box of treats.

Making the same motif over and over also taught me more about my own tension than any swatch ever did. By the twentieth butterfly my wings were even and my lace spaces were the same size every time. I learned to count my chain links out loud, which sounds silly, but it saved me from a lot of ripping back. I also learned to stop for the day when my hands got tired, because tired hands crochet tighter, and a tight butterfly stands out in a row of relaxed ones.

Here is what keeps me coming back to this design:

• Small motifs that fit in a pocket-size project bag
• Only two colors, so planning is easy
• No seaming of motifs, just chains and slip stitches
• A window that looks different every hour as the light moves

It is also one of my favorite things to give. I made a shorter version for a friend who had just moved, and she told me it was the first thing that made her new place feel like home. A handmade curtain says you thought about the room someone lives in every day. It is personal without being fussy, and it fits almost any style, from a farmhouse kitchen to a plain modern bedroom.

This curtain is kind to your yarn stash too. The flowers, the chain strands and the tassels all use cream, so any half balls of cream cotton you have left from other projects can go straight into it. If you have a few small leftovers of blue in slightly different shades, you can even mix them across the butterflies for a softer, more natural look. Nothing goes to waste, and the little scraps at the end make perfect tassel ties.

Most of all, I love the slow satisfaction of it. There is a moment near the end, when you slide the last loop over the rod and step back, when the whole room seems to soften. All those evenings of small motifs suddenly become one big, light, happy thing in the window. It reminds me why I crochet in the first place, and I hope it does the same for you.

The easiest change is the color palette. Blue and cream is calm and fresh, but the design works with almost any pair. Try pink butterflies with white flowers for a nursery or a little girl's room, or sunny yellow butterflies with white flowers for a kitchen. Mint green butterflies with cream flowers feel like spring all year, and red butterflies with white flowers look cheerful in a farmhouse window. For something elegant, make white butterflies and white flowers and work the last round of each flower center in a soft golden yarn.

You can also change the width to fit your window. Each valance triangle adds about 15 cm (6 inches) of width, plus one more motif column and one more plain strand. For a narrow window, make 4 triangles, 5 motif columns and 4 plain strands, about 60 cm (24 inches) wide, with 30 butterflies and 30 flowers. For a wider window, keep adding triangles in the same way. Remember that the motif columns always number one more than the triangles, and the plain strands always match the triangles.

Length is just as simple to change. Each pair of motifs, one butterfly and one flower with their links, adds about 25 cm (10 inches). For a door about 210 cm (83 inches) tall, keep 6 triangles and work 14 motifs per column, which gives 98 motifs in all, 49 butterflies and 49 flowers. Add about 62 chains to each plain strand for every extra pair so the bottoms still line up. Always measure your window or door first and decide on the length before you make all the motifs.

• Narrow window: 4 triangles, 5 columns of 12 motifs, about 60 by 180 cm
• Standard window: 6 triangles, 7 columns of 12 motifs, about 90 by 180 cm
• Door: 6 triangles, 7 columns of 14 motifs, about 90 by 205 cm
• Room divider: 9 triangles, 10 columns of 16 motifs, about 135 by 230 cm

A room divider is a lovely way to split a big space without blocking the light. Make 9 triangles, 10 motif columns and 9 plain strands, with 16 motifs in each column, so you need 80 butterflies and 80 flowers. Hang it from a ceiling rod or a tension rod in a wide opening. Because people will walk past it often, I suggest working the links a little tighter so the strands do not stretch over time.

A short cafe curtain is a great first version if you want to try the design before committing to a full one. Keep the 6 triangles and 7 columns, but work only 6 motifs per column, which is 21 butterflies and 21 flowers. Shorten the plain strands by about 186 chains so they match. It hangs about 105 cm (41 inches) long and is perfect for the lower half of a kitchen window or a bathroom window where you want some privacy and lots of light.

For a doorway curtain that people walk through, skip the valance and work each strand straight from a yarn loop on the rod. Make 10 to 12 motif strands close together with no plain strands between them, so the opening looks full. Leave off the tassels or make them very small, because long tassels tangle quickly when people pass through. Choose a sturdy cotton and give each strand a good tug before you hang it, so it has already stretched as much as it will.

The tassels themselves are easy to play with. Wrap the yarn around a 6 cm piece of cardboard for small, neat tassels, or around a 15 cm piece for long, flowing ones that suit a tall window. You can also skip the tassels entirely and finish each strand with one more little cream flower. Blue tassels on the motif columns and cream tassels on the plain strands add a pretty touch of color along the bottom edge.

Finally, you can change the yarn weight. In a sport or DK cotton with a 3.5 mm (E-4) hook, the butterflies come out about 7 cm wide and the whole curtain shrinks to about 70 by 140 cm with the same counts. That is great for a small window or a little cabinet door. In a bulky cotton with a 6 mm (J-10) hook, everything grows, and you can cover a big window with fewer motifs. Whatever you choose, make one butterfly and one flower first and measure them before you plan the rest.