Brown and Cream Lace Stripe Bed Cover Crochet Pattern

This bed cover is made of wide stripes that run across the bed: solid bands of warm chocolate brown and lacy bands of soft cream. The brown bands are plain rows of double crochet, smooth and cozy. The cream bands are an open shell lace, with fans of double crochet and little chain windows that let the light through, so they look almost like old lace curtains. Side by side, the two textures make each other look even better. The brown makes the lace look delicate, and the lace keeps the brown from feeling heavy.

Unlike a granny square blanket, this bed cover is worked in one piece, in long rows from the bottom edge to the top. There are no squares to join and very few ends to weave in, because you only cut the yarn when the color changes. Each row is 313 stitches wide. You start with a brown band of nine rows of double crochet, then switch to cream for a lace band of ten rows, and keep going, brown, cream, brown, until the bed is covered. There are nine brown bands and eight cream bands in all.

The lace is a classic shell pattern built from a four row repeat. A row of shells, a row of chain mesh, a row of shells that sits between the shells below, and another row of mesh. After two repeats, a smoothing row of treble, half double and single crochet levels the top of the lace so the next brown band starts on a flat, straight edge. Every row is written out with its exact stitch count, so you always know where you are, even on a row this long.

The finished queen size measures about 90 by 101 inches with the border. Each brown band is about 5 inches tall and each cream lace band is about 7 inches. The bands run across the width of the bed, so when the cover is on the mattress you see wide stripes from the pillows to the foot, just like in the photo. The border is simple: one round of brown single crochet and one round of crab stitch, which gives the edge a neat corded look that will not stretch or ruffle.

Because it is one piece, the bed cover drapes beautifully over the sides of the mattress with no seams to pull or pucker. The brown double crochet bands give it weight and warmth, while the lace bands keep it breathable and light. It is a cover you can use in every season. In summer it is airy enough to sleep under on its own, and in winter it looks lovely layered over a quilt.

I would call this an intermediate project. The stitches are only chain, single, half double, double and treble crochet, but the rows are long and the lace asks you to keep careful count. If you have made a blanket in rows before and you are comfortable reading a pattern, you will enjoy this one. It is a wonderful project for anyone who loves the look of vintage lace but wants something warm and practical for the bedroom.

I love brown and cream together. It is the color of coffee with cream, of an old farmhouse kitchen, of a wooden sleigh bed with crisp white pillows. Brown is warm and grounded and never looks tired, and cream keeps it bright and gentle. On a dark wood bed like the one in the photo, this cover looks like it has always belonged there. It is calm and classic, and it goes with almost any room, from a cabin to a cottage to a plain modern bedroom.

The lace bands are my favorite part. There is something so satisfying about watching the shells line up row after row and then seeing the little windows open between them. When I hold a finished band up to the window, the light comes through like sunshine through a lace curtain. Then I switch back to brown, and the plain double crochet rows feel like a rest for my hands and my mind. That rhythm of lace and plain, busy and calm, is what keeps me going.

I also love that there are no squares to join. I have made many square blankets, and joining always takes longer than I expect. With this one, when the last row is done, the bed cover is almost finished. Two border rounds and a little blocking, and it is ready for the bed. There are only a few ends to weave in, all at the color changes, and I hide them in the band of the same color so they never show.

Here are a few more reasons this one stays close to my heart:

• It is worked in one piece, so there is no joining at the end.
• Every row has an exact stitch count, so it is easy to check your work.
• The plain brown bands are relaxing rows to work while chatting or watching a show.
• It makes a gift that looks like a family heirloom from the very first day.

Each of these makes a big project feel calm and doable, even when the rows are long.

A handmade bed cover changes a room like nothing else. When I make the bed in the morning and smooth this cover over the pillows, the stripes line up so neatly that the whole room looks finished and peaceful. The matching striped shams make it look like something from a magazine. Guests always run their hands over the lace and ask if it is an antique. I love telling them I made it myself, one long row at a time.

This project taught me patience with long rows. The first lace band felt slow, because I was counting every shell. By the third band, I had learned to place a stitch marker every ten shells, and the rows began to fly by. When I worked the last crab stitch around the edge and spread the cover over the bed, I could hardly believe how much it looked like the lace my grandmother kept in her cedar chest. That is a feeling I wish for everyone who makes it.

Try a new color pair. The bands look lovely in many color pairs. Navy with white is crisp and coastal, and sage green with cream feels like a spring garden. Burgundy with ivory is rich and romantic, and charcoal gray with white looks calm and modern. Keep the lace bands in the lighter color, because lace shows its pattern best in light yarn.

Make it for a different bed. The width depends on your starting chain, which must be a multiple of 6 plus 3 chains, giving a row of 6 shells plus 1 stitch. At a gauge of 14 dc to 4 inches, here are some starting points with the border:

• Twin: ch 231 for 229 dc, about 66 inches wide
• Full: ch 279 for 277 dc, about 80 inches wide
• Queen: ch 315 for 313 dc, about 90 inches wide
• King: ch 381 for 379 dc, about 109 inches wide

For all of these, the stitch counts in the lace rows change: the number of shells is the number of dc minus 1, divided by 6. Keep the same 9 brown and 8 cream bands for a length of about 101 inches.

Make a sofa throw. Start with ch 177 for 175 dc, about 50 inches wide, and work 5 brown bands and 4 cream bands for a throw about 50 by 54 inches. In the lace rows, you will have 29 shells instead of 52. It is a lovely size for the back of a couch or the foot of the bed, and it uses about a third of the yarn of the queen size. It is also a good way to learn the lace before you commit to a whole bed.

Make a baby blanket. Start with ch 129 for 127 dc, about 36 inches wide, and work 4 brown bands and 3 cream bands for a blanket about 36 by 41 inches, with 21 shells in each lace row. For a baby, I work the brown bands in a soft color like pale blue, blush or mint and keep the lace in white. Use a soft, washable baby yarn, and check that no lace windows are big enough for little fingers to get caught.

Make matching pillow shams. Start with ch 93 for 91 dc, about 26 inches wide, and work 2 brown bands with 1 cream band between them for a sham front about 26 by 17 inches, with 15 shells in each lace row. Make a plain brown back the same size. Join front and back on three sides with brown single crochet, slip the pillow in, and close the last side. Matching shams make the whole bed look planned and finished, just like in the photo.

Change the band widths. For a lacier cover, make the cream bands three repeats tall instead of two, or make the brown bands only five rows tall. For a cozier cover, add more brown rows. You could also add a thin stripe of cream in the middle of each brown band for a ticking stripe look. Each change gives the cover a new mood, so try a small swatch first and see which you like best.

Use a different yarn weight. In DK yarn with a 4.0 mm hook, the gauge is about 18 dc to 4 inches, so a 90 inch wide queen needs about ch 405 for 403 dc, with 67 shells in each lace row. In bulky yarn with a 6.5 mm hook, the gauge is about 11 dc to 4 inches, so the queen needs about ch 249 for 247 dc, with 41 shells. Always make a swatch first, measure it, and work out your chain from that.

Add a fancier edge. For a softer finish, replace the crab stitch round with a cream shell edge along the top and bottom only, where the lace already sits nearby. For a heavier, tailored look, add a second round of brown single crochet before the crab stitch. You could also add short cream tassels along the foot of the bed. Each small change gives the cover a new look without changing the bands.