Forest Green and Cream Diamond Granny Curtain Crochet Pattern

This curtain is made of long, slim strings of little diamonds, and it is one of the simplest and most striking things I have ever hung in a doorway. It has eleven columns, and each column is a single color, either deep forest green or soft cream. The columns alternate across the rod and start and end with green, so the dark strings frame the light ones on both sides. From a distance it looks like a rain of green and cream gems, and up close every diamond is a tiny lacy square with an open heart.

The motif is a classic four-round granny square, the kind many of us learned first. You start with a ring and four little clusters of three double crochet, then add clusters round by round, with a chain two at each corner and a chain one between the side clusters. The fourth round is a tidy border of single crochet that sharpens the edges and leaves a small chain space at each corner. When you turn the finished square on its point, those corner spaces become the top and bottom of the diamond, and the open center lets the light shine through like a little window.

The motifs are joined point to point with very short chain links, so short that the diamonds almost touch. I work each link as three chains and then slip stitch back along them, which makes a firm little knot of yarn about half an inch long. Fourteen diamonds make one column, and the columns hang about five inches apart, so their side points nearly meet. The spaces left between the columns are diamonds of pure light, and they are just as much a part of the design as the crochet.

Each column hangs from a small yarn loop covered in single crochet, worked in the column color and slipped over a slim black metal rod. At the bottom, every column ends in a small tassel about three inches long, again in the column color. The finished curtain measures about 55 inches wide and 81 inches long from the rod to the tassel tips, which fits a glass door or a tall window beautifully. Each motif blocks to 3.5 inches square, about 5 inches from point to point when it hangs.

I used a DK weight cotton with a 3.5 mm hook, because the slimmer yarn keeps the diamonds small and delicate and makes the columns look light and graceful. Cotton holds the points well and does not stretch much, which matters when fourteen motifs hang from one loop. There are no color changes inside the motifs, so every square is worked from start to finish in one color. That makes this a wonderful project for anyone who wants to relax and let their hands work without thinking too hard.

This curtain suits a beginner who knows the granny square, and it is a happy, mindless project for experienced makers who want something to work on in front of a film. The number of motifs is large, but each one takes only about eighteen minutes and fits in your palm. Hung in a glass door, it gives a gentle screen from the garden or the street, it moves softly when the door opens, and in the afternoon it throws a pattern of little diamond shadows across the floor.

I love this curtain because it is so honest and simple. It is just granny squares, the first motif my grandmother taught me, turned on their points and strung together. There is something very comforting about making a pattern I could almost do in my sleep, and yet the finished curtain looks fresh and modern. It reminds me that the oldest stitches can still surprise us when we use them in a new way.

I also love how portable it is. Each little diamond is smaller than my palm, so I carried a small bag with a hook and two balls of yarn everywhere for weeks. I made squares at the doctor's office, at my grandson's football practice and on the porch in the morning. Because each motif is finished in one short sitting, I never lost my place, and every finished square went straight into the basket for its color. On quiet evenings I set myself a goal of five squares, and that small, steady rhythm carried me through the whole project without it ever feeling heavy or rushed at any point along the way.

Here is why this pattern is special to me:

• It is one easy granny motif with no color changes.
• Each column is a single color, so the layout is very easy.
• It uses up spare green and cream cotton beautifully.
• It works in a glass door, a tall window or as a room divider.
• It moves gently every time the door opens.

There is a quiet joy in watching the strings grow. I joined each column as soon as I had fourteen squares of one color, and I hung the finished columns on the rod one by one. For a few weeks the curtain was only half there, a few green strings and a few cream ones, and every new column made the doorway look more finished. That slow growth kept me excited right to the last tassel, and it meant the joining never felt like a big job.

This curtain makes a lovely gift for a new home, especially for someone with a glass door to the garden. You can choose colors to match their kitchen or their plants, and because each column hangs on its own loop, it fits any rod and can be made wider or narrower by adding or removing columns. Even a few columns hung in a small window make a sweet, thoughtful present that will be used every day.

I learned a few things while making it. I learned to measure every tenth square, because a tiny change in size adds up over fourteen motifs in a column. I learned that very short links look neat but must be worked firmly, or the column slowly stretches. And I learned that a curtain with single color columns is the most forgiving design for a busy season, because you can make the green ones and the cream ones in any order. I hope my little lessons help your curtain come together smoothly too.

This pattern is easy to change, because the motif is small and each column is just one color. My first idea is always a new palette. Forest green and cream feel calm and natural, but red and white columns make a cheerful kitchen door, blue and white looks fresh and coastal, and pink and white is sweet for a girl's bedroom. A softer green and cream, with sage instead of forest green, gives a gentle cottage feel. Keep one dark and one light color so the stripes of columns stay clear from across the room.

You can also mix the colors inside the columns. Try a checkerboard, where the colors trade places in every row, or an ombre, where the columns slowly change from dark green through sage to cream across the rod. For a special touch, make white with golden details by working the border round of every white square with a fine gold metallic thread held together with your yarn. It sparkles softly in evening light and looks lovely in a dining room.

Changing the size is simple. Each column adds about 5 inches of width, and each motif with its link adds about 5.5 inches of length. The top loop and the tassel add about 4.5 inches together. Here are the sizes I use:

• Narrow window, about 25 by 43 inches: 5 columns of 7 motifs, 35 motifs.
• Standard window, about 45 by 70 inches: 9 columns of 12 motifs, 108 motifs.
• Door, about 55 by 81 inches: 11 columns of 14 motifs, 154 motifs.
• Room divider, about 75 by 92 inches: 15 columns of 16 motifs, 240 motifs.

A short cafe curtain is one of my favorite ways to use this pattern. Hang it on a tension rod halfway up a kitchen window and make each column only 5 motifs long. That gives about 32 inches of drop with the loops and tassels, which covers the lower half of the glass and keeps the top open for light. It needs only about 55 squares for a standard kitchen window, so it is a quick and satisfying first project before you take on a full door.

For a busy doorway between two rooms, I like to space the columns about 6 inches apart instead of 5, so the strings part easily when people walk through. Make the top loops a little bigger, with 16 chains instead of 12, so the columns slide along the rod as people push past. Keep the links extra firm, because a doorway curtain gets touched many times a day. It looks wonderful between a kitchen and a hallway, and it keeps the light flowing from one room to the next.

The tassels can change the mood too. These small 3 inch tassels look neat and modern. Longer tassels of 6 to 8 inches feel more relaxed and dramatic, and they are lovely on a window curtain that does not need to clear the floor. You could also mix both colors in every tassel to tie the columns together, or replace the tassels with a small pompom or a wooden bead for a rustic finish.

Finally, you can change the yarn weight. In worsted cotton with a 5 mm hook, each motif comes out about 4.5 inches square and about 6.4 inches point to point, so 9 columns of 11 motifs cover the same door. In chunky cotton with a 6.5 mm hook, each motif grows to about 6 inches square and about 8.5 inches point to point, and 7 columns of 8 motifs cover a door. Always make a test square, block it and measure it before you plan your layout.