Red and Cream Flower Lattice Strand Curtain Crochet Pattern

This curtain is pure cottage charm. It is worked in a warm cranberry red and a soft cream cotton, and it hangs across the top of a window like a lacy garland. Along the top runs a cream lace valance with a red top edge and a red pointed zigzag at the bottom. From each of the nine points hangs a red chain strand, and the strands take turns carrying two kinds of motifs: open red lattice almonds on the odd strands, and big six-petal flowers on the even strands. Little cream clover flowers sit on the chains in between, and every strand ends in a full red tassel with a cream wrapped neck and a round red head.

The big flowers are the stars of the curtain. Each one starts with a small red center of single and double crochet. Then you work six cream chain loops around it and fill each loop with a long almond petal of single, half double, double and treble crochet. A last round of red outlines every petal, with a tiny point at each tip. Because each petal is worked into a loop, a thin open line runs down its middle like a vein, which gives the flower that delicate look you can see in the photo. A finished flower is about 7.5 inches (19 cm) across.

The lattice almonds are small but very effective. Each one starts with a short chain worked into a tight oval of single crochet. Two rounds of chain loops build an open lattice around it, and a last round of single crochet fills the loops and adds a little point at each end. In red, they look like tiny stained glass windows when the light shines through. They measure about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) long, and you need fifteen of them.

The flowers sit at two different heights. On strands 2 and 6 they hang higher, and on strands 4 and 8 they hang lower, so the petals of neighboring flowers nest into each other instead of bumping. The lattice strands run between them and keep the rhythm steady. The chains are worked with the yarn held double, so they stay firm and carry the weight of the motifs without stretching. Little cream clovers are sewn onto the chains at marked spots, so the strands never look bare.

The finished curtain is about 29 inches (74 cm) wide and about 39 inches (99 cm) long from the top of the valance to the tips of the tassels. That makes it perfect for the upper part of a window, a kitchen window over the sink, or a small window in a hallway. It hangs from ten wooden rings sewn to the red top edge, which slide easily on a wooden rod and look natural and homey. If you want a longer curtain, the strands are easy to extend, and I explain how in the ideas below.

When the sun comes through, the cream petals glow and the red outlines turn deep and rich. The lattice almonds throw tiny patterned shadows, and the tassels give the bottom edge a soft, full finish. The curtain filters the light without blocking it, so the room stays bright, and the red adds warmth even on a gray day. It feels just as right in December, with a few pine branches on the sill, as it does in summer with a vase of daisies.

I call this pattern intermediate. You need to be comfortable with chains, single, double and treble crochet, working into chain loops and changing colors. There are not many pieces, but each flower takes time and care, and the strands need careful counting so they all end at the same line. Plan on about 30 to 40 hours from the first flower to the last tassel, which makes it a nice project for a few cozy weeks.

I love this curtain because it makes my kitchen feel like a little country cottage. The red and cream are the colors of my grandmother's tablecloths, and every time I look at the window I think of her. It is the kind of handmade piece that makes people stop and ask about it, and I love telling them that every flower was made right here at my kitchen table.

The motifs are lovely to make on the go. A big flower takes me a little over an hour, a lattice almond about half an hour and a clover just a few minutes. I keep a small project bag with a red ball, a cream ball and a hook, and I make clovers whenever I have a spare moment, in a waiting room or while the kettle boils. Before I knew it, I had a little jar full of cream clovers, and they felt like tiny treasures.

There is a special joy in watching the flowers come to life. The first two rounds are just a small red circle, and then the cream loops go on, and the petals start to fill in one by one. The red outline is my favorite part, because it turns a soft cream shape into a crisp flower in just one round. I always hold the finished flower up to the window to see the light come through the petal veins.

This curtain changed the whole feeling of my kitchen. The window used to have a plain white cafe curtain that nobody noticed. Now the light comes in warm and rosy, the tassels sway a little when the window is open, and the whole room feels cheerful. It also looks wonderful from outside, which I did not expect, and my neighbors tell me it makes the house look loved.

It makes a beautiful gift, especially for someone who loves a cozy home. I would make one for:

• a friend with a farmhouse or cottage kitchen
• a daughter setting up her first home
• a neighbor who loves red and holiday decorating
• anyone who collects vintage linens

It is also a lovely way to use stash yarn. The clovers and the lattice almonds take only a few yards each, so small leftover balls of red and cream can turn into motifs as long as the shades match. I used leftover cream from a tablecloth project for all the clovers, and nobody can tell. For the valance and the flowers, I bought new yarn from one dye lot, because those are the parts where an even color matters most.

Making this curtain taught me a few things. I learned to work the chains with the yarn held double after my first single strand stretched under the weight of two flowers. I learned to stagger the flowers on neighboring strands so the petals nest together. And I learned that red cotton should always be tested for color bleeding before it goes next to cream. I put all of those lessons into the pattern so your curtain turns out just right.

Red and white. For a crisper, brighter look, swap the cream for a pure white and keep the red. It looks very fresh in a white kitchen and is wonderful for the holidays with a few pine branches on the sill. Green and cream is the calm choice: work the valance edging, lattices, flower outlines, chains and tassels in a sage or forest green, and keep the petals, mesh and clovers cream. It looks lovely with houseplants and natural wood.

Blue and white, or pink and white. For a seaside look, use white petals and mesh with navy outlines, navy lattices and navy tassels, which looks like blue and white china. For a nursery or a bedroom, white with a soft rose pink is sweet and gentle. White with golden details is my pick for a dining room: everything in white or ivory, with mustard gold outlines, gold lattices and gold tassels for a warm, elegant finish.

A narrow window. For a window about 18 inches (46 cm) wide, make the valance 20 squares wide with 5 points and 5 strands. The foundation chain is then 65 (3 x 20 + 5), and the top edge has 61 sc, so you sew 6 rings every 12 stitches. Use 3 lattice strands and 2 flower strands, one high and one low. You will need about 55 percent of the yarn listed.

A standard window. The pattern as written, 36 squares and 9 strands, fits a window about 28 to 32 inches (71 to 81 cm) wide. If your window is a little wider, make the curtain from two of these panels side by side on one rod. For a window up to about 40 inches (102 cm), add one lattice strand and one flower strand at the right end, which means 8 more squares, 2 more points and 2 more rings.

A door. For the glass panel of a door, make the curtain 13 strands wide with 52 squares, a foundation chain of 161 and 157 sc on the top edge, so 14 rings fit every 12 stitches. Add one more motif and one more link to every strand, so the curtain reaches about 52 inches (132 cm). Hang it from a slim rod at the top and, if you like, tie the tassels loosely to a second rod at the bottom so it stays still when the door moves.

A doorway curtain or a room divider. For an open doorway, keep 13 strands but repeat the motifs until each strand is about 75 inches (191 cm) long, alternating flower and lattice units. For a room divider, hang two or three of these doorway curtains side by side from one ceiling rod, and leave a gap between them so people can walk through. The strands swing softly and the flowers look like a garden hanging in the air.

A shorter cafe curtain. For a very small window or a kitchen cupboard with glass doors, make one flower per flower strand and two lattices per lattice strand. That gives a curtain about 24 inches (61 cm) long including the tassels, and it takes only a few evenings. Shorter or longer tassels change the look too: wind 25 wraps on a 4 inch (10 cm) card for a neat 3.5 inch tassel, or 45 wraps on an 8 inch (20 cm) card for a dramatic 7.5 inch tassel.

A different yarn weight. All the motifs grow or shrink with your yarn, so you can change the size without changing a single stitch count. Here is roughly what to expect:

• DK cotton with a 3.5 mm hook: flowers about 6 in (15 cm), curtain about 23 in (58 cm) wide and 31 in (79 cm) long
• Worsted cotton with a 4.5 mm hook, as written: flowers about 7.5 in (19 cm), curtain about 29 in (74 cm) wide and 39 in (99 cm) long
• Aran cotton with a 5 mm hook: flowers about 8.25 in (21 cm), curtain about 32 in (81 cm) wide and 43 in (109 cm) long