The Rosewater Hearts Stitch Panel is a small, flat rectangle covered in stacked lace hearts. Each heart has an open, heart-shaped window in the center, two rounded lobes at the top, and a soft point at the bottom. The hearts sit in neat vertical columns, so the point of every heart drops into the dip between the lobes of the heart below it.
The colors form a calm two-tone stripe of dusty rose pink and warm cream. The panel has seven horizontal bands of three hearts each, in the order pink, cream, pink, cream, pink, cream, pink. The last row of lobes gives the top edge a natural scallop, and the bottom edge ends in three pointed tips.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished panel measures 5.5 in (14.0 cm) wide and 11 in (27.9 cm) tall, including the pointed bottom edge. It works well as a decorative mat or shelf strip, or as a sampler of the heart stitch.
The construction is simple. You work back and forth in rows from a foundation chain. Each heart band takes just two rows. The first is a V-stitch row that forms the lower sides of the hearts and the windows. The second is a lobe row that closes the top of each heart. After the seventh band, you work one edging row into the foundation chain to add the bottom points.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 5.5 in x 11 in (14.0 cm x 27.9 cm)
- Skill level: Easy (advanced beginner)
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted / medium (#4), cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 5.0 mm (US H-8)
- Number of pieces: 1 single flat panel
- Layout: 3 hearts across x 7 heart bands tall
- Piece size: 5.5 in x 11 in (14.0 cm x 27.9 cm)
- Size before border: 5.5 in x 10.5 in (14.0 cm x 26.7 cm)
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm), along the bottom edge only. The sides and top have no added border.
Materials
Choose a smooth worsted-weight cotton, either mercerized or matte. Cotton shows the heart windows clearly and blocks flat. A typical ball gives about 1.9 m per gram, or around 95 m per 50 g. Acrylic also works, but you may need a little more pinning to keep the points sharp.
- Color A, dusty rose pink: 20 g, about 38 m (bands 1, 3, 5, and 7, plus the bottom edging)
- Color B, cream: 15 g, about 29 m (bands 2, 4, and 6)
These quantities include a margin of roughly 15 to 20 percent for your gauge swatch, yarn tails, and small differences in tension.
Tools:
- 5.0 mm (US H-8) crochet hook
- Yarn needle for weaving in ends
- Scissors
- Measuring tape or ruler
- Rust-proof pins and a blocking mat or folded towel
- Spray bottle with clean water
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch: chain
- sl st: slip stitch
- sc: single crochet
- hdc: half double crochet
- dc: double crochet
- tr: treble crochet
- st(s): stitch(es)
- sp(s): space(s)
- RS / WS: right side / wrong side
- rep: repeat
Special stitches:
- V-st (heart base): (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) all in the same stitch. The two pairs of dc spread apart to form the lower sides of the heart, and the gap between them becomes the open window.
- Heart top: (3 dc, sc, 3 dc) all in the same ch-3 space. Each group of 3 dc is one lobe, and the sc pulls down to make the dip at the top of the heart.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Before you start the full panel, test one band. Ch 18 and work Rows 1 and 2 of the pattern, with 2 heart repeats instead of 3. Lightly steam or mist the swatch and let it dry.
Gauge: One heart repeat measures 1.75 in (4.4 cm), from the center of one between-heart sc to the next. One heart band (2 rows) measures 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tall.
Checkpoints for the panel:
- After Band 1: 5.5 in (14.0 cm) wide and 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tall
- After Band 2: 3 in (7.6 cm) tall
- After Band 4: 6 in (15.2 cm) tall
- After Band 7: 10.5 in (26.7 cm) tall
- After the bottom edging: 11 in (27.9 cm) tall
Here is how the width adds up. Three heart repeats at 1.75 in each make 5.25 in (13.3 cm). The edge stitch adds about 0.25 in (0.6 cm), for a total of 5.5 in (14.0 cm).
If your swatch is too big: Go down 0.5 mm in hook size, or keep the ch-2 spaces snug.
If your swatch is too small: Go up 0.5 mm in hook size, and make sure you pull your dc up to full height. Height matters as much as width here, because short rows squash the heart windows.
Pattern
The panel has 7 bands. Each band is 2 rows in one color. Work Rows 1 and 2 for every band, and change color at the end of each Row 2.
Stitch positions to remember: In a 25-stitch row, the heart centers are stitches 5, 13, and 21. The between-heart and edge stitches are 1, 9, 17, and 25.
Foundation
With Color A, ch 26.
Band 1 (Color A)
Row 1 (RS, V-st row): Sc in 2nd ch from hook, *ch 2, skip 3 ch, V-st in next ch, ch 2, skip 3 ch, sc in next ch; rep from * 2 more times. Turn.
Count: 4 sc, 3 V-sts (12 dc), 3 ch-3 sps, and 6 ch-2 sps. All 25 chains are used. Chains 1, 9, 17, and 25 hold the sc, and chains 5, 13, and 21 hold the V-sts.
Row 2 (WS, lobe row): Ch 3 (counts as dc), *skip next ch-2 sp and 2 dc, heart top in ch-3 sp, skip 2 dc and next ch-2 sp, dc in next sc; rep from * 2 more times. The last dc goes in the final sc. Turn.
Count: 25 sts. That is 4 dc plus 3 heart tops of 7 sts each, so 4 + 21 = 25.
Look at the piece now. You should see three hearts, each with a point at the bottom, an open window, and an sc dip between two lobes at the top.
Color change: On the last dc of Row 2, work until 2 loops remain on the hook. Then pull Color B through to finish the stitch. Cut Color A, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
Band 2 (Color B)
Row 1 (RS, V-st row): Ch 1 (does not count), sc in first st (the last dc of the previous row), *ch 2, skip 3 sts (the first lobe), V-st in next sc (the heart’s center dip), ch 2, skip 3 sts (the second lobe), sc in next dc (the between-heart stitch); rep from * 2 more times. Work the last sc in the 3rd ch of the turning ch-3. Turn.
Count: 4 sc, 3 V-sts (12 dc), 3 ch-3 sps, and 6 ch-2 sps.
The V-st sits directly in the dip at the top of the heart below. That is why each new heart point nests between the two lobes underneath it.
Row 2 (WS, lobe row): Work as for Band 1, Row 2. Count: 25 sts.
Change to Color A on the last dc, as before. Cut Color B, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
Bands 3 to 7
Rep Band 2, Rows 1 and 2, in this color order:
- Band 3: Color A
- Band 4: Color B
- Band 5: Color A
- Band 6: Color B
- Band 7: Color A
Every Row 1 has 4 sc and 3 V-sts, and every Row 2 has 25 sts. At the end of Band 7, Row 2, do not change color. Fasten off Color A.
Leave the lobes of Band 7 as they are, because they form the scalloped top edge.
Check: 7 bands x 1.5 in = 10.5 in (26.7 cm) tall, and the width is 5.5 in (14.0 cm).
Border
The only border on this panel is a single row of pointed edging along the bottom. It turns the flat foundation chain into three heart tips, one under each Band 1 heart. The two long sides keep the natural row-end edges of the hearts, and the top keeps its lobes, so nothing is added there.
Border gauge: One edging repeat (8 loops) measures 1.75 in (4.4 cm) wide. The tallest point adds 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of height.
Bottom Edging Row
Hold the panel RS facing and turn it upside down, so the foundation chain is at the top. Join Color A with a sl st in the free loop of the first chain (the loop under the first sc of Band 1).
Edging row: Ch 1, sc in same loop, *hdc in next loop, dc in next loop, tr in next loop, (tr, ch 2, tr) in next loop, tr in next loop, dc in next loop, hdc in next loop, sc in next loop; rep from * 2 more times. Fasten off.
Count: Each of the 25 loops gets 1 stitch, plus 3 extra tr at the points, so 25 + 3 = 28 sts, plus 3 ch-2 tips.
Counts per side:
- Bottom edge: 28 sts and 3 ch-2 points
- Top edge: no border (the lobe scallops of Band 7 are the finish)
- Left and right sides: no border (row ends only)
Why the math works: The foundation chain has 25 working loops. The doubled (tr, ch 2, tr) lands in loops 5, 13, and 21. These are the same loops that hold the Band 1 V-sts, so each point sits directly under a heart. The sc lands in loops 1, 9, 17, and 25, under the between-heart sc, so the edging dips between the hearts. The stitch heights climb from sc to hdc to dc to tr toward each point, then drop back the same way. This gives each point a symmetrical V shape.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends along the side edges, hiding them inside stitches of the matching color. Leave the last 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of each tail unclipped until after blocking.
- Lay the panel RS up on a blocking mat or folded towel.
- Mist it evenly with water until it is damp but not soaking.
- Pin the four corners to a 5.5 in x 11 in (14.0 cm x 27.9 cm) rectangle. Measure the height from the top of the lobes to the tips of the bottom points.
- Pin each of the 3 bottom ch-2 points so it faces straight down.
- Gently open each heart window with a fingertip, and nudge the lobes into rounded curves.
- Check that the side edges run straight. If a side bows inward, add a pin at each band.
- Let the panel dry completely, which takes at least several hours.
- Unpin the panel, then trim the tails close to the fabric.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- 7 bands in total, in the order pink, cream, pink, cream, pink, cream, pink
- 3 hearts across every band, each with an open window
- 4 sc and 3 V-sts in every Row 1, and 25 sts in every Row 2
- Each heart point sits in the dip of the heart below it
- Clean lobe scallops along the top edge
- 28 sts and 3 ch-2 points along the bottom edge, centered under the hearts
- Width of 5.5 in (14.0 cm) and height of 11 in (27.9 cm)
- All ends secure and invisible from the RS
Troubleshooting
Hearts drift sideways from band to band. You are probably working the V-st into a lobe stitch instead of the sc dip. Skip exactly 3 sts, then work the V-st into the sc.
Lobes ruffle or cup. The heart top is crowded. Keep the ch-3 of the V-st loose, or go up 0.5 mm in hook size for the lobe rows only.
Heart windows look closed. Your dc may be too short. Pull each loop up to full height, and check that both halves of each V-st are worked into a single stitch.
The panel narrows toward the top. Your ch-2 spaces are getting tighter as you go. Make each chain the same size as a stitch loop.
Points curl upward. Block firmly with a pin in each ch-2 tip, or work the edging with a hook 0.5 mm smaller.
Color tails show at the sides. Weave each tail vertically into the band of the same color, not across the other color.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap. Press out the water with a towel and dry the panel flat. If the points lose their shape, re-pin them while the panel is damp.
Final Notes
The whole panel rests on one simple chain of measurements. One heart repeat is 1.75 in (4.4 cm), so 3 repeats plus the edge stitch give a width of 5.5 in (14.0 cm). One band is 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tall, so 7 bands reach 10.5 in (26.7 cm). The bottom edging adds 0.5 in (1.3 cm), for a finished height of 11 in (27.9 cm).
Keep your swatch close, and check your height after Bands 1, 2, 4, and 7. If those numbers match, your hearts will stack neatly and the panel will block square.
Happy crocheting!