Alternating green and cream crochet leaves with intricate lacework hang from a natural wooden rod on a wall.

Meadow Leaf Strand Curtain Crochet Pattern

by

The Meadow Leaf Strand Curtain is a lacy window curtain made of hanging strands. Each strand is a column of oval leaf motifs. Every motif has a wheat-style center: a chain vein flanked by puff-stitch leaves, framed in openwork and finished with a soft scalloped edge.

This version uses two colors: deep forest green and soft butter yellow. Ten strands hang in the order G, Y, G, Y, G, G, Y, G, Y, G, which gives 6 green strands and 4 yellow. Light passes through the mesh, and the leaves show up clearly against the glass.

The pattern uses US crochet terms. Each strand measures 5 in (12.7 cm) wide and 65 in (165.1 cm) long, plus a hanging loop. With about 1 in (2.5 cm) between strands, the curtain covers about 59 in (149.9 cm) of rod.

Construction is simple. You work each oval motif in the round around a foundation chain, join the motifs tip to tip as you go, wrap each joint to make a neat waist, and then work one continuous scalloped border around the whole strand. The border also makes the hanging loop.

Finished Size and Construction

  • Finished strand size: 5 in x 65 in (12.7 cm x 165.1 cm), plus the hanging loop
  • Curtain width on the rod: about 59 in (149.9 cm)
  • Skill level: Intermediate
  • Terminology: US
  • Yarn weight: DK (3), cotton
  • Hook: 3.5 mm (E-4)
  • Number of pieces: 100 motifs (10 strands of 10 motifs)
  • Layout: 10 free-hanging strands; motifs joined only tip to tip
  • Motif size after Rnd 4: 4 in x 6 in (10.2 cm x 15.2 cm)
  • Strand size before border: 4 in x 64.5 in (10.2 cm x 163.8 cm)
  • Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) on each long side and at the bottom tip

Materials

Use a smooth mercerized or combed DK cotton. Cotton keeps the puff leaves crisp and stops the strands from stretching much while they hang. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns, because they hide the lace and grow in length.

  • Color A, forest green: 500 g / about 1,050 m (6 strands, 60 motifs)
  • Color B, butter yellow: 350 g / about 735 m (4 strands, 40 motifs)
  • 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
  • Tapestry needle
  • Stitch markers
  • Rust-proof pins and a blocking board or foam mats
  • Spray bottle
  • Measuring tape
  • Curtain rod, up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter

Quantities include a margin of about 15% for gauge differences, wrapping the joints, and the gauge swatch.

Abbreviations (US Terms)

  • ch – chain
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • sc – single crochet
  • hdc – half double crochet
  • dc – double crochet
  • sk – skip
  • sp(s) – space(s)
  • st(s) – stitch(es)
  • Rnd – round
  • RS – right side

Puff stitch (puff): *Yarn over, insert hook in the stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop to hdc height. Repeat from * 2 more times (7 loops on hook). Yarn over and draw through all 7 loops, then ch 1 to lock. The locking ch does not count as a stitch.

Scallop: (sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc) all in the same loop.

Gauge and Checkpoints

Base gauge: 18 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm) with a 3.5 mm hook.

Make one complete motif (Rnds 1–4) before you start production, and measure it flat after a light steam:

  • After Rnd 1: 4.75 in x 0.75 in (12.1 cm x 1.9 cm)
  • After Rnd 2: 5.25 in x 2 in (13.3 cm x 5.1 cm)
  • After Rnd 3: 5.75 in x 3 in (14.6 cm x 7.6 cm)
  • After Rnd 4: 6 in x 4 in (15.2 cm x 10.2 cm)

If the motif is too big: go down to a 3.25 mm hook. If only the length is too long, your foundation chain is loose, so make that chain with a hook one size smaller.

If the motif is too small: go up to a 3.75 mm hook. Check that the puffs are pulled up to full hdc height; flat puffs make the motif narrower.

Every 0.25 in (0.6 cm) of extra motif length adds 2.5 in (6.4 cm) to a 10-motif strand, so match the 6 in (15.2 cm) checkpoint closely.

Close-up of emerald-green crochet with leaf-shaped motifs and open lacework on a wood surface.

Motif (Make 100)

Work every motif with the RS facing you. Do not turn between rounds.

Foundation: Ch 22.

Rnd 1 (sc oval): 3 sc in 2nd ch from hook (tip A), sc in next 19 ch, 3 sc in last ch (tip B). Working along the other side of the foundation chain, sc in next 19 ch. Join with sl st to first sc. (44 sc: 3 at each tip, 19 along each side)

This round makes the center vein. The 3-sc tips set up the pointed ends.

Rnd 2 (puff leaves): Ch 1, sc in next sc (the center sc of tip A), ch 3, sk next sc.
Side 1: [puff in next sc, ch 1, sk next sc] 9 times, puff in next sc.
Ch 3, sk next sc, sc in center sc of tip B, ch 3, sk next sc.
Side 2: [puff in next sc, ch 1, sk next sc] 9 times, puff in next sc.
Ch 3, sk last sc, join with sl st to first sc.
(20 puffs (10 per side), 18 ch-1 sps, 4 ch-3 sps, 2 sc)

The puffs lean outward from the vein on both sides, which gives the paired wheat-leaf look.

Rnd 3 (dc frame): Sl st in first ch-3 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in same sp, ch 2.
Side 1: [dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 2] 9 times.
3 dc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3 (tip B), 3 dc in next ch-3 sp, ch 2.
Side 2: [dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 2] 9 times.
3 dc in last ch-3 sp, ch 3 (tip A), join with sl st to top of beginning ch-3.
(30 dc, 20 ch-2 sps (10 per side), 2 ch-3 tip sps)

Rnd 4 (chain loops): Sl st in next 2 dc and into next ch-2 sp. Ch 1, sc in same sp, [ch 4, sc in next ch-2 sp] 9 times. Ch 4, (sc, ch 5, sc) in tip B ch-3 sp, ch 4, sc in next ch-2 sp, [ch 4, sc in next ch-2 sp] 9 times. Ch 4, (sc, ch 5, sc) in tip A ch-3 sp, ch 4, join with sl st to first sc.
(24 sc, 22 ch-4 loops, 2 ch-5 tip loops)

Per-side count: each long side has 11 ch-4 loops: 9 between the side sc, plus 1 at each end leading into a tip. The tip ch-5 loops belong to neither side. You will use this 11-loop count in the border.

For motif 1 of every strand, fasten off and weave in the ends. For motifs 2–10, work Rnd 4 with the join described below.

Make All Pieces

  • Color A (green): 60 motifs = 6 strands x 10 motifs
  • Color B (yellow): 40 motifs = 4 strands x 10 motifs

Strand layout on the rod, left to right:

| G | Y | G | Y | G |  | G | Y | G | Y | G |
  1   2   3   4   5      6   7   8   9   10

Each column is 10 motifs stacked tip to tip. Every strand uses one color only.

Joining

Method: join as you go at the tips during Rnd 4.

On motifs 2–10, work Rnd 4 as written until you reach tip B. Replace (sc, ch 5, sc) with:
sc in tip B ch-3 sp, ch 2, sl st into the free ch-5 tip loop of the previous motif, ch 2, sc in same tip B ch-3 sp.
Complete the round as written. Tip A of the new motif stays free as a ch-5 loop, and the next motif joins to it.

Stitch logic: ch 2 + sl st + ch 2 takes the place of the ch 5, so the tip keeps its length and the loop counts stay the same. Each motif still has 11 ch-4 loops per side. The only change is that one tip is shared with the neighboring motif.

Wrapping the waist: Leave an 18 in (45.7 cm) tail when you fasten off each joined motif. Thread it on a needle and wrap it snugly around both joined tips 6 times, then pass the needle under the wraps and weave it in. This makes the cinched joint, which measures about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) long.

Tension: Before you wrap, both motifs should lie flat with their center veins in a straight line. If the strand twists, undo the join and check that both motifs face RS up.

Size checkpoint: a 10-motif strand before the border measures 10 x 6 in + 9 x 0.5 in = 64.5 in (163.8 cm) long and 4 in (10.2 cm) wide.

Border

Border gauge: 3 scallops = 2 in (5.1 cm) along the edge.

Use the strand’s own color. Work one continuous round around the whole strand.

Border Rnd: With the RS facing you, join yarn in the free tip ch-5 loop at the top of motif 1.

  1. Hanging loop: (sc, ch 30, sc) in the top tip loop. The ch-30 loop measures about 6 in (15.2 cm) around and fits a rod up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter.
  2. Side 1, downward: scallop in each of the 11 ch-4 loops of motif 1. *Ch 1, sc around the wrapped waist, ch 1, scallop in each of the 11 ch-4 loops of the next motif. Repeat from * for motifs 2–10.
  3. Bottom tip (motif 10): (sc, hdc, 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc, hdc, sc) in the free tip ch-5 loop.
  4. Side 2, upward: work the same way as side 1: 11 scallops per motif, with (ch 1, sc around waist, ch 1) at each of the 9 joints.
  5. Join with sl st to the first sc of the hanging loop. Fasten off.

Counts per long side: 10 motifs x 11 loops = 110 scallops, plus 9 waist sc.
Strand total: 220 scallops, 18 waist sc, 1 hanging loop, 1 bottom tip point.

Why the math works: the border starts from the motif loops only. Each side has exactly 10 x 11 = 110 ch-4 loops, and no extra stitches are added at the seams; the waist sc goes into the wrap, not into a loop. Each 7-stitch scallop fills one ch-4 loop, about 0.66 in (1.7 cm) long, without ruffling or pulling. The scallops add 0.5 in (1.3 cm) to each side, so 4 in + 0.5 in + 0.5 in = 5 in (12.7 cm) wide. The bottom point adds 0.5 in (1.3 cm), so 64.5 in + 0.5 in = 65 in (165.1 cm) long.

Final Blocking

  1. Lay each strand out flat on mats. If your surface is short, block it in sections.
  2. Mist it until it is evenly damp, not soaked.
  3. Pin the center vein of each motif in a straight line.
  4. Pin each motif’s widest point to 5 in (12.7 cm), including the scallops.
  5. Pin the tip of every scallop so it curves evenly.
  6. Pinch each puff leaf into shape with your fingers so it angles outward from the vein.
  7. Check the full length: 65 in (165.1 cm).
  8. Leave it to dry completely before you unpin it, then hang it.

Final Quality-Control Checklist

  • Every motif has 10 puffs per side and 11 ch-4 loops per side.
  • All motifs in a strand face RS out, and the veins line up.
  • Every joint is wrapped 6 times and the tail is secured.
  • The border has 110 scallops on each side.
  • The hanging loop slides easily onto the rod.
  • Strands measure 5 in x 65 in (12.7 cm x 165.1 cm), give or take 1 in (2.5 cm).
  • All ends are woven in at least 2 in (5.1 cm) through solid stitches.
  • The colors hang in the order G, Y, G, Y, G, G, Y, G, Y, G.

Troubleshooting

  • Motif cups or curls: Rnd 3 is too tight. Work the ch-2 spaces more loosely, or go up a hook size for Rnds 3–4 only.
  • Edges ruffle: your scallops are too full for your loops. Work (sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc) instead.
  • Puffs look flat: pull each loop up to full hdc height before closing the puff.
  • Strand twists: a motif was joined wrong side up. Undo that joint and rejoin it.
  • Strands are different lengths: compare the size of your Rnd 4 motifs, and re-block the longer strand slightly narrower.
  • Waist is loose: add 2 more wraps and pull them firmly.

Care

Hand wash cool with mild detergent, roll in a towel to remove water, and dry flat, reshaping as needed. Do not hang wet strands, because the cotton will stretch.

Yellow and green crocheted mesh bags hang from a wooden dowel beside a sunlit window as a hand adjusts one.

Final Notes

The measurement chain:
– Rnd 1: 4.75 in (12.1 cm) vein.
– Rnd 4: each motif grows to 4 in x 6 in (10.2 cm x 15.2 cm).
– Joined strand: ten motifs plus nine 0.5 in (1.3 cm) waists make 64.5 in (163.8 cm).
– Border: 110 scallops per side bring it to 5 in x 65 in (12.7 cm x 165.1 cm).
– Curtain: 10 strands spaced 1 in (2.5 cm) apart fill about 59 in (149.9 cm) of rod.

Check your measurements at each step and every strand will hang straight and even.

Happy crocheting!

Leave a Comment