This lace curtain sets rows of small cream angels inside a deep red chain lattice. Each angel has a round head with a little halo point, two fan wings with lacy edges, and a spoked skirt with a looped hem. The red mesh holds each angel by its halo and wraps a scalloped frame under every skirt. Small picot knots sit between neighboring angels.
The look is classic Christmas in cranberry red and soft cream. The lattice is open and light, so daylight still comes through. Hang a pair of panels on clip rings as holiday curtains, or put one in front of a plain window as a decorative screen.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. One panel measures 42 in wide x 82 in long (106.7 x 208.3 cm) after the border. Make two panels for a pair like the one shown.
First you crochet all the angels as separate motifs. Then you build the red lattice in bands from the top of the curtain down, joining one row of 10 angels in each band. A three-round shell border finishes the panel. It’s a big project, but every band repeats the same three rows, so the rhythm becomes easy after the first few.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished panel: 42 x 82 in (106.7 x 208.3 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: DK (#3) mercerized cotton
- Hook: 3.5 mm (E-4)
- Number of pieces: 200 angel motifs per panel (400 for a pair), joined into one lattice panel
- Layout: 10 angels across x 20 angels down
- Piece size: each angel is 3.25 in tall x 3.5 in wide (8.3 x 8.9 cm) and sits in a 4 x 4 in (10.2 x 10.2 cm) lattice cell
- Size before border: 40 x 80 in (101.6 x 203.2 cm)
- Border depth: 1 in (2.5 cm) on every side
Materials
Choose a smooth mercerized cotton or cotton blend in DK weight, about 110 m per 50 g (2.2 m per gram). Cotton gives crisp stitch definition and holds its shape after blocking. It also stays stable when hung, which matters for a long, heavy panel. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns: they blur the lattice and let the curtain grow over time. Buy each color from a single dye lot if you can, because small shade changes show clearly across a window.
Yarn, per panel:
- Cream (angels): 450 g, about 990 m
- Red (lattice and border): 250 g, about 550 m
Yarn, for a pair of panels: 900 g cream (about 1,980 m) and 500 g red (about 1,100 m).
All quantities include a margin of roughly 15% for gauge differences and swatching.
Tools:
- 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- 10–15 locking stitch markers
- Measuring tape
- Rust-proof pins and a large blocking surface (foam mats, or a bed covered with towels)
- Spray bottle
- Clip curtain rings for hanging
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- tr – treble crochet
- sk – skip
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- rep – repeat
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
Special stitch:
- Picot knot: ch 3, sl st in top of the st just made.
- Hanging stem: ch 2, sl st in the halo picot of an angel (RS of the angel facing you), ch 2, sl st in top of the last sc made. A stem doesn’t add to the stitch count.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 20 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm). Relaxed chains measure 5 ch = 1 in (2.5 cm).
Make one angel before anything else and check it:
- After head Round 2: the head is 1 in (2.5 cm) across.
- After skirt Row 4: the hem is 3 in (7.6 cm) wide.
- Finished angel: 3.25 in (8.3 cm) from halo to hem, 3.5 in (8.9 cm) across the wings.
Next, ch 21 in red, work 20 sc, and measure. The strip should be 4 in (10.2 cm) long.
If your angel is too big or your sc strip is longer than 4 in, go down a hook size. If the angel is too small or the strip is too short, go up a size. The angel has to fit inside a 4 in (10.2 cm) cell with about 0.25 in (0.6 cm) to spare at each wing tip. Recheck gauge after every 50 angels, because tension often loosens as you relax into a long project.
Angel Motif (make 200 per panel)
Use cream throughout.
Head
Round 1: Make a magic ring. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 11 dc in ring. Sl st to top of ch-3. (12 dc)
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, picot knot (this is the halo point), sc in each of next 11 sts. Sl st to first sc. (12 sc + 1 picot)
Fasten off. Number the sc clockwise from the halo: sc 1 is at the top and sc 7 is at the bottom.
Skirt
Row 1: With RS facing, join cream in sc 7. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 4 dc in same sc. Turn. (5 dc)
Row 2: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), [dc in next dc, ch 1] 3 times, dc in last dc. Turn. (5 dc, 4 ch-1 sp)
Row 3: Ch 6 (counts as tr + ch 2), [tr in next dc, ch 2] 3 times, tr in last dc. Turn. (5 tr, 4 ch-2 sp)
The spoke rows widen the skirt into an open, ribbed triangle.
Row 4: Ch 1, sc in first tr, [3 sc in next ch-2 sp, sc in next tr] 4 times. Turn. (17 sc)
Row 5 (looped hem): Ch 1, sc in first sc, [ch 3, sk 1 sc, sc in next sc] 8 times. (9 sc, 8 ch-3 loops)
Fasten off. With RS facing, number the hem loops 1 to 8 from right to left.
Wings
Row 1: With RS facing, join cream in sc 5 of the head. Ch 5 (counts as tr + ch 1), [tr, ch 1] 4 times in same sc, tr in same sc. Turn. (6 tr, 5 ch-1 sp)
Row 2: Ch 1, sc in first tr, [ch 3, sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 3, sc in next tr] 5 times. (11 sc, 10 ch-3 loops)
Fasten off. Repeat both rows in sc 9 for the second wing.
The 6th sc of each wing edge is the wing tip. It’s the center point of the fan. Mark it on your first few angels until you can spot it easily.
Weave in all ends now. It’s much easier than after the lattice is built.
Make All Pieces
For each panel, make 200 cream angels. For a pair, make 400. There are no red motifs; all the red is worked as the lattice.
Layout for one panel (A = angel, each cell 4 x 4 in / 10.2 x 10.2 cm):
Band 1: A A A A A A A A A A
Band 2: A A A A A A A A A A
Band 3: A A A A A A A A A A
... (same row repeated)
Band 20: A A A A A A A A A A
10 angels across x 20 bands = 200 angels.
Block the angels lightly in batches before joining. Pin each one to 3.25 x 3.5 in (8.3 x 8.9 cm) and spray. Flat, matching angels make the lattice much easier to keep even. Store finished angels in bags of 10, one bag per band.
Joining: The Red Lattice
The lattice is worked from the top of the curtain down. Each band has three rows:
- a bar row that holds the angels by their halos
- a frame row that catches the wings and hem
- a base row that becomes the foundation for the next bar row
Each angel’s cell is exactly 20 sts wide, so every bar row has 200 sc.
Foundation
With red, ch 201.
Band 1
Row 1 (bar row): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 9 ch. Hanging stem with next angel, sc in each of next 20 ch; rep from * 8 more times, hanging stem with 10th angel, sc in each of last 10 ch. Turn. (200 sc; 10 angels, one between sc 10 and sc 11 of each cell)*
Row 2 (frame row): Ch 1. Sc in 1st sc of cell, ch 8, sl st in near wing tip, ch 9, sl st in hem loop 2, ch 11, sl st in hem loop 7, ch 9, sl st in far wing tip, ch 8, sk 18 sc, sc in 20th sc of cell, picot knot; rep from * across all 10 cells. Don’t turn. (20 sc, 10 picot knots, 10 frames)*
The ch-11 hangs as a red scallop under each skirt.
Row 3 (base row): Ch 18 (edge drop). Ch 3, sl st in hem loop 1, ch 5, sc around center of ch-11 scallop, ch 5, sl st in hem loop 8, ch 4; rep from * across. (Each cell: 3 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 4 = 20 sts; 200 sts total)*
Ch 18 up the far edge, sl st in the first sc of Row 2, then sl st back down in each of those 18 ch. You’re now at the base corner. Turn.
The edge drops aren’t part of the 200 base sts. They form the side edges.
Bands 2–20
Row 1 (bar row): Ch 1, sc in each of first 10 sts of base. Hanging stem with next angel, sc in each of next 20 sts; rep from * 8 more times, hanging stem with 10th angel, sc in each of last 10 sts. Turn. (200 sc, 10 angels)*
Rows 2–3: Work as in Band 1.
After Band 20, don’t add another bar row. Band 20’s base row (200 sts) is the bottom edge of the panel. Fasten off.
Tension and Checkpoints
Keep the chains relaxed but even. Tight chains pull the skirts into a pucker, and loose chains let the angels sag below their cells.
If an angel tilts, change the ch-8 or ch-9 on that side by 1 ch. Never change the 200-st bar and base counts.
- After Band 1: the bar row is 40 in (101.6 cm) wide and the band is 4 in (10.2 cm) tall.
- After Band 5: the piece measures 40 x 20 in (101.6 x 50.8 cm).
- After Band 20: the piece measures 40 x 80 in (101.6 x 203.2 cm).
Border
Use red. The border gauge matches the lattice: 5 sc per 1 in (2.5 cm).
Round 1: With RS facing, join in the top right corner and work along all four sides:
- Top: 1 sc in each foundation ch. (200 sc)
- Each side: 20 sc per band: 1 sc in the bar row end, then 19 sc evenly along the edge drop. (20 bands x 20 = 400 sc)
- Bottom: 1 sc in each st of the last base row. (200 sc)
- Corners: ch 2 at each corner.
Sl st to first sc. (1,200 sc + 4 corner ch-2 sp)
Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each sc around, working (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in each corner ch-2 sp. Sl st to top of ch-3. (Top and bottom: 200 + 4 = 204 dc each; sides: 400 + 4 = 404 dc each; 1,216 dc total)
Round 3 (shell edge): Sl st into the corner sp. Ch 1, (sc, ch 3, sc) in same sp. *Along the side, [sk 1 dc, 5 dc in next dc, sk 1 dc, sc in next dc] across; in the corner sp work (sc, ch 3, sc); rep from * around. Sl st to first sc.
- Top and bottom: 204 ÷ 4 = 51 shells each.
- Sides: 404 ÷ 4 = 101 shells each.
Why the math works: Each angel cell is 20 sts, so 10 cells give 200 sts along the top and bottom. On each side, 20 bands x 20 sts give 400 sts. No stitches are added at seams. Round 2 adds exactly 4 dc per side at the corners, and both 204 and 404 divide evenly by 4, so the shell repeat fits every side.
The border adds 1 in (2.5 cm) on every side: 40 + 2 = 42 in and 80 + 2 = 82 in (106.7 x 208.3 cm).
Final Blocking
- Lay the panel flat on a large padded surface. If needed, block it in two or three sections.
- Pin the top border straight to 42 in (106.7 cm) wide.
- Pin the long sides, checking that each band measures 4 in (10.2 cm).
- Center each angel in its cell, then pin the wing tips and the hem scallop.
- Spray until damp, not soaked.
- Let the section dry completely before moving to the next one.
- Unpin and hang the panel right away so the lattice settles straight.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- 200 angels per panel, all with RS facing out.
- Every bar row has 200 sc.
- Every base row has 200 sts (20 per cell).
- Each angel is joined at the halo, both wing tips, and hem loops 1, 2, 7, and 8.
- A picot knot sits between every pair of angels.
- The panel measures 40 x 80 in (101.6 x 203.2 cm) before the border.
- Shell counts: 51 top, 51 bottom, 101 per side.
- The finished panel is 42 x 82 in (106.7 x 208.3 cm).
- All ends are woven in and trimmed.
Troubleshooting
The panel narrows or flares: Recount the bar row. It must have 200 sc.
Angels sag below their cells: The ch-8 and ch-9 frame chains are too loose. Take 1 ch off each.
Skirts pucker: Your base row chains are too tight. Use a hook one size larger for the base row only.
Edges wave: Check that you worked exactly 19 sc along each edge drop in border Round 1.
Angels twist or face backward: Join every halo stem with the angel’s RS facing the panel’s RS. Keep a marker on the panel’s RS.
The panel stretches after hanging: Cotton relaxes under its own weight. Block it again and hang it from clip rings spaced every 4 in (10.2 cm) to spread the load.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, roll in a towel to remove the water, and dry flat. Block lightly again if needed, and keep the curtain out of the dryer.
Final Notes
The whole curtain depends on one chain of measurements:
- Each angel is 3.25 x 3.5 in (8.3 x 8.9 cm) and fits a 4 in (10.2 cm) cell of 20 sts.
- Ten cells make a 40 in (101.6 cm) band, and 20 bands make 80 in (203.2 cm).
- A 1 in (2.5 cm) shell border brings each panel to 42 x 82 in (106.7 x 208.3 cm).
Check your gauge, keep the 200-st count in every bar and base row, and the angels will line up across the whole window.
Happy crocheting!