This curtain is a soft winter screen for a doorway. Lacy six-pointed snowflakes hang on long cream chain strands, with ivory pearl beads spaced between them. The strands loop over a slim rod, and the snowflakes sit in a staggered pattern so the light comes through in small sparkles.
The palette is calm and wintry: powder blue and warm cream. Half of the snowflakes are two-tone, with a blue star center and cream branched tips. The other half are solid cream or solid blue. The style is airy and lacy, and it works with both rustic and elegant holiday rooms.
The pattern is written in US crochet terms. The finished curtain is 35.5 in (90.2 cm) wide. Odd-numbered strands are 60 in (152.4 cm) long and even-numbered strands are 65 in (165.1 cm) long, measured below the hanging loops. Each snowflake is 4 in (10.2 cm) from tip to tip.
Construction is modular. You work 60 snowflakes in the round, block them, then chain 10 strands in cream with pre-strung pearls. As each strand reaches a snowflake, it is slip-stitched to the top tip, runs behind the motif, and is slip-stitched to the bottom tip.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished curtain: 35.5 in (90.2 cm) wide; strands 60 in (152.4 cm) and 65 in (165.1 cm) long
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Sport weight (#2) mercerized cotton
- Hook: 2.5 mm
- Number of pieces: 60 snowflakes + 10 chain strands
- Layout: 10 strands × 6 snowflakes, staggered
- Piece size: 4 in (10.2 cm) tip to tip
- Size before border (Rounds 1–3): 2.4 in (6.1 cm) point to point
- Border depth (Round 4): 0.8 in (2.0 cm) per side
Materials
Choose a smooth mercerized cotton of about 330 m per 100 g. Cotton holds crisp picots after starching and won’t sag under the weight of the beads. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns because the strands will lengthen over time.
- Powder blue: 100 g (about 330 m)
- Cream / ivory: 150 g (about 495 m)
Estimated use: about 248 m of blue and 316 m of cream. The quantities above already include a margin for gauge swatches and weaving in.
Tools
- 2.5 mm crochet hook
- 130 ivory pearl beads, 8 mm, with a hole of at least 1.5 mm (120 needed + 10 spare)
- Big-eye beading needle or floss threader
- Tapestry needle and scissors
- Locking stitch marker
- Blocking mat, rustproof pins and spray starch
- Measuring tape
- Curtain or tension rod, at least 36 in (91.4 cm) long and no more than 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sp(s) – space(s)
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Special stitches
- Picot: Ch 3, then sl st into the stitch or chain at the base of that ch-3.
- 3-picot cluster (3-pc): Work a picot 3 times into the same base chain to make a small trefoil.
- Bead-ch: Slide one pre-strung pearl up close to the hook, then yarn over and pull through so the bead is locked into that chain.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Make one test snowflake in Colorway A before anything else. It shows your gauge at every stage, and you can still hang it on the curtain afterward.
Measure flat and unstretched at each checkpoint:
- After Round 1: 1 in (2.5 cm) across
- After Round 2: 1.75 in (4.4 cm) across
- After Round 3: 2.4 in (6.1 cm) point to point
- After Round 4 (blocked): 4 in (10.2 cm) tip to tip
Chain gauge for the strands: 10 ch = 2 in (5.1 cm), or 5 ch per 1 in (2.5 cm). One bead-ch adds about 0.4 in (1.0 cm).
If your snowflake is more than 0.2 in (0.5 cm) too big, go down to a 2.25 mm hook. If it is more than 0.2 in (0.5 cm) too small, go up to a 2.75 mm hook. Check the chain gauge separately, because many crocheters chain tighter than they stitch.
Snowflake Pattern
All snowflakes follow the same four rounds. Only the color changes.
- Colorway A (two-tone): Rounds 1–3 in blue, Round 4 in cream
- Colorway B (solid cream): All rounds in cream
- Colorway C (solid blue): All rounds in blue
For B and C, don’t fasten off after Round 3. Sl st in the next 2 dc and into the ch-3 point sp, then work Round 4 from that point.
Round 1 (blue): Ch 5, sl st in first ch to form a ring. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 17 dc in ring. Join with sl st to top of beginning ch-3. (18 dc)
The ring leaves the small open center visible in the finished flake.
Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 2 dc, ch 3. Dc in next 3 dc, ch 3. Repeat from * 4 more times. Join to top of beginning ch-3. (18 dc in six 3-dc groups, 6 ch-3 sps)
The ch-3 spaces open six windows around the ring. This is the base of the six arms.
Round 3: Sl st in next 2 dc and into the next ch-3 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), (dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in same sp, ch 1, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc (center dc of the group), ch 1. (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in next ch-3 sp, ch 1, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc, ch 1. Repeat from * 4 more times. Join to top of beginning ch-3. (24 dc, 6 sc, 6 ch-3 point sps, 12 ch-1 sps)
This round turns the hexagon into a six-pointed star. The points sit over the Round 2 windows and the sc pulls the valley in over each dc group. Fasten off blue for Colorway A.
Round 4 (border, cream for A): Join cream with sl st in any ch-3 point sp.
Tip: sc in point sp, ch 4, picot, ch 3, 3-pc into the last ch made. Working back down the stem: sl st in next 2 ch, sl st in next ch (the base of the first picot), picot into that same ch, sl st in next 3 ch. Sc in same point sp.
Valley: ch 2, sc in next sc, ch 2.
Repeat Tip and Valley 5 more times. Join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off. (18 sc, 12 ch-2 sps, 6 tips, 30 picots)
Each tip is a short stem with one picot on each side and a trefoil on top. This is the branched tip shown in the photos.
Make All Pieces
Make 60 snowflakes:
- Colorway A (blue center, cream tips): 30
- Colorway B (solid cream): 15
- Colorway C (solid blue): 15
Block all of them (see Final Blocking) before you join anything. Layout, top to bottom on each strand:
STRAND 1: A C A B A C
STRAND 2: B A C A B A
STRAND 3: A C A B A C
STRAND 4: B A C A B A
STRAND 5: A C A B A C
STRAND 6: B A C A B A
STRAND 7: A C A B A C
STRAND 8: B A C A B A
STRAND 9: A C A B A C
STRAND 10: B A C A B A
Odd strands use 3 A, 1 B and 2 C. Even strands use 3 A, 2 B and 1 C. Five of each type gives 30 A, 15 B and 15 C.
Joining: Building the Strands
Each strand is one continuous cream chain. Snowflakes are joined as you go, so the only ends are at the top and bottom.
Before you start each strand: Thread 12 pearls onto the cream ball with the beading needle. Push them well down the yarn.
Hanging loop: Ch 15, sl st in first ch. The loop is 3 in (7.6 cm) around and fits a rod up to 1 in (2.5 cm) thick.
Leader:
– Odd strands: ch 9, bead-ch, ch 9 (18 ch + 1 bead = 4 in / 10.2 cm)
– Even strands: ch 21, bead-ch, ch 22 (43 ch + 1 bead = 9 in / 22.9 cm)
Snowflake join (stitch-to-stitch logic): Hold the next snowflake right side facing you, with one tip pointing up. Insert the hook from front to back through the middle picot of that tip’s trefoil and sl st. Ch 19 (about 3.8 in / 9.7 cm) behind the motif. Then sl st through the middle picot of the opposite tip’s trefoil, front to back. The chain plus the two picot loops spans the 4 in (10.2 cm) flake.
Gap between snowflakes: Ch 9, bead-ch, ch 8, bead-ch, ch 9 (26 ch + 2 beads = 6 in / 15.2 cm).
Strand sequence: Leader, then [snowflake join, gap] 5 times, then a final snowflake join.
Tail: Ch 7, bead-ch, ch 1 (8 ch + 1 bead = 2 in / 5.1 cm). Fasten off and weave the end back up through the last few chains.
Chain totals: Odd strand = 15 + 18 + (6 × 19) + (5 × 26) + 8 = 285 ch. Even strand = 15 + 43 + 114 + 130 + 8 = 310 ch. Each strand uses 12 beads: 1 leader + 10 gap + 1 tail.
Tension: Chain at the 5-ch-per-inch gauge. Don’t pull tight around the beads, and keep the behind-the-motif ch-19 straight but relaxed. If it is too short, the snowflake cups. If it is too long, the snowflake tilts forward.
Size checkpoint: Hang each finished strand. Odd: 4 + (6 × 4) + (5 × 6) + 2 = 60 in (152.4 cm). Even: 9 + 24 + 30 + 2 = 65 in (165.1 cm).
Spacing on the rod: Hang the strands 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart, center to center, alternating odd and even. Nine spaces × 3.5 in = 31.5 in (80.0 cm). Add half a snowflake at each edge (4 in / 10.2 cm total), and the curtain is 35.5 in (90.2 cm) wide.
The 5 in (12.7 cm) longer leader on the even strands moves their snowflakes halfway down each gap. That leaves 1 in (2.5 cm) of vertical clearance between flakes on neighboring strands, so the motifs don’t collide.
Border
On this design, the border is Round 4 of each snowflake: the cream branched edging that frames the blue star. There is no extra border on the curtain as a whole. The bead strands are the finishing frame.
Border gauge: Round 4 adds 0.8 in (2.0 cm) beyond each Round 3 point. A 2.4 in (6.1 cm) star + 2 × 0.8 in (2.0 cm) = 4 in (10.2 cm) tip to tip.
Counts per side (each of the 6 arms):
– 2 sc in the point sp (one before the tip, one after)
– 1 tip: 4-ch stem, 1 picot on each side, 3-ch upper stem, 3-pc on top (5 picots)
– 2 ch-2 sps
– 1 sc in the valley
Per round: 6 × 3 sc = 18 sc. 6 × 2 = 12 ch-2 sps. 6 × 5 = 30 picots.
Why the math works: Round 3 has exactly 6 ch-3 point spaces and 6 valley sc. Round 4 puts one tip in each point space and one sc on each valley sc, so the 1:1 match keeps all six arms identical. Each ch-2 crosses 2 dc plus 1 ch-1 sp, which is short enough to keep the valleys from flaring.
Final Blocking
- Wet-block the snowflakes before joining. Soak them in cool water for 10 minutes and press out the water in a towel.
- Pin each flake on the mat with a 4 in (10.2 cm) circle drawn underneath as a guide.
- Pin the 6 tips first, then open each trefoil and side picot with a pin.
- Spray with starch and let the flakes dry completely, about 12 hours.
- After joining, hang the strands on the rod and lightly mist the chains with water.
- Clip a clothespin to each tail and leave overnight so the chains hang straight.
- Remove the clothespins and measure the lengths again.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- 60 snowflakes, each 4 in (10.2 cm) tip to tip
- Every flake has 6 tips, 30 picots and an open center ring
- Colorways follow the layout grid
- 12 pearls per strand, 120 in total
- Odd strands are 60 in (152.4 cm) and even strands are 65 in (165.1 cm)
- Each snowflake lies flat with no cupping or tilting
- Strands are spaced 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart; the curtain is 35.5 in (90.2 cm) wide
- All ends are woven in and trimmed
Troubleshooting
Snowflake cups after Round 3: Your dc are tight. Go up a hook size for Rounds 2–3 only.
Round 3 ruffles: Make the ch-1 sps snug, or replace them with sl sts.
Picots collapse: Starch more heavily and pin each picot open until dry.
A bead is missing mid-strand: Fasten off, thread more beads, then rejoin with a sl st and weave in both ends.
Strand stretched longer than its size: Remove 1 ch from each gap segment on the next strand, or re-block the chain with starch.
Neighboring flakes overlap: Check that the leaders alternate (odd 4 in / 10.2 cm, even 9 in / 22.9 cm) and that the strands are 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, press dry in a towel and re-block flat. Re-starch the snowflakes each season and store the curtain loosely rolled in tissue.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is simple. Rounds 1–3 build a 2.4 in (6.1 cm) star. Round 4 adds a 0.8 in (2.0 cm) border on each side for a 4 in (10.2 cm) snowflake. Six snowflakes and 6 in (15.2 cm) beaded gaps make strands of 60 in (152.4 cm) and 65 in (165.1 cm). Ten strands spaced 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart make a 35.5 in (90.2 cm) curtain.
Check each stage against those numbers and every strand will hang the same.
Happy crocheting!