The Bluebell Lattice Curtain Panels are a pair of light, airy panels made from simple square frame motifs. Each motif is a solid square ring of stitches around a square hole, so light comes through every square. Where four motifs meet, a fine eight-spoke chain star fills the gap. Up close the stars look like small flowers, and from across the room the panels look like a neat blue lattice.
The design uses one color, a soft dusty blue cotton that looks good in front of natural light. The style is calm and a little vintage, and it suits a living room window, a French door, or a room divider.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. Each finished panel measures 25 in wide × 73 in long (63.5 cm × 185.4 cm) without tabs or tassels. With the rod tabs (2 in / 5.1 cm) and tassels (3 in / 7.6 cm), the total drop from the rod is 78 in (198.1 cm).
How it’s made: You crochet 108 square motifs for each panel and join them with slip stitches into a grid 6 motifs wide by 18 motifs tall. Next you fill each four-motif opening with a chain star. Then you add a two-round border, sew on 7 rod tabs, and attach 7 tassels.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished panel size: 25 × 73 in (63.5 × 185.4 cm), each panel
- Total drop including tabs and tassels: 78 in (198.1 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4), cotton
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8) for motifs and border; 5.5 mm (I-9) for joining
- Number of pieces: 216 motifs (108 per panel)
- Layout per panel: 6 motifs wide × 18 motifs tall
- Motif size: 4 × 4 in (10.2 × 10.2 cm)
- Panel size before border: 24 × 72 in (61.0 × 182.9 cm)
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) on every side
Materials
Yarn: Use a smooth worsted-weight cotton or cotton blend. Cotton keeps the square holes crisp and doesn’t stretch much when hung. Avoid fuzzy yarns, because they blur the openings and the stars.
- Dusty Blue: about 2,300 g / 3,910 m (about 46 balls of 50 g / 85 m)
- For one panel only: about 1,150 g / 1,955 m
These amounts include roughly a 10% margin for your gauge swatch, joining, tassels, and differences between dye lots. Buy all of the yarn from a single dye lot.
Tools:
- 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
- 5.5 mm (I-9) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Stitch markers
- Piece of cardboard 3 in (7.6 cm) wide, for the tassels
- Rust-proof pins and blocking mats
- Tape measure and scissors
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- BLO – back loop only
- rep – repeat
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
Special stitch – Star Spoke: Ch 4, sl st in the anchor point, sl st back along each of the 4 ch, then sl st in the center ring. Each spoke is a chain covered with slip stitches, so it stays firm and doesn’t sag.
Gauge and Checkpoints
The motif is your gauge swatch. Make one complete motif, wet block it, let it dry flat, and measure it before you go any further.
- After Round 1: 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square, with a center hole of about 1.25 in (3.2 cm)
- After Round 2: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) square
- After Round 3 (finished motif): 4 in (10.2 cm) square, which works out to 12 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm) along each side
If your motif is too big, switch to a 4.5 mm hook. If it is too small, switch to a 5.5 mm hook. Small errors add up fast: a motif that is 0.25 in (0.6 cm) too big makes each panel 4.5 in (11.4 cm) too long over 18 rows. Make sure your motif is correct before you make the rest.
Square Frame Motif
Use the 5.0 mm hook. Work every round with the RS facing you.
Foundation: Ch 20 and join with a sl st to the first ch to form a ring. Don’t twist the chain. Think of the ring as 4 sides of 5 ch each.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the next 3 ch, (dc, ch 2, dc) in the next ch. Dc in the next 4 ch, (dc, ch 2, dc) in the next ch; rep from * 2 more times. Join with a sl st to the top of the ch-3.
Count: 24 dc (6 per side) and 4 ch-2 corner sps.*
Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the next 4 dc, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in the ch-2 sp. Dc in the next 6 dc, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in the ch-2 sp; rep from * 2 more times. Dc in the last dc and join with a sl st to the top of the ch-3.
Count: 40 dc (10 per side) and 4 ch-2 corner sps.*
Round 3 (trim round): Ch 1, sc in the same st and in the next 6 dc, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the ch-2 sp. Sc in the next 10 dc, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the ch-2 sp; rep from * 2 more times. Sc in the last 3 dc and join with a sl st to the first sc.
Count: 40 sc worked 1 per existing st + 8 corner sc added = 48 sc. That’s 12 sc per side, including that side’s 2 corner sc, plus 4 ch-2 corner sps.*
Fasten off and weave in the ends. Gently pull the center ring into a square as you block.
Make All Pieces
- Panel A: 108 motifs in Dusty Blue
- Panel B: 108 motifs in Dusty Blue
- Total: 216 motifs
Block the motifs in batches of 10 to 20 so they are all the same size before joining. Layout for each panel (each M is one motif):
Row 1: M M M M M M <- top (tabs)
Row 2: M M M M M M
... (18 rows total)
Row 17: M M M M M M
Row 18: M M M M M M <- bottom (tassels)
6 columns wide
Joining
Method: Slip-stitch join through the back loops. Hold two motifs with their WS together and line up the sts along one side. Number each side’s 12 sc from one corner: sc 1 and sc 12 are the corner sc.
Join one seam: Use the 5.5 mm hook. Insert the hook through the BLO of sc 3 on both motifs, pull up a loop, and work a sl st through the BLO of each matching pair from sc 3 to sc 10. That joins 8 sts.
Leave sc 1–2 and sc 11–12 unjoined on both motifs. Keep the corner ch-2 sps free as well.
Order of work:
- Join the motifs in each column of 18 into a strip, one seam at a time. You’ll have 17 seams per strip.
- Join the 6 strips side by side. Each long seam crosses 18 motif sides: join sc 3–10 of each pair of motifs, then carry the yarn loosely past the open corners to the next pair.
Stitch-to-stitch logic: The stitches line up one to one, 8 joined sts per side, so the seams add no width or length. Each place where four motifs meet leaves a small diamond-shaped opening. That opening is framed by 4 corner ch-2 sps and 4 seam ends, which gives you the 8 anchor points for the star.
Tension: Your slip stitches should be exactly as long as the edge stitches, which is why you use the larger hook. If a seam puckers, it’s too tight. If the seam gapes, it’s too loose.
Size checkpoint: A 2 × 2 block should measure 8 × 8 in (20.3 × 20.3 cm). A finished strip of 18 motifs should measure 72 in (182.9 cm), and a joined panel 24 × 72 in (61.0 × 182.9 cm).
Chain Star Fillers
Each panel has (6 − 1) × (18 − 1) = 85 inside openings where four motifs meet, so you’ll make 170 stars for both panels.
Star: Use the 5.0 mm hook. Make a slip knot, ch 4, and join with a sl st to form the center ring. Hold the ring in the center of the opening. Work 8 Star Spokes, going around the opening clockwise. Anchor the spokes in this order: corner ch-2 sp of motif A, seam end AB (sc 3 of the joined seam), corner ch-2 sp of motif B, seam end BC, and so on until all 8 anchor points are used. Fasten off and weave in the ends.
Checkpoint: The star should lie flat, with every spoke straight but not pulling. If the motif corners pucker, use ch 5 for each spoke. If the spokes sag, use ch 3.
Border
Border gauge: 3 sc = 1 in (2.5 cm), the same as the motif edges. Two rounds of sc add 0.5 in (1.3 cm) all around.
Work Round 1 with the RS facing you. Join the yarn in the top-right corner ch-2 sp of the panel.
Round 1: Ch 1. In each of the 4 panel-corner ch-2 sps, work (sc, ch 2, sc). Along each side, sc in each sc of every motif edge. Skip the ch-2 sps at the seams between motifs, and work straight from the corner sc of one motif to the corner sc of the next.
- Top and bottom: 6 motifs × 12 sc = 72 sc. These are 70 sc worked 1 per existing st + 2 corner sc added = 72 per side.
Wait — read the count this way instead, since the motif corner sc are already part of each motif’s 12:
- Top and bottom: 6 motifs × 12 sc = 72 sts worked 1 per existing st, + 2 new corner sc = 74 sc per side
- Left and right: 18 motifs × 12 sc = 216 sts worked 1 per existing st, + 2 new corner sc = 218 sc per side
- Total: 2 × 74 + 2 × 218 = 584 sc, plus 4 ch-2 corner sps
Round 2: Ch 1. Sc in each sc, and work (sc, ch 2, sc) in each corner ch-2 sp. Join and fasten off.
- Top and bottom: 74 sts worked 1 per existing st + 2 corner sc = 76 sc per side
- Left and right: 218 sts worked 1 per existing st + 2 corner sc = 220 sc per side
- Total: 592 sc
Why the math works: Every border stitch sits on exactly one motif edge stitch, so the border has the same gauge as the motif edges (12 sc per 4 in / 10.2 cm). The edges stay flat instead of rippling or pulling in. The only stitches added are the 2 per side at each corner, which let the border turn the corner. The open notches at the outer seams close up slightly into neat dips.
Rod tabs (top edge only): Number the 76 top sts from 1 at the right-hand corner. Work 7 tabs starting at sts 1, 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, and 73. That gives 4 sts per tab, with 8 sts between tabs.
- Row 1: Join the yarn in the first st of the tab, ch 1, sc in the same st and in the next 3 sts. (4 sc)
- Rows 2–14: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (4 sc) The tab should measure 4 in (10.2 cm).
- Finish: Fasten off, leaving a 10 in (25.4 cm) tail. Fold the tab to the WS and sew the last row to the back of border Round 1. The loop stands 2 in (5.1 cm) tall and fits rods up to 1 in (2.5 cm) across.
Tassels (bottom edge only): Make 7 tassels for each panel: one at each bottom corner and one below each of the 5 vertical seams.
- Wrap the yarn 20 times around the 3 in (7.6 cm) cardboard, which gives strands about 7 in (17.8 cm) long when cut.
- Tie the tassel at the top, then wrap it tightly 0.5 in (1.3 cm) below the top.
- Trim the tassel to 3 in (7.6 cm) and tie it securely through both border rounds.
Final Blocking
- Soak the panel in cool water for 15 minutes, then gently press the water out. Don’t wring it.
- Roll it in towels to remove more water.
- Lay it flat on mats. Work in sections if your space is limited.
- Pin the outer edge to 25 × 73 in (63.5 × 185.4 cm). Check it with a tape measure every 12 in (30.5 cm).
- Pin one corner of each center hole square. Spot-check that the holes measure 1.25 in (3.2 cm).
- Spread each star so its spokes point straight to their anchors.
- Comb the tassels straight and let everything dry completely.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- [ ] 108 motifs per panel, each 4 in (10.2 cm) square
- [ ] Every seam joins sc 3–10 and leaves the corners open
- [ ] 85 stars per panel, all lying flat
- [ ] Border counts of 76 / 220 / 76 / 220 sc after Round 2
- [ ] 7 tabs, evenly spaced and firmly sewn
- [ ] 7 tassels, all trimmed to 3 in (7.6 cm)
- [ ] Panel measures 25 × 73 in (63.5 × 185.4 cm)
- [ ] All ends woven in securely
Troubleshooting
- Center hole looks round: Pull the hole into a square while blocking. Pin it if it needs help.
- Motifs come out different sizes: Block them all before joining. Remake any motif that is more than 0.25 in (0.6 cm) off.
- Seams pucker: Rejoin the seam more loosely, or use a 6.0 mm hook.
- Star bunches up: Your spokes are too long. Use ch 3 per spoke.
- Border ripples: Check that you skipped the ch-2 sps at the seams.
- Panel leans to one side: Re-pin it square, measuring both diagonals until they match.
Care
Hand wash in cool water and lay flat to dry. Steam lightly to refresh the shape, and don’t hang the panels while they are wet.
Final Notes
The measurements build on each other. Each motif is 4 in (10.2 cm). Six motifs side by side make 24 in (61.0 cm), and 18 motifs top to bottom make 72 in (182.9 cm). The 0.5 in (1.3 cm) border brings each panel to 25 × 73 in (63.5 × 185.4 cm), and the tabs and tassels bring the total drop to 78 in (198.1 cm). Check your motif gauge first and every step after it will fall into place.
Happy crocheting!