The Frosted Lattice Snowflake Panel is a lacy rectangle of fifteen six-point snowflakes, joined tip to tip so the open spaces between them read like frost on a window. Each snowflake has a thick, corded stem on every arm, short angled side branches, and a neat picot at the tip.
The palette is simple: light blue and white, set in a checkerboard so each blue flake sits between white ones. All four corners are blue, which frames the panel nicely. It looks crisp and wintry, and it works as a small table mat, a wall piece, or a sideboard topper.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished panel measures 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm) after blocking.
You make each snowflake in 3 rounds. Round 1 is a small double crochet center, Round 2 adds six long chain loops, and Round 3 covers each loop with single crochet, branches, and a tip picot. From the second motif on, you join as you go through the tip picots. There is no separate border, so the free points form the edge.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm), blocked
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted weight (#4) cotton
- Hook: 4.0 mm (US G-6)
- Number of pieces: 15 snowflake motifs (8 blue, 7 white)
- Layout: 3 motifs across x 5 motifs down, checkerboard, blue corners
- Piece size: 5 in (12.7 cm) tall, from the 12 o’clock tip to the 6 o’clock tip; 4.3 in (10.9 cm) wide, measured across the side tip pairs
- Size before border: 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm)
- Border depth: None, 0 in (0 cm). The free snowflake tips form the edge.
Materials
Use a smooth, mercerized or combed worsted-weight cotton. Cotton gives crisp stems and holds starch well. Acrylic will also work, but the branches won’t stand out as sharply and the panel may relax over time.
Pick a soft, pale blue that clearly contrasts with the white. If the two colors are too close, the checkerboard disappears once the panel is on a table.
- Light blue: about 60 g (about 102 m)
- White: about 55 g (about 94 m)
Each motif uses about 6 g (about 11 m). The amounts above already include a margin for gauge swatches, joining, and weaving in ends.
Tools:
- 4.0 mm (US G-6) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- Rust-proof pins
- Blocking mat or folded towel
- Spray bottle; spray starch (optional)
- Ruler or tape measure
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- rep – repeat
Special stitches
- Branch: Ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in next 2 ch. This makes a short, firm side branch about 1/2 in (1.3 cm) long.
- Tip picot: Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook.
- Joining tip picot: Ch 1, sl st in the tip picot of the neighboring motif, ch 1, sl st in the 1st ch of this picot. It is the same size as a regular tip picot, but it is linked to the neighbor.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Make one complete motif before starting the panel and block it. Every panel measurement depends on this one piece.
- After Round 1: the center circle is 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across.
- After Round 2: each ch-12 loop lies flat at about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) long when folded in half.
- After Round 3, blocked: 5 in (12.7 cm) from the 12 o’clock tip to the 6 o’clock tip and 4.3 in (10.9 cm) across the side tip pairs.
If your motif is too big: go down to a 3.75 mm (US F-5) hook, or keep the ch-12 loops snug. If the motif is more than 5.25 in (13.3 cm) tall, change hooks. Don’t shorten the loops, because that changes the stitch counts in Round 3.
If your motif is too small: go up to a 4.5 mm (US 7) hook. If the motif is under 4.75 in (12.1 cm) tall, the cotton may be thinner than a true worsted. Change hooks or yarn rather than adding chains.
Keep your gauge motif. It can be the first motif of the panel if it meets the measurements.
Snowflake Motif
Make 8 in light blue and 7 in white. Make the first motif complete, then join every motif after it using the instructions in the Joining section.
Round 1: Ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to form a ring. Ch 3 (counts as dc), work 11 dc in ring, sl st in top of beginning ch-3. (12 dc)
The ring stays slightly open, which makes the small hole in the middle of each snowflake.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, ch 12, sc in next dc, ch 1. Sc in next dc, ch 12, sc in next dc, ch 1; rep from * 4 more times, sl st in first sc. (12 sc, 6 ch-12 loops, 6 ch-1 sps)*
Each ch-12 loop starts and ends on neighboring dc, so the two halves of the loop lie side by side. That doubled chain is the core of one arm. Keep the chains even and not twisted, so each arm lies flat.
Round 3: Sl st in next ch-12 loop. *Work one arm in the loop as follows: 2 sc, Branch, 2 sc, Branch, 2 sc, Tip picot, 2 sc, Branch, 2 sc, Branch, 2 sc. Sc in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * 5 more times, skipping the Round 2 sc each time. Sl st in first sc. Fasten off.
Round 3 count: (72 sc worked into loops, 12 per loop) + (6 sc worked into the ch-1 sps) = 78 sc, plus 24 Branches and 6 Tip picots.
Because you work 6 sc up one side of each loop, the picot at the fold, and 6 sc down the other side, the sc wrap both chain halves into one thick, corded stem. The branches sit in angled pairs on each side, and the picot sits right at the point.
Push the sc together along the loop as you go. Packed stitches make the firm, raised stems shown in the photo.
Weave in the ends on the back of the center.
Make All Pieces
- Light blue: 8 motifs
- White: 7 motifs
- Total: 15 motifs
Layout grid (B = blue, W = white):
Row 1: B W B
Row 2: W B W
Row 3: B W B
Row 4: W B W
Row 5: B W B
Rows 1, 3, and 5 each have 2 blue and 1 white, for 6 blue and 3 white. Rows 2 and 4 each have 1 blue and 2 white, for 2 blue and 4 white. That totals 8 blue and 7 white.
Joining
Method: Join as you go, through the tip picots only, in Round 3.
Orientation: Place each motif with one arm pointing straight up, at 12 o’clock. The other arms then point to 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o’clock.
- Joining to the left neighbor: The new motif’s 10 o’clock and 8 o’clock tips join the left neighbor’s 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock tips.
- Joining to the motif above: The new motif’s 12 o’clock tip joins the upper neighbor’s 6 o’clock tip.
Work Round 3 as usual. When you reach a tip that needs to join, work a Joining tip picot in place of the regular Tip picot. Before you start, turn the motif so the arm you are working on lines up with the right neighbor tip.
Order: Work across each row from left to right, then start the next row at the left.
- The first motif in Row 1 has no joins.
- The other Row 1 motifs each join 2 tips, to the left.
- The first motif in each later row joins 1 tip, upward.
- Every other motif joins 3 tips: 2 to the left and 1 upward.
Stitch-to-stitch logic: Each join links exactly one picot to one picot. Each motif’s 6 arms connect to at most 6 neighbor tips: 2 right, 2 left, 1 up, and 1 down. Interior motifs use every arm.
Join count:
- Horizontal: 2 joins per pair x 2 pairs per row x 5 rows = 20 tip joins.
- Vertical: 3 columns x 4 gaps = 12 tip joins.
- Total: 32 joined tip pairs, using 64 of the 90 tips.
Tension: Keep the joining sl st as loose as your regular picot. If the join is tight, the arms pull together and the panel cups.
Size checkpoint: Measure after every completed row.
- Row 1 should be 12.9 in (32.8 cm) wide, since 3 x 4.3 in = 12.9 in.
- The height grows by 5 in (12.7 cm) per row: 5 in (12.7 cm), 10 in (25.4 cm), 15 in (38.1 cm), 20 in (50.8 cm), and 25 in (63.5 cm).
Border
This panel has no added border, by design. The scalloped edge of free snowflake points is part of the look. A solid border would fill the open lattice and hide the tips.
Edge “gauge”: Instead of stitches per inch, count free tips per side. Each motif adds 4.3 in (10.9 cm) of width and 5 in (12.7 cm) of height.
Free tips per side:
- Top edge: 3 motifs x 1 free 12 o’clock tip = 3 tips
- Bottom edge: 3 motifs x 1 free 6 o’clock tip = 3 tips
- Left edge: 5 motifs x 2 free tips (10 and 8 o’clock) = 10 tips
- Right edge: 5 motifs x 2 free tips (2 and 4 o’clock) = 10 tips
Why the math works:
- 15 motifs x 6 tips = 90 tips.
- 64 tips are used in joins, and 26 are free (3 + 3 + 10 + 10).
- 64 + 26 = 90, so every tip is accounted for exactly once, and no tip is joined twice or left dangling inside the panel.
- The corner tips are counted only once, on the side they point toward.
Final Blocking
- Weave in any remaining ends. Hide them inside the corded stems so they don’t show through the lace.
- Soak the panel in cool water for 10 minutes. Press out the water gently in a towel, without wringing.
- Lay the panel face up on a blocking mat. Pin out a 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm) rectangle using the outer tips.
- Pin every free tip on the top, bottom, and sides. Check that the top and bottom tips line up in straight rows and that the side tips sit evenly.
- Pin the center of each motif, then pull each Branch out at a slight angle away from its stem.
- For crisp points, mist the panel with spray starch.
- Let it dry completely, at least 24 hours, before unpinning.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- 15 motifs: 8 blue and 7 white, with blue at all four corners
- Each motif has 78 sc, 24 Branches, and 6 Tip picots
- Every center ring is still slightly open
- 32 joined tip pairs with no missed joins
- Free tips: 3 on the top, 3 on the bottom, 10 on each side
- Blocked size is 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm)
- Each motif is 5 in (12.7 cm) tall and 4.3 in (10.9 cm) wide
- No ends showing on the front
Troubleshooting
Arms look thin or gappy. You may have worked into the chains instead of under the loop. Work every Round 3 sc into the loop space so it wraps both chain halves.
Tip picot is off-center. Count again: 6 sc and 2 Branches must come before the picot, and the same after it.
Branches curl. Work the sl sts a little looser, and pin each branch flat while blocking.
Center hole closes up. Your starting ring is too tight. Next time, work the 12 dc over the ring without pulling the chain smaller.
Panel cups or puckers at the joins. The joining sl sts are too tight. Redo them more loosely, or block firmly with starch.
Panel is wider than 12.9 in (32.8 cm). Your motifs are oversized. Check your gauge against the 4.3 in (10.9 cm) target and change hooks for the remaining motifs.
Wrong color in a spot. Check the layout grid before each join. Mistakes are easy to cut out before blocking and much harder afterward.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap and lay flat to dry, re-pinning the tips if needed. Starch again after washing to bring back crisp points.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is short and reliable:
- A 1.25 in (3.2 cm) center grows into a 5 in (12.7 cm) tall, 4.3 in (10.9 cm) wide snowflake.
- Three motifs across give 12.9 in (32.8 cm).
- Five motifs down give 25 in (63.5 cm).
- No border is added, so the blocked panel stays at 12.9 x 25 in (32.8 x 63.5 cm).
If your first motif meets gauge, the whole panel will follow. Take your time with the first few joins, and the rest goes quickly.
Happy crocheting!