The Garden Trellis Strip Curtain is an airy, structured window panel made of ten slim lattice strips. Each strip has a crisp outline and a column of large crossed-stitch X’s that looks like a garden trellis. Light comes through every open diamond and through the narrow gaps between strips.
The palette alternates soft sage green and natural cream. The style is calm and botanical and suits cottage, Scandinavian or farmhouse rooms. Smooth cotton keeps the crossed stitches sharp and helps the strips hang straight.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished curtain measures 29.5 in (74.9 cm) wide and about 73.75 in (187.3 cm) long from the top of the band to the bottom of the strips, not counting the rod tabs.
You crochet each strip in short rows across its width, add an outline round, and join the strips to each other with chain bridges as you work that round. Last, you add a top band with rod tabs.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 29.5 in (74.9 cm) wide × 73.75 in (187.3 cm) long, plus tabs
- Skill level: Intermediate (long stitches, join-as-you-go)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4) cotton
- Hook: 5 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 10 strips plus 1 top band worked directly onto them
- Layout: 10 strips side by side in alternating colors
- Strip size: 2.5 in (6.4 cm) × 72.75 in (184.8 cm)
- Size before border: 29.5 in (74.9 cm) × 72.75 in (184.8 cm)
- Border depth: 1 in (2.5 cm) top band, plus tab loops 3.5 in (8.9 cm) long
Materials
Use smooth, mercerized or combed worsted-weight cotton, about 170 m per 100 g. Cotton drapes well and blocks crisply. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns because heavy acrylics can stretch over the length of a curtain.
- Sage green: 450 g / 765 m (5 strips plus the top band)
- Cream: 400 g / 680 m (5 strips)
The quantities include a margin of about 15% for swatching and joining.
Tools:
– 5 mm (H-8) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– Stitch markers
– Measuring tape
– Blocking pins and a long blocking surface (foam mats or a carpeted floor)
– Spray bottle
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- trtr – triple treble crochet: yarn over 4 times, insert hook, pull up a loop, then (yarn over, pull through 2 loops) 5 times
- sk – skip
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Special stitch – Trellis Cross (TC): Sk the next 5 sts and work 1 trtr in the following st. Then, working in front of the trtr you just made, work 1 trtr in the first skipped st. The two long stitches lean toward each other and form a large X.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 16 sc and 16 sc rows = 4 in (10.2 cm), which is 4 sc and 4 rows per 1 in (2.5 cm).
Before making all ten, make one complete strip and check it at each stage:
- Row 1: The 8 sc should measure 2 in (5.1 cm) wide.
- One X row plus one sc row: This should add 2 in (5.1 cm) of height (1.75 in / 4.4 cm for the X row plus 0.25 in / 0.6 cm for the sc row).
- After Row 9 (4 X repeats): The strip should be 8.25 in (21 cm) long.
- After the outline round: The strip should be 2.5 in (6.4 cm) wide.
If your strip is too big, go down 0.5 mm in hook size. If it is too small, go up 0.5 mm. If only the X rows are too tall, wrap the yarn more firmly on each yarn over before you draw it through. Small errors add up over 36 repeats, so measure carefully.
Strip Pattern (Make 10)
Each strip has 8 sts across its core. X rows and sc rows alternate.
Foundation: Ch 9.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, turn. (8 sc)
Row 2 (X row): Ch 6 (counts as first trtr), TC over the next 6 sts (sk sts 2–6, trtr in st 7, then trtr in st 2 in front of it), trtr in the last st, turn. (4 trtr: edge, 2 crossed, edge)
Sts 3–6 stay unworked behind the X, which opens the diamond spaces.
Row 3 (sc row): Ch 1, sc in the first trtr, 3 sc in the top of the next trtr, 3 sc in the top of the next trtr, sc in the top of the turning ch, turn. (8 sc = 4 sts worked + 4 extra sts added)
This conversion row spreads the tops of the crossed stitches back to the full 8-st width, so the X arms meet the edges cleanly.
Rows 4–73: Repeat Rows 2–3 thirty-five more times. Do not fasten off.
You now have 36 X rows and 37 sc rows, 73 rows in all.
Checkpoint: The core measures 2 in (5.1 cm) wide × 72.25 in (183.5 cm) long (0.25 in for Row 1 plus 36 repeats of 2 in).
Outline Round
The outline gives the strip its chain-textured frame and rounded corners. Work in the round without turning. On every strip except the first, you will join one long side to the strip before it (see Joining).
Rnd 1:
– Top short side: Ch 1, 2 sc in the first st, sc in the next 6 sts, 2 sc in the last st. (10 sts)
– First long side: Working down the side edge, 6 sc around the post of the edge trtr, sc in the end of the next sc row; repeat from * 36 times. (252 sts)
– Bottom short side: Working into the foundation ch, 2 sc in the first ch, sc in the next 6 ch, 2 sc in the last ch. (10 sts)
– Second long side: Working up the other edge, sc in the end of the next sc row, 6 sc around the post of the edge trtr; repeat from * 36 times. (252 sts)
– Sl st to the first sc. Fasten off and weave in the ends.
Round total: 10 + 252 + 10 + 252 = 524 sts.
The doubled stitches at each end of the short sides count as part of that side’s 10 sts. There are no separate corner stitches. The 36 sc worked into sc-row ends on each long side are the joining points.
Checkpoint: The strip measures 2.5 in (6.4 cm) × 72.75 in (184.8 cm). The outline adds 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on every edge.
Make All Pieces
- Sage green: 5 strips
- Cream: 5 strips
Make Strip 1 completely. Strips 2–10 are joined to the previous strip during their outline round.
Layout (left to right, front view):
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| G | C | G | C | G | C | G | C | G | C |
G = sage green, C = cream. Every strip has its last row (Row 73) at the top.
Joining
Method: Join as you go with chain bridges. This leaves the narrow open gaps seen between the strips.
Work the outline round of the new strip as written until the second long side. On that side, each “sc in the end of the next sc row” becomes a bridge:
Bridge: Sc in the end of the sc row, ch 1, sl st into the matching sc-row-end sc on the neighboring strip, ch 1, then continue with the 6 sc around the next post.
Stitch-to-stitch logic: Each long side has exactly 36 sc-row-end sts, so the sc-row ends on both strips line up one to one. Bridge 1 is at Row 1 and Bridge 36 is at Row 71. The bridge ch and sl sts are extra and are not part of the 252-st side count.
That gives 36 bridges per seam, and 9 seams make 324 bridges in total.
Tension: Keep each ch 1 the same size as your sc. Tight bridges pull the strips together and pucker the edges. Loose bridges make the strips droop away from each other. Lay the work flat after every 6 bridges to check that the sc-row lines match straight across.
Size checkpoint: Each gap measures 0.5 in (1.3 cm). The joined panel should be 10 × 2.5 in + 9 × 0.5 in = 29.5 in (74.9 cm) wide and 72.75 in (184.8 cm) long.
Border: Top Band and Rod Tabs
The border is worked across the top edge only. The bottom ends of the strips hang free.
Border gauge: 4 sc and 4 rows = 1 in (2.5 cm), the same as the strips.
Use sage green and work with the right side facing.
Row 1: Join yarn in the first st of Strip 1’s top side. Sc in each of the 10 top-side sts of the strip, ch 2 across the gap; repeat from * across, ending with 10 sc on Strip 10 (no ch after it), turn. (10 strips × 10 sts + 9 gaps × 2 ch = 118 sts)
Rows 2–4: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn. (118 sts)
Row 5 (tab row): Ch 1. For each strip section, work: sc in the next 2 sts, ch 14, sk the next 6 sts, sc in the next 2 sts. After each of the first 9 sections, sc in the next 2 sts (the gap sts). Turn. (10 × [4 sc + 14 ch] + 9 × 2 sc = 198 sts)
Row 6: Ch 1, sc in each sc and work 16 sc into each ch-14 loop across. Fasten off. (10 × 20 + 9 × 2 = 218 sts)
Why the math works: At 4 sc per inch, the 118 sts of Row 1 measure exactly 29.5 in (74.9 cm). That is 10 strips × 2.5 in plus 9 gaps × 0.5 in, the same as the joined width. Each 2-ch gap matches the 0.5 in bridge spacing, so the band neither gathers nor flares.
Rows 1–4 make a 1 in (2.5 cm) band. Each tab sits over the center 6 sts of its strip and measures 3.5 in (8.9 cm) long. Fold the tabs over the rod.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends securely along the outline stitches, not across the open diamonds.
- Soak the curtain in cool water for 15 minutes, then press the water out. Do not wring.
- Roll it in towels to remove more water.
- Lay the curtain flat on a long blocking surface.
- Pin the top band straight to 29.5 in (74.9 cm).
- Pin each strip to 2.5 in (6.4 cm) wide, working down the length. Keep the gaps at 0.5 in (1.3 cm).
- Smooth each strip to 72.75 in (184.8 cm). Don’t overstretch it, because cotton will grow a little more when it hangs.
- Open each X evenly so the diamonds are symmetrical.
- Let it dry completely before you unpin it.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Each strip has 36 X’s and 37 sc rows.
- Every sc row has 8 sc.
- Each outline round has 524 sts.
- Each seam has 36 bridges, all lined up straight across.
- The colors alternate correctly, starting with sage green.
- Rows 1–4 of the band have 118 sts each.
- There are 10 tabs, each centered over a strip.
- The finished size is 29.5 in × 73.75 in (74.9 cm × 187.3 cm).
Troubleshooting
- X looks lopsided: You may have worked the second trtr behind the first. Always work it in front.
- Strips curl: Your sc rows are too tight. Go up a hook size for the sc rows only.
- Strips too long: Your trtr are too loose. Tighten your yarn overs or use a smaller hook.
- Bridges don’t line up: You may have miscounted posts. Place a marker every 6 bridges.
- Band ripples: Check that you have exactly 2 ch over each gap in Row 1.
- Tabs twist: Make sure you have 16 sc in every ch-14 loop.
Care
Hand wash cool or machine wash on a gentle cycle in a laundry bag. Reshape and dry flat. Never hang the curtain while it is wet, because it will stretch.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is: gauge of 4 sc = 1 in (2.5 cm), then 8 sc = 2 in (5.1 cm), then each X repeat = 2 in (5.1 cm), then the core = 72.25 in (183.5 cm), then each outlined strip = 2.5 in × 72.75 in (6.4 cm × 184.8 cm). Ten strips plus nine 0.5 in (1.3 cm) gaps make 29.5 in (74.9 cm), which matches the 118-st band. Check every link and the curtain will hang straight and even.
Happy crocheting!