This curtain is made of fan-shaped ginkgo leaves hanging on cream cords. Each leaf is mustard gold with radial ribs, two wavy lobes split by a center notch, and a crisp cream outline. A small cream ring sits at the base of every leaf, and a plump cream tassel finishes each strand.
The palette is two colors: warm mustard gold and soft cream. In a sunny window the gold glows and the cream edges catch the light, so it suits a boho, cottage, or Japandi room.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished curtain measures 50.5 in (128.3 cm) wide and 42.25 in (107.3 cm) long from the top of the header band to the tassel tips. Each leaf is 5 in (12.7 cm) wide.
Construction is simple. First you work 70 leaves flat in rows, from a magic ring out to a shaped top edge, and outline each one in cream. Then you crochet a cream header band. Last, you chain 10 cords with doubled cream straight down from the band, joining the leaves as you go, and tie a tassel to the end of each cord.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 50.5 in x 42.25 in (128.3 cm x 107.3 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate (lots of repeats, but shaping happens on only one row)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: DK (3) cotton
- Hooks: 3.5 mm for the leaves and header; 5.0 mm for the doubled cords
- Number of pieces: 70 leaves, 1 header band, 10 cords, 10 tassels
- Layout: 10 strands of 7 leaves each
- Leaf size: 5 in (12.7 cm) wide x 3 in (7.6 cm) tall, plus a 0.5 in (1.3 cm) stem ring
- Header before edging: 50 in x 1 in (127.0 cm x 2.5 cm)
- Header edging depth: 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on each edge
Materials
Use a smooth mercerized or combed DK cotton, about 110 m per 50 g. Cotton hangs straight, holds the shaped edge, and won’t stretch under the weight of the strands the way acrylic can.
- Mustard gold: 300 g (660 m), for the leaf bodies
- Cream: 250 g (550 m), for the leaf borders, header, cords, and tassels
These quantities include a margin of roughly 15% to cover your swatch, tension differences, and weaving in ends.
Tools
- 3.5 mm (E/4) crochet hook
- 5.0 mm (H/8) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- Stitch markers
- A 3 in (7.6 cm) piece of stiff card for the tassels
- 10 curtain clip rings and a curtain rod
- Rust-proof pins and a blocking mat
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- tr – treble crochet
- MR – magic ring
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- RS – right side
Drop-loop join: Take the hook out of the working loop. Insert it from front to back through the stitch you’re joining to, pick up the dropped loop, and pull it through.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Leaf gauge (3.5 mm hook): After Row 4, the fan measures 4 in (10.2 cm) across its straight bottom edge and 2 in (5.1 cm) from the ring to the top edge.
Header gauge (3.5 mm hook): 20 sc and 16 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm) square.
Cord gauge (5.0 mm hook, cream doubled): 4 ch = 1 in (2.5 cm).
Before you commit to 70 leaves, make one complete leaf with its border and check it at each stage:
- After Row 4: 4 in (10.2 cm) wide
- After Row 5: 4.5 in (11.4 cm) wide, 2.75 in (7.0 cm) tall at the tallest peaks
- After the border: 5 in (12.7 cm) wide x 3 in (7.6 cm) tall, plus a 0.5 in (1.3 cm) ring
If your leaf comes out too big, go down 0.25 mm in hook size. If it’s too small, go up 0.25 mm. If the fan cups instead of lying flat, your dc are too tight, so go up a hook size. If it ruffles, they’re too loose, so go down a hook size.
Leaf (Make 70)
Work the leaf in mustard gold with the 3.5 mm hook. Turn at the end of every row. Each dc column lines up with the one below it, and together they make the radial ribs.
Row 1 (RS): MR, ch 3 (counts as dc), 5 dc in ring. Pull the ring closed, but leave a small hole. Turn. (6 dc)
Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the first st, 2 dc in each st across, including the top of the turning ch. Turn. (12 dc)
Row 3: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the first st, dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st, dc in the next st; repeat from * 4 more times. Turn. (18 dc)*
Row 4: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the first st, dc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, dc in each of the next 2 sts; repeat from * 4 more times. Turn. (24 dc)*
Checkpoint: the leaf should measure 4 in (10.2 cm) across and lie flat as a half circle.
Row 5 (shaping, RS): Ch 1 (does not count). Work 1 st in each st across, as follows:
- Sts 1–12 (first lobe): hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc, sl st
- Sts 13–24 (second lobe): sl st, hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc
Fasten off. (24 sts: 24 worked 1-per-st + 0 added)
The two tr pairs on each lobe make the waves, and the 2 sl sts in the middle pull down to form the center notch. Each lobe mirrors the other exactly.
Leaf Border
Work the border in cream with the 3.5 mm hook and the RS facing. Join with a sl st in st 1 of Row 5, which is the hdc at the right-hand corner.
Border Round: Ch 1. Then work the four edges as follows.
- Top edge: Sc in the same st as the join and in each of sts 2–3, 2 sc in st 4, sc in each of sts 5–8, 2 sc in st 9, sc in each of sts 10–11, sc2tog over sts 12–13 (this is the notch stitch), sc in each of sts 14–15, 2 sc in st 16, sc in each of sts 17–20, 2 sc in st 21, sc in each of sts 22–24. (27 sc: 22 sts worked 1-per-st + 4 extra at the peaks + 1 sc2tog)
- Left side: Working down the row ends, 2 sc in each of the Row 4, 3, 2, and 1 row ends. (8 sc)
- Stem ring: Sc at the bottom point into the magic ring, ch 5, and sl st into that same sc to make a small loop. (1 sc + ch-5 ring)
- Right side: Working up the row ends, 2 sc in each of the Row 1, 2, 3, and 4 row ends. (8 sc)
Sl st to the first sc to close the round. Fasten off. (44 sc + ch-5 ring: 27 + 8 + 1 + 8)
Put a stitch marker in the sc2tog, because the cord joins there later. Weave in all ends now; with 70 leaves, it’s much easier than leaving them all for the end.
Make All Pieces
- Leaves: 70 leaf bodies in mustard gold, each with a cream border
- Header band: 1, in cream
- Cords: 10, in doubled cream (worked during joining)
- Tassels: 10, in cream
Layout grid (H = header, L = leaf, T = tassel; columns are the strands):
H H H H H H H H H H
| | | | | | | | | |
L L L L L L L L L L row 1
L L L L L L L L L L row 2
L L L L L L L L L L row 3
L L L L L L L L L L row 4
L L L L L L L L L L row 5
L L L L L L L L L L row 6
L L L L L L L L L L row 7
T T T T T T T T T T
That’s 10 strands x 7 leaves = 70 leaves. All the leaves in a row hang at the same height, and their 5 in (12.7 cm) widths sit edge to edge across the 50 in (127.0 cm) band.
Header Band (Border)
The header band acts as the curtain’s border. Its stitch count is based on the strands it carries: 10 strands x 25 sc per strand section = 250 sc. At 5 sc per inch, that comes to 50 in (127.0 cm), which is one 5 in (12.7 cm) leaf width per strand.
Use cream and the 3.5 mm hook.
Row 1: Ch 251, sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across. Turn. (250 sc)
Rows 2–4: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn. (250 sc each row)
Checkpoint: the band should measure 50 in x 1 in (127.0 cm x 2.5 cm).
Edging Round: Ch 1, then work around all four edges as follows.
- Top edge: 3 sc in the first st, sc in each of the next 248 sts, 3 sc in the last st.
- Short side: Sc in the row ends of Rows 3 and 2. (2 sc)
- Bottom edge (along the foundation chain): 3 sc in the first ch, sc in each of the next 248 ch, 3 sc in the last ch.
- Second short side: Sc in the row ends of Rows 2 and 3. (2 sc)
Sl st to the first sc. Fasten off.
Edging counts: In each 3-sc group, the middle sc is the corner. Counted with both corners included, each long side has 252 sc (1 + 1 + 248 + 1 + 1) and each short side has 6 sc (1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1). The round total is 512 sc: 252 + 252 + 6 + 6, minus the 4 corners that were counted twice.
Why the math works: Along the bottom edge, the 250 non-corner sc sit one-for-one on the 250 foundation sts. Starting with the first sc after the corner, the 13th sc is the center of the first 25-st section. From there, every 25th sc is the next center: 13, 38, 63, 88, 113, 138, 163, 188, 213, and 238. Place a marker in each one. That leaves 12 sts on each side of the end strands, so the layout is perfectly symmetrical. The finished band measures 50.5 in x 1.5 in (128.3 cm x 3.8 cm).
Joining: Cords and Leaves
Each cord is a chain worked with two strands of cream held together on the 5.0 mm hook. It runs down behind each leaf and passes through the leaf’s stem ring.
One strand:
- Join the doubled cream with a sl st in one of the marked bottom-edge sts. Ch 12 for a 3 in (7.6 cm) lead.
- Drop-loop join through the notch sc2tog of a leaf, going from front to back so the cord sits behind the leaf.
- Ch 9, about 2.25 in (5.7 cm), to make the spine behind the leaf. Insert the hook through the stem ring from front to back and sl st.
- Ch 9 for the link to the next leaf, then drop-loop join through the next leaf’s notch.
- Repeat steps 3–4 until all 7 leaves are on the strand. After the 7th leaf’s ring, ch 8, about 2 in (5.1 cm), for the tail. Fasten off, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
That’s 137 ch per cord: 12 + (7 x 9) + (6 x 9) + 8.
Tension: Chain loosely and evenly. The 9-ch spine should lie flat behind the leaf without puckering it. If the leaf bows forward, add 1 ch to the spine. If the leaf hangs loose, take 1 away. Treat every leaf the same way so all the strands match.
Tassels: Wrap cream 25 times around the 3 in (7.6 cm) card. Tie the top with the cord tail, then wrap the neck 0.5 in (1.3 cm) below the top. Cut the loops at the bottom and trim the tassel to 3 in (7.6 cm).
Size checkpoint: From notch to notch, the repeat is 5 in (12.7 cm): the 2.25 in spine, plus the 0.5 in ring, plus the 2.25 in link. One strand measures 40.75 in (103.5 cm): 3 in lead + 30 in (76.2 cm) for six repeats + 2.75 in (7.0 cm) from the last notch to the bottom of its ring + 2 in tail + 3 in tassel.
Final Blocking
- Unclip the curtain and lay the header band flat on a padded surface, then lay each strand out straight.
- Mist the leaves and tassels until they’re damp, not soaked.
- Pin each leaf to 5 in (12.7 cm) wide. Put pins at the four wave peaks and the two corners, and push the notch down slightly.
- Pin the header band to 50.5 in x 1.5 in (128.3 cm x 3.8 cm).
- Comb the tassels straight and trim them evenly.
- Let everything dry completely before you unpin it.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every leaf is 5 in (12.7 cm) wide, and both lobes mirror each other.
- Every border has 44 sc plus the stem ring.
- All the cords enter the leaves from behind at the notch.
- All 10 strands are 40.75 in (103.5 cm) long, and leaves in the same row line up.
- The strands hang from sts 13 through 238 at 25-st intervals.
- All ends are woven in, and the tassels are even.
Troubleshooting
- The fan cups: Your dc are too tight. Go up a hook size, or check that the ch-3 turning chains aren’t too short.
- The fan ruffles: Your dc are too loose. Go down a hook size.
- The notch is shallow: Make sure you worked the 2 center sl sts in Row 5 and the sc2tog in the border.
- The lobes don’t match: Recount Row 5 against the mirrored sequence.
- The strands are uneven: Count each cord’s chains. Each one should be exactly 137.
- The header ripples: Your edging is too tight. Redo it with a larger hook.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with a mild detergent. Roll the curtain in a towel to remove water, then dry it flat, pinning the leaves back into shape.
Final Notes
Everything in this pattern follows one measurement chain. A 4 in (10.2 cm) fan after Row 4 becomes a 5 in (12.7 cm) bordered leaf. Ten leaf widths set the 250 sc, 50 in (127.0 cm) header band. Each strand repeats every 5 in (12.7 cm) and measures 40.75 in (103.5 cm). Together they make a 50.5 in x 42.25 in (128.3 cm x 107.3 cm) curtain.
Happy crocheting!