This strand curtain turns a plain window into a wall of tiny wrapped presents. Each strand is a firm cream cord carrying small burgundy gift boxes, each tied with a raised gold ribbon and a looped gold bow. The boxes are staggered from strand to strand, so the panel looks like an even scatter of presents instead of straight rows.
The colors are classic and warm: deep burgundy for the boxes and tassels, soft gold for the ribbons, and creamy ivory for the cords and tieback edging. The style is cozy and tailored.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. One finished panel has 12 strands spaced 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart on the rod. Each strand hangs 60 in (152.4 cm) plus a 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tassel, for a total of 61.5 in (156.2 cm). Each gift box measures 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square.
The construction is simple and repeats. You crochet small single-crochet squares, edge them, and add surface-slip-stitch ribbons and a chain bow. Then you sew the boxes onto slip-stitch cords. A separate burgundy tieback with a cream border gathers the strands to one side.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished panel: 12 strands, 38.5 in (97.8 cm) from the first strand center to the last; about 40.75 in (103.5 cm) wide including the boxes that stick out at each end
- Strand length: 60 in (152.4 cm) of cord + 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tassel = 61.5 in (156.2 cm)
- Skill level: Easy / advanced beginner
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4), cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
- Number of pieces: 108 gift boxes, 12 cords, 12 tassels, 1 tieback
- Layout: 12 strands, 9 boxes per strand, alternating A/B spacing
- Gift box before edging: 2 in (5.1 cm) square
- Gift box after edging: 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square
- Tieback before border: 12 x 2 in (30.5 x 5.1 cm)
- Tieback border depth: 0.4 in (1.0 cm) on every side
- Tieback after border: 12.8 x 2.8 in (32.5 x 7.1 cm)
Materials
Choose a smooth worsted cotton, either mercerized or matte. Cotton keeps the boxes crisp and square, and the cords won’t stretch under the weight of the boxes. Avoid fuzzy acrylics because they hide the ribbon lines. A gold yarn with a slight sheen looks most like real ribbon.
- Burgundy: 400 g / 680 m (boxes, tassels, tieback center)
- Gold: 150 g / 255 m (ribbons and bows)
- Cream: 150 g / 255 m (cords, sewing, tieback border)
All quantities include a margin of about 15-20% for gauge differences and yarn tails.
Tools:
- 4.0 mm (G-6) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Stitch markers (at least 20)
- Tape measure or ruler
- 3 in (7.6 cm) piece of cardboard for the tassels
- Blocking mat and rust-proof pins
- Curtain rod up to 1.75 in (4.4 cm) in diameter
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch = chain
- sc = single crochet
- sl st = slip stitch
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- rnd = round
- RS = right side
Surface slip stitch: Hold the working yarn behind the piece. Insert the hook from front to back through a gap between stitches and pull up a loop. Insert the hook into the next gap, pull up a loop, and draw it through the loop on the hook. This leaves a raised chain line on the RS.
Cord stitch: A slip stitch worked into the back bump of a chain. Worked along a full chain, it makes a firm, round cord.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 18 sc and 20 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm), which is the same as 9 sc and 10 rows = 2 in (5.1 cm).
Cord gauge: 10 cord sts = 2 in (5.1 cm).
Make one complete gift box before anything else. It works as your gauge swatch.
Checkpoints:
- After Row 10 of the box body: 2 in (5.1 cm) square.
- After the edging round: 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square.
- After the bow: the bow is about 1.25 in (3.2 cm) wide.
- Cord after 50 sts: 10 in (25.4 cm).
- Finished cord before folding: 66 in (167.6 cm).
If the box is too big, use a hook 0.5 mm smaller. If it is too small, use a hook 0.5 mm larger. If the box is the right width but too short, your rows are too tight: keep the same stitch count and pull each loop up slightly taller. Don’t change the stitch counts, because the ribbon placement depends on them.
Gift Box
Body (burgundy)
Ch 10.
Row 1 (RS): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (9 sc)
Rows 2-10: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (9 sc)
Checkpoint: 9 sc wide by 10 rows tall, 2 in (5.1 cm) square. Don’t fasten off.
Edging Round (burgundy)
The corners use 2 sc instead of 3, which rounds them softly like a wrapped box.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, do not turn. Work across the last row: 2 sc in first st, sc in next 7 sts, 2 sc in last st. (11 sts on top edge)
Work down the side: sc in the end of each row. (10 sts)
Work across the foundation chain: 2 sc in first ch, sc in next 7 ch, 2 sc in last ch. (11 sts on bottom edge)
Work up the other side: sc in the end of each row. (10 sts)
Sl st to first sc. Fasten off. (42 sts total: 11 + 10 + 11 + 10)
The center stitch of the top and bottom edges is the 6th of 11. It lines up with body stitch 5, the center column.
Checkpoint: 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square.
Horizontal Ribbon (gold)
With RS facing, hold the gold yarn behind the box. Start at the left edge, in the gap between the edging sts for Rows 5 and 6. Work surface sl sts straight across along the line between Row 5 and Row 6, ending at the right edge. (11 surface sl sts) Fasten off and pull the tail to the back.
Vertical Ribbon and Bow (gold)
With RS facing, hold the gold yarn behind the box. Start at the 6th st of the bottom edge. Work surface sl sts straight up the center column (body st 5), crossing over the horizontal ribbon, and end at the 6th st of the top edge. (12 surface sl sts) Don’t fasten off.
Bow loop 1: Ch 8, sl st in the same top-edge st.
Bow loop 2: Ch 8, sl st in the same top-edge st.
Tail 1: Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in next 3 ch, sl st in the same top-edge st. (4 sl sts)
Tail 2: Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in next 3 ch. (4 sl sts) Fasten off.
Pull one loop to the left and one to the right so they stand above the box. Let both tails fall onto the front of the box. On the back, weave the yarn ends through the bases of the loops to hold the bow in a neat figure eight.
Cord (make 12, cream)
Ch 331.
Row 1: Sl st in back bump of 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (330 cord sts)
Checkpoint: 66 in (167.6 cm).
Hanging loop: Fold the first 30 sts into a ring and sew st 1 to st 31. The loop is 30 sts around, or 6 in (15.2 cm), and fits a rod up to 1.75 in (4.4 cm) across. Sts 31-330 form the hanging length: 300 sts, or 60 in (152.4 cm).
Tassel (burgundy): Wrap burgundy yarn 12 times around the 3 in (7.6 cm) cardboard. Tie the strands together at the top and cut them at the bottom. Wrap a neck 0.25 in (0.6 cm) below the top, then trim the tassel to 1.5 in (3.8 cm). Sew it to the bottom tip of the cord.
Make All Pieces
- Gift boxes: 108 (burgundy body and edging, gold ribbon and bow)
- Cords: 12 (cream)
- Tassels: 12 (burgundy)
- Tieback: 1 (burgundy center, cream border)
Label 6 cords A and 6 cords B. Count the hanging sts down from the sewn loop join.
- Strand A: box centers at sts 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 270 below the join. That puts a box every 6 in (15.2 cm), from 6 in (15.2 cm) down to 54 in (137.2 cm).
- Strand B: box centers at sts 45, 75, 105, 135, 165, 195, 225, 255, and 285 below the join. That puts a box every 6 in (15.2 cm), from 9 in (22.9 cm) down to 57 in (144.8 cm).
The B positions sit 3 in (7.6 cm) lower than the A positions, half of one spacing, so neighboring strands stagger.
Layout grid (X = box center, | = bare cord; distance below the rod):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A B A B A B A B A B A B
6 in X | X | X | X | X | X |
9 in | X | X | X | X | X | X
12 in X | X | X | X | X | X |
15 in | X | X | X | X | X | X
... repeat every 6 in
54 in X | X | X | X | X | X |
57 in | X | X | X | X | X | X
60 in tassels
Hang the strands in the order A, B, A, B across the rod, 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart.
Joining
Each box is sewn onto the front of its cord, with the cord running behind the box’s center column. The cord shows above the bow and below the box.
Lay the cord flat and place a marker at each box-center st. The edged box is 2.25 in (5.7 cm) tall, which covers about 11 cord sts. Center the box on the marked st (C). Using cream yarn, tack through the cord and only the back loops of the box’s center column:
- Top edging st 6 to cord st C-5.
- Center st of Row 8 to cord st C-3.
- The line between Rows 5 and 6 (under the ribbon) to cord st C.
- Center st of Row 3 to cord st C+3.
- Bottom edging st 6 to cord st C+5.
That makes 5 tacks over 11 cord sts, about one every 0.5 in (1.3 cm), so the box can’t flip or tilt.
Tension: Pull each tack snug enough that the box sits flat against the cord, but don’t pull hard. Tight tacks shorten the cord and dimple the box.
Size checkpoint: After all 9 boxes are sewn on, the hanging length should still measure 60 in (152.4 cm). On B strands, the bottom edge of the last box sits about 2 in (5.1 cm) above the tassel.
Border (Tieback)
The tieback is the only piece with a separate border. It uses the box gauge: 9 sc and 10 rows = 2 in (5.1 cm).
Tieback Center (burgundy)
Ch 55.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (54 sc)
Rows 2-10: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (54 sc)
Checkpoint: 12 x 2 in (30.5 x 5.1 cm). Fasten off.
Border Rnd 1 (cream)
Join cream in the first st of Row 10. Ch 1.
3 sc in first st (corner), sc in next 52 sts, 3 sc in last st (corner). Sc in each of the 10 row ends. 3 sc in first ch (corner), sc in next 52 ch, 3 sc in last ch (corner). Sc in each of the 10 row ends. Sl st to first sc.
The corner st is the middle sc of each 3-sc group. Counted from corner to corner, including both corner sts:
- Long sides: 56 sts each
- Short sides: 14 sts each
- Total: 2 x 56 + 2 x 14 – 4 shared corners = 136 sts
Border Rnd 2 (cream)
Ch 1, sc in each st around, working 3 sc in each corner st. Sl st to first sc.
- Long sides: 58 sts each
- Short sides: 16 sts each
- Total: 2 x 58 + 2 x 16 – 4 = 144 sts
Hanging loops: At the center st of each short side, ch 12 and sl st back into the same st. Fasten off.
Why the math works: Each round adds 2 sts per side, one at each corner, for 8 sts total per round (136 + 8 = 144). At this gauge, 1 sc per row end lies flat. The two border rounds add 0.4 in (1.0 cm) on every side, so the 12 x 2 in (30.5 x 5.1 cm) center becomes 12.8 x 2.8 in (32.5 x 7.1 cm).
Final Blocking
- Mist all the boxes lightly until they are damp but not soaked.
- Pin each box to a 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square, with one pin in each corner.
- Straighten the ribbon lines with your fingertips.
- Open the bow loops into rounded shapes and pin the tails flat.
- Let everything dry completely, for at least 6 hours.
- Pin the tieback to 12.8 x 2.8 in (32.5 x 7.1 cm), mist it, and let it dry.
- Hang each finished strand and mist it lightly. Leave it overnight so its own weight straightens the cord.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every box measures 2.25 in (5.7 cm) square and has 42 edging sts.
- The ribbons cross at the exact center and don’t pucker.
- Every bow has two even loops and two tails.
- Each cord has 330 sts and a 6 in (15.2 cm) loop.
- Box centers are at the A or B positions.
- All 12 strands hang 60 in (152.4 cm) plus the tassel.
- The strands alternate A, B across the rod.
- The tieback border has 144 sts, and the tieback measures 12.8 x 2.8 in (32.5 x 7.1 cm).
- All yarn ends are woven in on the back.
Troubleshooting
Box is taller than it is wide: Your rows are loose. Pull up shorter loops or go down a hook size, but keep 9 sts and 10 rows.
Ribbon puckers the box: Your surface sl sts are too tight. Loosen them, or work them with a hook one size larger.
Bow droops: On the back, weave the yarn ends through the bases of the loops for more support.
Cord twists: Cord stitches twist naturally. Hang the cord with a light weight at the bottom while blocking.
Strands hang at different lengths: Recount the 330 sts. Cotton barely stretches, so a difference usually means a miscount.
Boxes flip around: Make sure you worked all 5 tacks, including the two at C-3 and C+3.
Tieback ruffles at the ends: Work exactly 10 sc into the 10 row ends.
Care
Spot clean with mild soap and cool water, then lay flat or hang to dry. Store the strands loosely coiled in a box so the bows keep their shape.
Final Notes
The measurements build in a short chain. 9 sc and 10 rows make a 2 in (5.1 cm) box body, and one edging round brings the box to 2.25 in (5.7 cm). 330 cord sts make 66 in (167.6 cm); 30 of them form the loop, leaving 60 in (152.4 cm) of hanging cord. Nine boxes sit 6 in (15.2 cm) apart, with B strands shifted down 3 in (7.6 cm). Twelve strands spaced 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart make a 38.5 in (97.8 cm) panel. Two border rounds take the tieback from 12 x 2 in (30.5 x 5.1 cm) to 12.8 x 2.8 in (32.5 x 7.1 cm).
Check your first box carefully and stick to the counts, and the whole curtain will hang straight and even.
Happy crocheting!