This curtain is eight slim filet crochet strips hanging side by side. Each strip carries a column of tulips worked as filled blocks against an open mesh grid. Light comes through the mesh and the tulips show up as clean, solid shapes. The strips aren’t sewn together, so they move when you walk through and you can rearrange them any time.
The palette is deep teal and natural cream, with the strips alternating across the rod. Both colors use the same chart. In teal the tulips look graphic and modern, and in cream they’re softer and more vintage.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. Each finished strip is 4.7 in (11.9 cm) wide and 66.7 in (169.4 cm) long, plus a folded hanging tab at the top. Eight strips hung about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) apart cover about 41.1 in (104.4 cm) of rod.
Construction is simple. You work each strip flat in rows of filet mesh from the bottom up. A 16-row tulip repeat runs ten times. Then you add one round of single crochet edging and work one tab into the top edge.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished strip size: 4.7 in x 66.7 in (11.9 cm x 169.4 cm), not counting the tab
- Skill level: Intermediate (easy filet, long and repetitive)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Fingering (#1) mercerized cotton
- Hook: 2.5 mm (US B/1 or C/2)
- Number of pieces: 8 strips (4 teal, 4 cream)
- Layout: 8 strips in one row, not joined, alternating teal and cream
- Piece size before border: 4.4 in x 66.4 in (11.2 cm x 168.7 cm), which is 11 squares x 166 rows
- Border depth: about 0.15 in (0.4 cm) on each side
- Tab: 10 sc x 48 rows, 1.4 in x 6 in (3.6 cm x 15.2 cm), folded into a loop
Materials
Choose a smooth mercerized cotton in fingering weight, about 170 m per 50 g. Mercerized cotton gives crisp mesh and clear blocks, and it hangs straight without stretching. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns, because they blur the tulips and the strips will grow longer over time.
- Teal: 160 g (544 m), enough for 4 strips
- Cream: 160 g (544 m), enough for 4 strips
Each strip uses about 35 g (119 m) including the border and tab. The quantities above include a margin of about 15% for gauge swatches and differences between dye lots. Buy each color from a single dye lot.
Tools:
– 2.5 mm crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– Locking stitch markers
– Measuring tape
– Rust-proof pins and a long blocking surface
– Spray bottle
– Curtain rod up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch = chain
- sc = single crochet
- dc = double crochet
- sk = skip
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- sp = space
- RS / WS = right side / wrong side
Special stitches (filet):
– Sp (open square): ch 2, sk 2 sts or the next ch-2 sp, dc in next dc.
– Bl (block): dc in each of the next 2 sts. Over a ch-2 sp, work 2 dc into the sp. Then dc in the next dc.
Every row begins with ch 3, which counts as the first dc. That dc is the left edge of square 1. After it, each square, whether Sp or Bl, adds exactly 3 sts. A row of 11 squares is therefore 1 + (11 x 3) = 34 sts.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 10 squares x 10 rows = 4 in x 4 in (10.2 cm x 10.2 cm) in filet mesh. Each square is 0.4 in (1.0 cm) wide and 0.4 in (1.0 cm) tall.
Tab gauge: 7 sc and 8 rows = 1 in (2.5 cm).
Finish one complete strip before you start the others. Measure it at these points:
- After Row 1: The width is 4.4 in (11.2 cm).
- After Row 20 (the first tulip): The length is 8 in (20.3 cm).
- After Row 84 (5 tulips): The length is 33.6 in (85.3 cm).
- After Row 166: The strip measures 4.4 in x 66.4 in (11.2 cm x 168.7 cm).
- After the border: The strip measures 4.7 in x 66.7 in (11.9 cm x 169.4 cm).
If your strip is too big: Go down 0.25 mm in hook size, or work your chains more snugly. A strip that’s too long is usually caused by tall dc stitches, so shorten the yarn-over pull-through.
If your strip is too small: Go up 0.25 mm in hook size.
Strips hang side by side, so their lengths must match. A difference of 1 in (2.5 cm) is easy to see at the hem.
Strip Pattern
Make 8 strips: 4 in teal and 4 in cream. Every strip uses the same instructions.
Foundation: Ch 36.
Row 1 (RS, solid row): Dc in 4th ch from hook. The 3 skipped ch count as the first dc. Dc in each remaining ch across. Turn. (34 sts)
Rows 2-4: Ch 3 (counts as dc throughout), 11 Sp, working the last dc into the top of the turning ch. Turn. (34 sts: 12 dc + 11 ch-2 sps)
Tulip Repeat (16 rows)
Each row below lists its squares from edge to edge. Every row is symmetrical, so it reads the same on RS and WS rows. Start every row with ch 3, and end every row with a dc in the top of the turning ch. Each row has 34 sts.
- Repeat Row 1 (gap): 11 Sp.
- Repeat Row 2 (stem): 5 Sp, 1 Bl, 5 Sp.
- Repeat Row 3 (leaf base): 4 Sp, 3 Bl, 4 Sp.
- Repeat Row 4: 3 Sp, 1 Bl, 1 Sp, 1 Bl, 1 Sp, 1 Bl, 3 Sp.
- Repeat Row 5: 2 Sp, 2 Bl, 1 Sp, 1 Bl, 1 Sp, 2 Bl, 2 Sp.
- Repeat Row 6: 1 Sp, 2 Bl, 2 Sp, 1 Bl, 2 Sp, 2 Bl, 1 Sp.
- Repeat Row 7 (leaf tips): 1 Sp, 1 Bl, 3 Sp, 1 Bl, 3 Sp, 1 Bl, 1 Sp.
- Repeat Row 8 (stem): 5 Sp, 1 Bl, 5 Sp.
- Repeat Row 9 (base of cup): 4 Sp, 3 Bl, 4 Sp.
- Repeat Row 10: 3 Sp, 5 Bl, 3 Sp.
- Repeat Rows 11-13 (full cup): 2 Sp, 7 Bl, 2 Sp.
- Repeat Row 14 (petal notches): 2 Sp, 2 Bl, 1 Sp, 1 Bl, 1 Sp, 2 Bl, 2 Sp.
- Repeat Row 15 (petal tips): 2 Sp, 1 Bl, 2 Sp, 1 Bl, 2 Sp, 1 Bl, 2 Sp.
- Repeat Row 16 (gap): 11 Sp.
In every row, the squares add up to 11. The stem stays in square 6 (the center). The leaves step outward one square per row, from squares 5 and 7 out to squares 2 and 10. This makes the angled V-shape. The cup is centered across squares 3-9. Repeat Row 14 opens squares 5 and 7, and Repeat Row 15 also opens squares 4 and 8. This leaves three pointed tips on squares 3, 6, and 9. Repeat Rows 16 and 1 leave a two-row open gap between one tulip and the next stem.
Rows 5-164: Work Repeat Rows 1-16 ten times. That’s 160 rows and 10 tulips.
Row 165: Ch 3, 11 Sp. Turn. (34 sts)
Row 166 (solid row): Ch 3, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, dc in next dc; repeat from * across. (34 sts)* Don’t fasten off.
Strip check: The strip has 166 rows and measures 4.4 in x 66.4 in (11.2 cm x 168.7 cm). Pin it flat and compare it with your gauge before you start the border.
Make All Pieces
| Color | Strips | Yarn per strip | Total used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teal | 4 | 35 g (119 m) | 140 g (476 m) |
| Cream | 4 | 35 g (119 m) | 140 g (476 m) |
Rod layout (left to right, viewed from the room):
[T] [C] [T] [C] [T] [C] [T] [C]
T = teal strip C = cream strip
Weave in the tails on each strip as you finish it, but don’t trim them until after blocking. Keep a tally of rows on each strip so all eight finish at Row 166.
Arrangement (No Joining)
The strips are never sewn or crocheted together. Each one has its own border and its own tab and hangs on its own. You don’t need any stitches between strips and you don’t need any seam math.
Slide the strips onto the rod in the layout order above. Space them about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) apart. Total width is (8 x 4.7 in) + (7 x 0.5 in) = 41.1 in (104.4 cm). For a wider doorway, make more strips in pairs to keep the colors alternating, or increase the spacing to as much as 1 in (2.5 cm).
Border
Border gauge: On the short edges, the border copies the strip’s stitch density: 34 sts across 4.4 in (11.2 cm). On the long edges, you work 2 sc into each dc row-end, so each 0.4 in (1.0 cm) row gets 2 sc. This spacing fills each row-end edge without ruffling, and it doesn’t pull the edge in.
Round 1 (RS): You start at the end of Row 166 with the RS facing. Ch 1. Work 3 sc in the last st of Row 166 (corner). Rotate the strip so the long edge faces you. Work 2 sc around the post of each dc row-end down the long edge. (332 sc)
At the bottom corner, work 3 sc in the first st of Row 1. Sc in each of the next 32 sts along the bottom edge. Work 3 sc in the last st (corner).
Work 2 sc in each row-end up the second long edge. (332 sc)
Work 3 sc in the first st of Row 166 (corner). Sc in each of the next 32 sts along the top edge. Join with a sl st to the first sc. Fasten off.
Count per side, between corner groups:
– Top edge: 32 sc
– Bottom edge: 32 sc
– Each long edge: 332 sc
– Corners: 4 x 3 sc = 12 sc
– Total: 32 + 32 + 332 + 332 + 12 = 740 sc
Why the math works: Each short edge has 34 sts. The 2 end sts each take a 3-sc corner group, and that leaves 32 sts that get 1 sc each. Each long edge has 166 row-ends x 2 sc = 332 sc. The corner groups use only those 2 end sts of each short edge. They don’t use any row-ends, so no stitch is counted twice. The border adds about 0.15 in (0.4 cm) on each side. That gives 4.4 + 0.3 = 4.7 in (11.9 cm) wide and 66.4 + 0.3 = 66.7 in (169.4 cm) long.
Hanging Tab
The top edge has 32 sc between its corner groups. The tab uses the center 10 of them, with 11 sc left on each side (11 + 10 + 11 = 32).
Tab Row 1: With the RS facing, count 11 sc in from either top corner group. Join the yarn with a sc in the 12th sc, then sc in each of the next 9 sc. Turn. (10 sc)
Tab Rows 2-48: Ch 1, sc in each sc across. Turn. (10 sc)
The tab measures 1.4 in x 6 in (3.6 cm x 15.2 cm). Fasten off and leave a 12 in (30.5 cm) tail.
Fold the tab toward the WS. Whipstitch Tab Row 48 to the back of the same 10 border sc, going through the back loops only so the stitching doesn’t show on the front. This makes a loop that fits a rod up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all the tails along the solid rows or inside the blocks. Don’t weave them through open mesh, where they would show.
- Soak each strip in cool water for 15 minutes. Press out the water gently, then roll the strip in a towel.
- Lay the strip flat on a long surface. A clean floor with towels works well.
- Pin the corners first. Set the width to 4.7 in (11.9 cm) and the length to 66.7 in (169.4 cm).
- Pin along both long edges every 4 in (10.2 cm). Keep the grid lines straight and the squares square.
- Use your fingertips to shape the tulip petal tips and leaf points.
- Let the strip dry completely. Then hang it on the rod for 24 hours so the cotton can settle.
- Hang all eight strips next to each other and compare the hems. Re-block any strip that’s off by more than 0.5 in (1.3 cm).
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every row has 34 sts, and every row is exactly 11 squares wide.
- Each strip has 166 rows and 10 tulips.
- Each tulip’s stem lines up in the center square, with nothing drifting left or right.
- Each tulip has three distinct petal tips.
- The leaves are symmetrical on both sides of the stem.
- Each border has 740 sc and flat corners.
- Each tab is centered, with 11 sc on each side of it.
- All eight strips measure 4.7 in x 66.7 in (11.9 cm x 169.4 cm) within 0.5 in (1.3 cm).
- The colors alternate teal and cream, starting with teal on the left.
Troubleshooting
Squares lean or the strip slants: Work every dc into the dc directly below it, and put the last dc of each row into the top of the turning ch.
The tulip looks off-center: Count the squares from the edge again. Repeat Row 2 must have exactly 5 Sp on each side of the stem.
The blocks bulge: Work the 2 dc of a block into the ch-2 sp, not into the chains themselves. Keep the tension even.
The long edges ruffle: You’re working more than 2 sc per row-end. Rip back and keep to exactly 2 sc.
The long edges pull in: Loosen your border tension, or go up one hook size for the border only.
The strips are different lengths: Count the rows on each one. If the rows match, the gauge drifted, so re-block the strip to length.
The tab twists: Make sure you fold it straight to the WS and that the rows line up before you sew it down.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with a mild soap. Then lay each strip flat to dry, or block it again to its original measurements. Don’t wring the strips or hang them wet, because the weight of the water can stretch the mesh.
Final Notes
These measurements build on each other. A gauge of 0.4 in (1.0 cm) per square gives 11 squares = 4.4 in (11.2 cm) wide. 166 rows give 66.4 in (168.7 cm) long. The border adds 0.15 in (0.4 cm) on each side, for a strip of 4.7 in x 66.7 in (11.9 cm x 169.4 cm). Eight strips with 0.5 in (1.3 cm) gaps cover 41.1 in (104.4 cm) of rod. If your first strip matches its checkpoints, the other seven and the full curtain will match too.
Happy crocheting!