The Sage Vine Lace Curtain Panel is a tall, airy curtain in soft sage green cotton. Each panel is made of five vertical lace strips. Every strip carries a climbing vine of raised leaves up its center, framed by open filet ladders, and a scalloped shell border runs all the way around.
The look is botanical and calm. Light filters through the mesh while the textured leaves add depth. Everything is worked in one color, so texture does all the work.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. One finished panel measures 32 in x 82 in (81.3 cm x 208.3 cm) after blocking. Make two panels for a pair, as shown.
You crochet five mesh strips in rows, make a slip-stitch stem and 52 leaves for each strip, and sew the vine down each strip’s center. Then you join the strips side by side and finish with a two-round shell border.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished panel size: 32 in x 82 in (81.3 cm x 208.3 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: DK / light worsted cotton (CYC 3)
- Hook: 4 mm (US G-6)
- Number of pieces per panel: 5 mesh strips, 5 vine stems, 260 leaves
- Layout: 5 strips side by side (5 across x 1 tall)
- Strip size: 6 in x 80 in (15.2 cm x 203.2 cm)
- Size before border: 30 in x 80 in (76.2 cm x 203.2 cm)
- Border depth: 1 in (2.5 cm) on every side
Materials
Choose a smooth cotton or cotton blend in DK weight. Cotton holds the leaf shapes crisply and hangs straight. Avoid fuzzy or stretchy yarns, which blur the mesh and lengthen over time.
Yarn (one color, sage green):
- One panel: about 650 g / 1430 m (thirteen 50 g balls of about 110 m each)
- A pair of panels: about 1300 g / 2860 m
Quantities include a margin of about 15 percent for gauge differences and sewing tails. Buy all yarn from one dye lot.
Tools:
- 4 mm (US G-6) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Locking stitch markers (at least 20)
- Rust-proof pins and blocking mats
- Measuring tape and scissors
- Curtain clip rings, about 12 per panel
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- tr – treble crochet
- sk – skip
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
- beg – beginning
- tch – turning chain
Special stitch – Shell: 5 dc worked into the same stitch or space.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Strip gauge: 18 sts and 9 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm) in the mesh pattern, counting each dc and each ch-1 space as one stitch. That is 4.5 sts and 2.25 rows per inch.
Stem gauge: 6 sl sts = 1 in (2.5 cm).
Test before committing: work Rows 1–20 of one strip, one leaf, and 30 sl sts of stem, then measure.
Checkpoints:
- After Row 2: strip is 6 in (15.2 cm) wide.
- One leaf: 2.5 in x 1.25 in (6.4 cm x 3.2 cm).
- After 45 rows: 20 in (50.8 cm) long.
- After 90 rows: 40 in (101.6 cm).
- After 135 rows: 60 in (152.4 cm).
- Finished strip (180 rows): 80 in (203.2 cm).
- Finished stem: 78 in (198.1 cm).
Too big? Go down to a 3.75 mm hook. Too small? Go up to 4.5 mm. Fix width first, because five strips multiply any error: 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on one strip becomes 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across the panel.
Mesh Strip (make 5)
Worked in rows from the bottom up. Each row has 27 sts: a 5-st ladder at each edge and a 17-st filet mesh in the center.
Foundation: Ch 29.
Row 1 (RS): Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across, turn. (27 sts; skipped 3 ch count as first dc.)
Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc throughout), dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next 2 sts; [ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st] 8 times; ch 1, sk next st, dc in next 2 sts, ch 1, sk next st, dc in last 2 sts, turn. (27 sts: 16 dc + 11 ch-1 sps.)
The layout of each row:
- Sts 1–5: dc, dc, ch-1 sp, dc, dc (ladder)
- Sts 6–22: 9 ch-1 sps alternating with 8 dc (center mesh)
- Sts 23–27: dc, dc, ch-1 sp, dc, dc (ladder)
Row 3: Ch 3, dc in next dc, ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, dc in next 2 dc; [ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, dc in next dc] 8 times; ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, dc in next 2 dc, ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, dc in next dc, dc in top of tch, turn. (27 sts: 16 dc + 11 ch-1 sps.)
Rows 4–179: Repeat Row 3. Each dc stacks on a dc, forming straight vertical ladder columns. (27 sts every row.)
Row 180 (solid top): Ch 3, dc in each dc and each ch-1 sp across. (27 sts = 16 dc into dc + 11 dc into ch-1 sps.)
Fasten off and weave in. Strip measures 6 in x 80 in (15.2 cm x 203.2 cm).
Vine Stem (make 5)
Foundation: Ch 469.
Row 1: Sl st in back bump of 2nd ch from hook and each ch across. (468 sl sts.)
Fasten off, leaving a 24 in (61.0 cm) tail. Keep sl sts loose; the stem should measure 78 in (198.1 cm) when lightly stretched.
Leaf (make 52 per strip, 260 per panel)
Each leaf is worked around both sides of a chain, which becomes the center vein.
Foundation: Ch 11. The first ch made (ch 1) is the base; the last ch made (ch 11) is the tip.
Side 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook (ch 10), hdc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, tr in next 3 ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, 3 sc in last ch (base). (12 sts.)
Side 2: Rotate; working in the free loops on the other side, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, tr in next 3 ch, dc in next 2 ch, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch (ch 10). (9 sts.)
Tip: (Sc, ch 2, sc) in the skipped tip ch, sl st in first sc. (23 sts + 1 ch-2 point.)
Fasten off with an 8 in (20.3 cm) tail. The mirrored sides give a leaf that is widest in the middle with a sharp point.
Assembling the Vine on Each Strip
- Lay one strip RS up. Its center is st 14, the middle ch-1 sp column.
- Pin the stem up that column, starting 1 in (2.5 cm) above the bottom edge and ending 1 in (2.5 cm) below the top. The 78 in stem fits the 80 in strip exactly.
- Sew the stem down through its back loops with small running stitches.
- Mark leaf positions at sl st 5, then every 9th sl st (5, 14, 23 … 464): 52 positions, one every 1.5 in (3.8 cm).
- Sew a leaf at each mark, alternating left and right, base touching the stem and tip angled up and out at about 35 degrees. Each side gets 26 leaves spaced 3 in (7.6 cm) apart.
- Tack each leaf at base and tip so it lies flat but stays raised in the middle.
Make All Pieces
For one panel, all in sage green:
- 5 mesh strips (180 rows each)
- 5 vine stems (468 sl sts each)
- 260 leaves (52 per strip)
Layout (RS facing, Row 180 at top):
+------+------+------+------+------+
| S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 |
| vine | vine | vine | vine | vine |
| 6" | 6" | 6" | 6" | 6" |
+------+------+------+------+------+
80 in tall (203.2 cm)
Joining
Method: Slip-stitch seam on the WS through the row ends.
- Hold Strips 1 and 2 WS together, rows matched. Clip every 10 rows.
- Join yarn at the bottom corner through both layers.
- Work 2 sl sts around each matched pair of edge posts: 180 row ends x 2 = 360 sl sts per seam.
- Fasten off. Repeat for Strips 2/3, 3/4 and 4/5 (4 seams).
Stitch logic: 2 sl sts per dc row end matches the row gauge, so the seam neither shortens nor ripples the strips.
Tension: Keep the sl sts as loose as the fabric. If a seam is tighter than the strips when pulled lengthwise, rework it with a 4.5 mm hook.
Size checkpoint: The joined panel measures 30 in x 80 in (76.2 cm x 203.2 cm). Neighboring ladder edges now form double openwork columns between the vines.
Border
Border gauge: Round 1 is worked at 4.5 sc per inch and adds 0.25 in (0.6 cm). Round 2 adds 0.75 in (1.9 cm). Total depth: 1 in (2.5 cm) per side.
Round 1 (conversion round): With RS facing, join with sc in the first st of Row 180 on Strip 1.
- Top edge: sc in each of the 27 sts of every strip, plus 1 sc in each of the 4 seams. (135 + 4 = 139 sc.) Ch 2.
- Long side: 2 sc in each of the 180 row ends, plus 1 extra sc in the Row 90 row end. (360 + 1 = 361 sc.) Ch 2.
- Bottom edge: in the foundation ch loops, sc in each of the 27 sts of every strip plus 1 sc in each seam. (135 + 4 = 139 sc.) Ch 2.
- Second long side: As the first. (361 sc.) Ch 2, sl st in first sc.
Round 1 total: 1000 sc + 4 corner ch-2 sps. Corner sts are already inside the side counts; the ch-2 sps are separate.
Round 2 (shell round): Sl st in the last corner ch-2 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 4 dc in same sp (corner shell).
- Top edge: sc in first sc; [sk 2 sc, shell in next sc, sk 2 sc, sc in next sc] 23 times. (23 shells + 24 sc = 139 sts.) Shell in corner sp.
- Long side: sc in first sc; [sk 2 sc, shell in next sc, sk 2 sc, sc in next sc] 60 times. (60 shells + 61 sc = 361 sts.) Shell in corner sp.
- Bottom edge: as top edge. Shell in corner sp.
- Second long side: as first long side. Sl st in top of beg ch-3.
Round 2 total: 166 side shells + 4 corner shells = 170 shells. Fasten off.
Why the math works: Each shell repeat uses 6 sts and each side starts and ends with a sc, so every side count must be a multiple of 6 plus 1: 139 = (6 x 23) + 1 and 361 = (6 x 60) + 1. The 4 seam sc and 1 extra long-side sc exist only to hit these numbers. On the long sides, 361 sc over 80 in is 4.5 sc per inch, an exact gauge match. On the short sides, 4 extra sts across 30 in add under 1 in (2.5 cm) of ease, which the seams absorb and blocking flattens.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all remaining tails.
- Soak the panel in cool water for 15 minutes.
- Roll in towels and press out water. Do not wring.
- Lay flat, RS up, on mats or a sheet-covered carpet.
- Pin the corners to 32 in x 82 in (81.3 cm x 208.3 cm).
- Pin the sides every 6 in (15.2 cm), keeping ladder columns straight.
- Pin each shell point so the scallops open evenly.
- Shape each leaf flat with a defined point.
- Dry completely, 24–48 hours.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Panel is 32 in x 82 in (81.3 cm x 208.3 cm).
- All 5 strips have 180 rows of 27 sts.
- Ladder columns run straight and parallel.
- Each vine is centered with 52 alternating leaves.
- Stems end 1 in (2.5 cm) from top and bottom edges.
- All 4 seams lie flat.
- Border: 23 shells per short side, 60 per long side, plus 4 corner shells.
- No tails show on the RS.
Troubleshooting
- Strip slants: you are losing or adding sts at row ends. Count 27 every 10 rows.
- Ladders zigzag: work each dc into the dc below, not into the ch-1 sp.
- Stem too short: use a larger hook for the stem.
- Leaves curl: steam flat before sewing and tack each tip.
- Seams pucker: loosen up or go up a hook size for joining.
- Border ruffles or cups: recount Round 1 to 139 and 361.
- Panel stretches when hung: re-block and add more clips.
Care
Hand wash in cool water and dry flat, re-pinning to size if needed. Hang with clip rings on every other top shell to spread the weight evenly.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is simple. A gauge of 4.5 sts per inch gives a 6 in (15.2 cm) strip, and five strips give 30 in (76.2 cm). At 2.25 rows per inch, 180 rows give 80 in (203.2 cm). A 1 in (2.5 cm) border brings the panel to 32 in x 82 in (81.3 cm x 208.3 cm). Check each link in order and your panel will hang straight and true.
Happy crocheting!