Handmade macramé wall hanging in cream and teal-blue with fan motifs on brass rod.

Seaside Fan Shell Curtain Crochet Pattern

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This airy curtain is made of nine hanging strands of teal fan shells and small cream flowers, all suspended from a neat crocheted header. Sunlight passes between the strands, so it filters light rather than blocking it, and it suits coastal, cottage, or boho rooms.

Each fan opens upward from a small cream ring. Seven teal ribs spread out from that ring, separated by thin cream lines, and a cream picot-loop edge runs around the sides and curved top. Doubled-chain links and six-petal flowers join one fan to the next.

The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished curtain measures 36 in (91.4 cm) wide and 43.1 in (109.5 cm) long, including the header.

You’ll make 72 fans and 81 flowers. The flowers are joined as you go, which builds the strands. Last, you crochet a header band and attach the strands to it while working its final row.

Finished Size and Construction

  • Finished size: 36 in (91.4 cm) wide × 43.1 in (109.5 cm) long
  • Skill level: Intermediate
  • Terminology: US terms
  • Yarn weight: DK (#3) cotton
  • Hook: 3.5 mm (E-4)
  • Number of pieces: 72 fans, 81 flowers, 1 header band
  • Layout: 9 strands, each with 8 fans and 9 flowers
  • Fan size: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide × 3 in (7.6 cm) tall
  • Fan size before edging: 3 in (7.6 cm) wide × 2.75 in (7.0 cm) tall
  • Strand length (before header): 41.5 in (105.4 cm)
  • Header (border) depth: 1.6 in (4.1 cm)

Materials

Use a smooth, mercerized DK cotton of about 2.2 m per gram (roughly 110 m per 50 g). Cotton holds the fan shapes well and doesn’t sag much in a sunny window.

  • Teal: 150 g / 330 m
  • Cream: 300 g / 660 m

These amounts include a margin of about 15%, which covers your gauge swatch and weaving in ends.

Tools:
– 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– Stitch markers
– Scissors
– Rustproof pins and a blocking mat
– 10 curtain rings and a rod at least 38 in (96.5 cm) long
– Tape measure

Abbreviations (US Terms)

  • ch – chain
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • sc – single crochet
  • dc – double crochet
  • sp – space
  • st(s) – stitch(es)
  • RS / WS – right side / wrong side
  • Ldc (long double crochet): Yarn over and insert the hook into the indicated space one row below. Pull the loop up to the height of the current row, then (yarn over, pull through 2 loops) twice. This makes the cream line between the teal ribs.
  • Link petal: In the indicated sc, work (sl st, ch 4, sl st into the target st or loop on the neighboring piece, ch 4, sl st). This makes a doubled chain link about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) long.

Gauge and Checkpoints

Header gauge: 18 sc and 20 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm) in rows of sc.

Before making all 72 fans, make one complete fan and one flower and measure them:

  • Fan ring: 1 in (2.5 cm) across
  • Fan after Row 3: 3 in (7.6 cm) wide × 2.75 in (7.0 cm) tall, measured from the bottom of the ring
  • Fan after edging: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide × 3 in (7.6 cm) tall
  • Flower: 1 in (2.5 cm) across, petal tip to petal tip
  • One repeat (link + flower + link + fan): 5 in (12.7 cm)

If your fan is larger than 3.5 in (8.9 cm), go down half a hook size. If it’s smaller than 3.25 in (8.3 cm), go up half a size. A difference of 0.25 in (0.6 cm) per fan adds up to 2 in (5.1 cm) along a strand of 8 fans, so it’s worth checking now.

Crocheted cream and teal pendant with fan-shaped motif and flower accents hanging from a chain.

Fan Motif (make 72)

Ring (cream):
Ch 5, sl st into the first ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in the ring, sl st to the first sc. (12 sc) Fasten off.

Number the ring sts 1–12. The fan is worked across sts 1–7. Sts 8–12 stay at the bottom, and st 10 is the bottom center.

Row 1 (RS, teal): Join teal in ring st 1. Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the same st, then 2 dc in each of the next 6 sts. Turn. (14 dc)

Row 2 (WS): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the next st. Ch 1, dc in each of the next 2 sts; repeat from * 5 more times. Turn. (14 dc in 7 pairs, 6 ch-1 sps)

Row 3 (RS): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the same st, dc in the next st. Ch 2, skip the ch-1 sp, 2 dc in the next st, dc in the next st; repeat from * 5 more times. (21 dc in 7 groups of 3, 6 ch-2 sps) Fasten off teal.

The 7 groups are the fan’s ribs. Checkpoint: the fan should now be 3 in (7.6 cm) wide.

Row 4 (RS, cream outline): With RS facing, join cream with a sl st in ring st 8.
– Work 6 sc evenly up the row ends of Rows 1–3 (2 sc per row end).
– Across the top: sc in each of the next 3 dc. Working over the ch-2 sp, Ldc into the ch-1 sp of Row 2, then sc in each of the next 3 dc; repeat from * 5 more times.
– Work 6 sc evenly down the opposite row ends, then sl st in ring st 12.

Count: 6 side sts + 27 top sts (21 sc + 6 Ldc) + 6 side sts = 39 sts. Each Ldc makes a cream line between two teal ribs.

Row 5 (picot edge): Ch 1, turn. Sc in the first st. Ch 3, skip the next st, sc in the next st; repeat from * 18 more times. Sl st in ring st 8. Fasten off.

Count: 20 sc and 19 ch-3 loops (1 + 19 × 2 = 39 sts used). Loop 10 sits at the exact top center, above the middle teal rib.

Checkpoint: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide × 3 in (7.6 cm) tall. Weave in the ends and pin the fan flat to these measurements before joining.

Flower Connector (make 81, joined as you go)

Ch 4, sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in the ring, sl st to the first sc. (12 sc)

Rnd 2: (Sl st, ch 3, sl st) in the next sc, sl st in the next sc; repeat from * 5 more times. (6 petals)

Petal 1 is the top petal (worked in sc 1). Petal 4 is the bottom petal (worked in sc 7), directly opposite. When the instructions say so, work a link petal in place of the plain petal. You still end with 6 petals. The flower should measure 1 in (2.5 cm) across.

Make All Pieces

Per strand: 8 fans and 9 flowers.
For the whole curtain: 72 fans (teal and cream) and 81 flowers (cream only).

Layout (H = header, F = flower, S = fan; 9 columns, each repeated top to bottom):

H  H  H  H  H  H  H  H  H
F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F   (Flower 1)
S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S   (Fan 1)
F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F
S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S
...  repeat until Fan 8 ...
S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S  S   (Fan 8)
F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F  F   (Flower 9)

Strands hang 4 in (10.2 cm) apart, center to center. That leaves about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of open space between fans in neighboring strands.

Joining the Strands

Each strand is built by making the flowers last and joining them to the fans as you go. Each flower carries its own links, so you don’t make separate chains.

Logic: Each link runs between one fixed point on a fan and one petal on a flower:
– The flower’s bottom petal links to loop 10 (the top-center picot loop) of the fan below it.
– The flower’s top petal links to ring st 10 (the bottom center) of the fan above it.

Build each strand like this:

  1. Flower 1: Work Rnd 2 with a plain top petal. Work the bottom petal as a link petal into loop 10 of Fan 1.
  2. Flowers 2–8: Work the top petal as a link petal into ring st 10 of the fan above. Work the bottom petal as a link petal into loop 10 of the fan below.
  3. Flower 9: Work the top petal as a link petal into ring st 10 of Fan 8. Leave the bottom petal plain.

Each strand has 16 links: 8 above fans and 8 below fans. The header adds one more link per strand, for 17.

Tension: Count every chain in a link carefully. If one link has an extra ch, that fan will hang lower than its neighbors. Keep both ch-4 sections the same length so the doubled chain lies flat without twisting.

Size checkpoint: Lay the strand flat without stretching it.
– Links: 17 × 0.5 in (1.3 cm) = 8.5 in (21.6 cm)
– Flowers: 9 × 1 in (2.5 cm) = 9 in (22.9 cm)
– Fans: 8 × 3 in (7.6 cm) = 24 in (61.0 cm)
– Total: 41.5 in (105.4 cm)

Border: Header Band

The header acts as the curtain’s border. Its stitch count comes straight from the strand spacing.

Header gauge: 18 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm), which equals one strand section.
9 strands × 18 sts per section = 162 sts.
162 sts ÷ 4.5 sts per in = 36 in (91.4 cm).

Foundation: With cream, ch 163.

Row 1: Sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across. Turn. (162 sc)

Rows 2–6: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn. (162 sc per row)

Row 7 (top edge, ring tabs): Ch 1. Sc in each st across. On st 1 and on every 18th st (sts 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126, 144, 162), work the sc and then ch 10 and sl st into the top of the sc just made. (162 sc, 10 tab loops) Fasten off.

Each tab loop measures about 1.25 in (3.2 cm), and the tabs sit about 4 in (10.2 cm) apart.

Row 8 (bottom edge, strand attachment): With RS facing, join cream in the first loop on the opposite side of the foundation chain. Ch 1. Sc in each foundation loop across. On sts 9, 27, 45, 63, 81, 99, 117, 135, and 153 (the center of each 18-st section), work the sc and then ch 4, sl st into the top petal of Flower 1 of the next strand, ch 4, and sl st into the top of the sc just made. (162 sc, 9 links) Fasten off.

Why the math works:
– The header has 8 rows. At 20 rows per 4 in (10.2 cm), 8 rows = 1.6 in (4.1 cm).
– Each strand hangs at the center of its own 18-st section. That leaves about 2 in (5.1 cm) at each outer edge and exactly 4 in (10.2 cm) between strands.
– Strand 41.5 in (105.4 cm) + header 1.6 in (4.1 cm) = 43.1 in (109.5 cm).

Final Blocking

  1. Wet-block the header. Soak it, press out the water in a towel, and pin it to 36 in × 1.6 in (91.4 cm × 4.1 cm).
  2. Lay the strands below the header on a large mat or bed. Space them 4 in (10.2 cm) apart, center to center.
  3. Mist each fan. Pin it to 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide, with one pin in each picot loop along the curved top.
  4. Pin each flower’s petals out to 1 in (2.5 cm).
  5. Straighten each strand so all Fan 1s line up across the curtain, then all Fan 2s, and so on.
  6. Let everything dry completely before unpinning.
  7. Slide the rings through the tab loops and hang the curtain.

Final Quality-Control Checklist

  • [ ] All 72 fans measure 3.5 in × 3 in (8.9 cm × 7.6 cm)
  • [ ] Each fan has 7 teal ribs, 6 cream Ldc lines, and 19 picot loops
  • [ ] Each flower has 6 petals and measures 1 in (2.5 cm)
  • [ ] Each strand measures 41.5 in (105.4 cm)
  • [ ] The header has 162 sts, 10 tabs, and 9 strand links
  • [ ] The header measures 36 in × 1.6 in (91.4 cm × 4.1 cm)
  • [ ] Matching fans line up horizontally across all 9 strands
  • [ ] All ends are woven in securely

Troubleshooting

  • Fan cups instead of lying flat: Row 4 is too tight. Work the Ldc sts looser, or go up half a hook size for the edging only.
  • Fan ruffles: Check Row 3. It should have exactly 21 dc, with 3 dc per rib.
  • Ribs look uneven: Make sure Row 2 has a ch-1 between every pair, 6 ch-1 sps in total.
  • Picot loops are off-center: Recount Row 4. It must have exactly 39 sts so that loop 10 sits at the top center.
  • Strands are different lengths: Recount the chains in each link. Every section should have exactly 4 ch.
  • Header is too wide: Your sc gauge is loose. Remake the header with a 3.25 mm hook, keeping the 162-st count.
  • Fans twist sideways: Check that the link joins ring st 10, not st 9 or 11.

Care

Hand wash in cool water with mild soap. Roll in a towel to remove water, then dry flat, reshaping and pinning the fans as in blocking.

Crocheted window panel with teal fan-shaped shells and cream cords hanging from a brass rod above potted plants.

Final Notes

The measurements build on each other:
– A 1 in (2.5 cm) ring grows into a 3 in (7.6 cm) fan after Row 3, then into a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) fan after edging.
– Each fan, flower, and pair of links makes a 5 in (12.7 cm) repeat.
– Eight repeats plus the final link and flower make a 41.5 in (105.4 cm) strand.
– Nine strands of 18 header sts each make 162 sts, or 36 in (91.4 cm).
– The 1.6 in (4.1 cm) header brings the full length to 43.1 in (109.5 cm).

Check each stage before moving to the next, and the curtain will hang straight in your window.

Happy crocheting!

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