The Terracotta Arcade Curtain Panel is a floor-length openwork curtain made of stacked arches. Each arch frames a tall window with a rounded top, wrapped in a fan of radiating spokes and a solid outer ring. Narrow bands of filet squares and solid stitches separate the tiers, so the panel looks like a row of sunlit little doorways.
The whole panel uses one warm terracotta cotton. With a single color, the texture does the work: light comes through the windows and mesh, and the solid bands give the curtain enough weight to hang straight.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. One finished panel measures 41.25 in (104.8 cm) wide by 83.75 in (212.7 cm) long after the border and blocking. Most windows need a pair, so the yarn amounts are given for one panel and for two.
Each panel is one piece, worked flat in rows from the bottom up. An 8-row tier makes one band of arches. You work that tier 19 times, add a short top band and finish with a 2-round single crochet border. The panels hang separately, so there is no joining.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size (one panel): 41.25 in x 83.75 in (104.8 cm x 212.7 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4) cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 2 identical panels, each worked as 1 piece (not joined)
- Layout: 10 arches across x 19 tiers tall per panel
- Arch repeat size: 4 in (10.2 cm) wide x 4.25 in (10.8 cm) tall
- Size before border: 40.25 in x 82.75 in (102.2 cm x 210.2 cm)
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) on every edge
Materials
Yarn: Use a worsted-weight cotton or cotton-linen blend with about 190 m per 100 g. Cotton gives crisp arches and doesn’t stretch much over a long drop. Avoid pure acrylic, which tends to sag.
- Terracotta, one panel: 1,600 g (about 3,040 m)
- Terracotta, pair of panels: 3,200 g (about 6,080 m)
These quantities include about a 10 percent margin for the test piece, the border and dye-lot safety. Buy all the yarn for both panels from the same dye lot.
Tools:
- 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- 4 stitch markers
- Measuring tape
- Blocking mats or towels, and rust-proof pins
- Spray bottle
- 11 curtain clip rings per panel (22 for a pair)
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch = chain
- sk = skip
- sl st = slip stitch
- sc = single crochet
- dc = double crochet
- tr = treble crochet
- sp = space
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- RS = right side
Special technique: gathered fan. In Row 5, you work the fan into the Row 4 ch-5 space. Insert your hook under the Row 4 ch-5 and the Row 3 ch-5 together, so each stitch bundles both chains. This lifts both chains to the top and leaves a clean, tall opening below them: the window.
Counting rule: Turning chains count as stitches (ch 3 = 1 dc, ch 4 = 1 tr). Each chain made over a skipped stitch counts as 1 stitch. Every row of the panel has 161 sts.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 16 dc and 8 dc rows = 4 in (10.2 cm). At this gauge, a dc row is 0.5 in (1.3 cm) tall, a tr row is 0.75 in (1.9 cm) and an sc row is 0.25 in (0.6 cm).
Make a test piece first. Ch 35. Dc in the 4th ch from hook and in each ch across: 33 sts. Work Rows 1–8 once. In each row, work the part between asterisks only once instead of repeating it, then finish the row as written.
Test-piece checkpoints:
- Foundation row: 33 sts, 8.25 in (21.0 cm) wide
- After Row 4: 2 windows, each 1.25 in (3.2 cm) wide x 1.5 in (3.8 cm) tall
- After Row 8: 4.75 in (12.1 cm) tall
If it’s too big, go down 0.5 mm in hook size. If it’s too small, go up 0.5 mm. If the width is right but the height is off, check your tr stitches first. Tall stitches change height the most.
Panel checkpoints:
- Foundation row: 40.25 in (102.2 cm) wide
- After 5 tiers: 21.75 in (55.2 cm) long
- After 10 tiers: 43 in (109.2 cm) long
- After 19 tiers: 81.25 in (206.4 cm) long
- After the top band: 82.75 in (210.2 cm) long
Always measure with the work lying flat and relaxed, never hanging. Cotton stretches under its own weight.
Panel Pattern
Foundation
Ch 163.
Foundation row (RS): Dc in the 4th ch from hook (the skipped 3 ch count as 1 dc) and in each ch across. Turn. (161 sts)
That is 10 repeats of 16 sts, plus 1 st to balance the edges.
The Arch Tier (Rows 1–8)
Row 1 (mesh band): Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), sk next st, dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st; repeat from * to * across, working the last dc in the top of the turning ch. Turn. (81 dc + 80 ch-1 sps = 161 sts)
Row 2 (solid band): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each ch-1 sp and each dc across, ending in the 3rd ch of the turning ch-4. Turn. (161 sts)
Row 3 (window, part 1): Ch 4 (counts as tr), tr in next 5 sts, ch 5, sk 5 sts, tr in next 11 sts; repeat from * to * 8 more times, ch 5, sk 5 sts, tr in last 6 sts. Turn. (6 + 9 x 16 + 5 + 6 = 161 sts)
Each repeat now has a 5-st window gap and an 11-st wall. Each outer edge is 6 sts, about half a wall.
Row 4 (window, part 2): Ch 4 (counts as tr), tr in next 5 tr, ch 5, sk the ch-5 sp (do not work into it), tr in next 11 tr; repeat from * to * 8 more times, ch 5, sk the ch-5 sp, tr in last 6 sts. Turn. (161 sts)
The Row 3 chain will hang loose behind the Row 4 chain. That’s expected.
Row 5 (gathered fan): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 3 tr, sk 2 tr, gathered fan into the Row 4 ch-5 sp and around the Row 3 ch-5: (dc, ch 1) 4 times, dc; sk 2 tr, dc in next 7 tr, sk 2 tr; repeat from * to * 8 more times, gathered fan in the last window, sk 2 tr, dc in last 4 sts. Turn. (4 + 9 x (9 + 7) + 9 + 4 = 161 sts)
Each fan is 9 sts (5 dc + 4 ch), which is 4 more than the 5-st window. Skipping 2 sts on each side of each wall takes those 4 back. The row stays at 161 sts, and the fan spreads into a rounded arch top.
Row 6 (spoke ring): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next dc, sk 2 dc, dc in first dc of fan, (ch 2, dc in next dc of fan) 4 times, sk 2 dc, dc in next 3 dc, sk 2 dc; repeat from * to * 8 more times. For the last fan: dc in first dc, (ch 2, dc in next dc) 4 times, sk 2 dc, dc in last 2 sts. Turn. (2 + 9 x (13 + 3) + 13 + 2 = 161 sts)
Each spoke ring is 5 dc + 4 ch-2 sps = 13 sts. Its 5 dc sit over the fan’s 5 dc, which gives the radiating spokes. The walls narrow from 7 dc to 3 dc.
Row 7 (solid outer ring): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each dc and 2 dc in each ch-2 sp across. Turn. (161 sts)
Each spoke ring becomes 5 + (4 x 2) = 13 dc. The walls and edges keep the same counts as before.
Row 8 (sc band): Ch 1 (does not count), sc in each st across. Turn. (161 sts)
One tier is 4.25 in (10.8 cm) tall: 5 dc rows at 0.5 in, plus 2 tr rows at 0.75 in, plus 1 sc row at 0.25 in.
Repeat the Tiers
Work Rows 1–8 a total of 19 times. Each new window sits directly above the window in the tier below, so the arches stack in straight columns.
Top Band
Row T1: Work as Row 1. (161 sts)
Rows T2–T3: Work as Row 2. (161 sts)
Don’t fasten off. The panel now has 156 rows (1 foundation row + 152 tier rows + 3 top-band rows) and measures 40.25 in x 82.75 in (102.2 cm x 210.2 cm). The solid top band gives the clip rings a firm edge to grip.
Make Both Panels
Make 2 identical panels, using 1,600 g of terracotta for each. Check both against the same checkpoints so the arch tiers line up when the curtains hang side by side.
The panels are not joined. Rod layout:
| Panel 1 (10 x 19 arches) | window opening | Panel 2 (10 x 19 arches) |
Border
Border gauge: 16 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm), or 4 sc per inch.
Rnd 1: With the RS facing and the last loop of Row T3 still on your hook, ch 1. Work 3 sc in the first st (corner), sc in next 159 sts, 3 sc in the last st (corner).
Next, work down the side into the row ends. Work 2 sc in each dc row end, 3 sc in each tr row end and 1 sc in each sc row end. The only exceptions are the row ends of Row T3 and the foundation row: work just 1 sc in each of those, because the corner group covers the rest.
Work 3 sc in the first free loop of the foundation chain (corner), sc in next 159 loops, 3 sc in the last loop (corner). Work up the second side to match the first. Join with sl st to the first sc.
Side check: Each tier gives 17 sc (5 x 2 + 2 x 3 + 1). That’s 19 tiers x 17 = 323 sc. The 4 dc rows outside the tiers would give 8 sc, minus 2 for the corners, so they give 6. That makes 329 sc per side.
Rnd 1 counts: Place a marker in the center sc of each corner. Between markers, the top and bottom each have 161 sts (159 + 1 at each end). Each long side has 331 sts (329 + 1 at each end). Total: 2 x 161 + 2 x 331 + 4 = 988 sts.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, with 3 sc in each marked corner center. Join with sl st. Fasten off.
Rnd 2 counts: Top and bottom, 163 sts each. Long sides, 333 sts each. Total: 2 x 163 + 2 x 333 + 4 = 996 sts.
Why the math works: The top edge in Rnd 2 is 163 sts + 2 corner centers = 165 sts. At 4 sc per inch, that’s 41.25 in (104.8 cm): the 40.25 in body plus 0.5 in of border at each side. Each long side is 333 + 2 = 335 sts, or 83.75 in (212.7 cm): the 82.75 in body plus 0.5 in at the top and bottom. Because the border counts match the body measurements, the border lies flat.
Final Blocking
- Weave in the ends inside the solid bands, where they won’t show through the windows.
- Soak the panel in cool water for 15 minutes. Press the water out gently, without wringing.
- Roll the panel in towels to remove extra moisture.
- Lay it flat and shape it to 41.25 in x 83.75 in (104.8 cm x 212.7 cm).
- Pin the corners first, then the middle of each edge, then every 4 in (10.2 cm) along all sides.
- Straighten the spokes and round each arch top with your fingers.
- Let it dry completely flat, which takes 24–48 hours. Block the second panel to the same size.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every row has 161 sts.
- There are 19 tiers with 10 open windows each.
- In every window, both chain loops are bundled into the fan above.
- The windows line up in straight columns.
- Rnd 2 of the border has 996 sts.
- Blocked size is 41.25 in x 83.75 in (104.8 cm x 212.7 cm).
- The two panels are within 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of each other in length.
Troubleshooting
Windows drift sideways: A row has the wrong count. Rip back to that row and fix it.
A chain sags inside a window: The fan caught only one chain. Rework Row 5 for that arch, catching both chains.
Fans ruffle: Your fan stitches are looser than your wall stitches. Work the fans more snugly, or use a hook 0.5 mm smaller for Row 5.
Panel pulls in at the walls: Check that you skipped exactly 2 sts beside each wall in Rows 5 and 6.
Border ripples or cups: Count the side again. It should have 329 sc in Rnd 1.
Care
Hand wash, or machine wash cold on a gentle cycle inside a mesh bag. Reshape and dry flat. Never hang a wet panel, because the water weight will stretch it.
Final Notes
Here’s how the measurements build. At gauge, 16 sts = 4 in (10.2 cm), so 161 sts gives 40.25 in (102.2 cm). Each tier is 4.25 in (10.8 cm), and 19 tiers plus the foundation row and top band give 82.75 in (210.2 cm). The 2-round border adds 0.5 in (1.3 cm) on every edge, for a finished panel of 41.25 in x 83.75 in (104.8 cm x 212.7 cm).
To hang a panel, attach 11 clip rings: one at each top corner and one above each wall between arches, about 4 in (10.2 cm) apart.
Happy crocheting!