Sunday, August 18, 2013

Crocheted Curtains





 
MATERIALS:
Yarn - 4 ply worsted weight Hook - 5.00mm or H hook




Abbreviations used:
st - stitch
ch - chain
dc - double crochet


This pattern will take some work on your part to determine the size, as there are many different sizes of windows. 
 
Note: These curtains are worked lengthwise, from side to side, they are are not worked from the bottom up or top down. 

First you must do a small piece to determine your gauge. Here is a suggestion on how to do that. Chain 14, then make 1 dc in the fourth chain from your hook (this counts as the first dc), 1 dc in each of the next 9 chains. Do a few row of 10 dc. Measure the length of your 10 dc row. Remember, length means from the first dc to the last dc of the row as these curtains are worked lenghtwise. 

Then measure the length of your window. Take the length of your window and divide it by the length of your 10 dc row. Take that number and multiply it by 10 (which is the number of dc you had in your sample piece) to get the the number of dc you need for your curtains. 

You can use any number of dc for a sample piece, I used 10 dc as an example only. If you used 5 dc and it measured 2 inches and the length of your window is 40 inches. You would divide 40 inches by 2 inches to get 20, then multiply 20 by 5 dc which tells you that you need 100 dc. 

Now you know how many stitches you need for each row. But you need to add 1 more as it needs to end on an uneven number to make the edges works out right. Then you need to add 3 more for the starting chain which counts as the first dc. So take the number you got above and add 4 more to that, this is the number of stitches you need for your starting chain. 

For my curtains, I started with ch 171. But this may not work for you as your window may be a different size (the width of the window that I made these curtains for was 37 inches from the top of the trim to the bottom of the trim and I extended the curtain width a few inches below the bottom trim board) and your gauge may be different than mine, as you may crochet tighter or looser than I do. So it is best to check your gauge before beginning. 

First row: 1 dc in the fourth chain from hook (this counts as first dc). 1 dc in each ch to end of row, turn.
 
Rows 2 to 7: Ch 2 (counts as first dc, here I experimented with ch 2 and ch 3, but the ch 2 looked better. Just don't do it too tightly). 1 dc in next 3 sts, ch 1, skip next st, *1 dc in next st. ch 1, skip next st*, repeat from * to * to the last 4 stitches, 1 dc in the last 4 stitches, turn. This gives your curtains a "mesh" look.
 
Row 8: 1 dc in each st to end of row, turn.
Repeat 7 rows of "mesh" and 1 row of all dc until the desired width.
 
Hanging your curtains. If you have the round type curtain rod, you can weave the rod through the top meshes of the curtains below the 4 dc on each row. If you don't have the round type rod, add more to the length of your curtains so you can fold them over at the top and sew to make the sleeve for the curtain rod to slip through.


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