There is something rather wonderful about crochet curtains. They soften a window without completely shutting out the light, they can turn the plainest little kitchen window into something special, and — unlike bought curtains — you can make them exactly the size you need.

And yes, crochet curtains can immediately make you think of Grandma’s kitchen. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

With cottagecore, vintage florals, café curtains and handmade home décor all fitting beautifully together, some of these old-fashioned crochet techniques suddenly feel very current again. Make them in crisp white cotton for traditional lace, oatmeal or natural yarn for a modern farmhouse look, or completely ignore tradition and bring out the colourful yarn scraps.

If you’ve never tried filet crochet before, quite a few of these projects are a surprisingly good introduction. Filet crochet generally creates a picture or pattern using combinations of open and filled mesh spaces, usually with chains and double crochet stitches. We have an older Fun With Filet Crochet feature on CraftGossip if you want to familiarize yourself with the technique first.

Big Bold Chevron Curtain

If traditional white lace really isn’t your thing, start here. This curtain from Moogly uses a large open chevron design and contrasting colours, giving it a much more contemporary look.

The original measures approximately 36 inches wide by 26 inches long, but the stitch repeat makes it straightforward to alter the width or simply keep crocheting for a longer curtain. It’s also worked with a 6.5 mm hook, so it should grow considerably faster than a curtain made from tiny crochet thread.

Crochet Flower Lattice Curtain Valance

This is such a pretty option for a kitchen, sunroom or craft room window. Rather than traditional filet squares, the curtain is created from a repeating flower lattice that gives the finished piece a lovely airy drape.

The pattern can be adapted by adding additional flower repeats, making it particularly useful when you’re dealing with one of those awkward windows that never seems to match a standard curtain size. The designer also explains how to crochet loops directly into the piece for hanging it from the curtain rod.

Premier Yarns Café Curtain

This one ticks almost every box for a classic crochet café curtain without becoming overly fussy.

The original design measures about 36 inches wide by 27 inches long and uses a repeating square motif made primarily from chains, double crochet and single crochet. That makes it a nice stepping stone into decorative window crochet if you’ve already mastered the basic stitches but haven’t tackled a large lace project before.

Yawaraka Lace Café Curtain

Now we’re getting properly lacy.

The Yawaraka curtain by Pierrot is constructed from small crochet motifs, with each motif measuring approximately 7.5 cm square when worked to gauge. Because the design is modular, it has that gorgeous heirloom-lace appearance while still giving you some flexibility over the finished dimensions.

Nordic Star Window Valance

I really like this one because it takes the traditional crochet valance and gives it a little colour.

Durable designed the Nordic Star using a colour-changing yarn cake rather than plain white crochet cotton, so the classic lace structure feels much more contemporary. If you’ve been looking at vintage crochet curtain patterns and thinking they’re beautiful but just a little too old-fashioned for your house, this could be the compromise.

Just a Colorful Curtain

Permission granted to raid the yarn stash.

Ioana van Deurzen’s colourful kitchen curtain was made with several colours and has an easy-going handmade feel that I absolutely love. The pattern is adjustable and listed as beginner-to-intermediate, so there’s plenty of scope to change the colours and proportions to suit your own window.

Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Shell Stitch Curtain Panel

Shell stitch is one of those crochet patterns that manages to look decorative without needing a complicated chart.

This free Yarnspirations pattern creates a light, airy curtain panel and is rated easy. I’d particularly like this one for a bedroom or narrow window where you want a proper curtain panel rather than a small decorative valance.

Vintage Café Curtain Pattern #S-487

Sometimes it is worth going right back to the originals.

This genuine vintage café curtain uses repeating groups of double crochet and chain spaces to produce a surprisingly clean geometric fabric. The old pattern also includes guidance for adjusting the curtain size, which makes it far more useful than you might expect from a pattern of its era.

Hairpin Lace Café Curtains

If you’ve never tried hairpin lace, this is probably not the project I’d choose for a relaxed Sunday afternoon with half my attention on the television.

But goodness, it’s pretty.

The vintage design combines crochet with hairpin lace strips to make a curtain measuring approximately 27 by 64 inches. It’s a great choice for an experienced crocheter who wants something genuinely different from ordinary filet crochet.

Crochet Curtain by Jane Green

This is the sort of crochet curtain I’d choose if I wanted the lace to be the star of the room.

Jane Green’s free curtain pattern uses lightweight yarn and a 2.1 mm hook to create an intricate openwork panel. The sample is around 100 x 60 cm, and the designer specifically notes that the design can be adjusted by changing the number of rows and pattern repeats.

Crocheted Curtains by Sue Norrad

Here’s a useful option if the thought of working an entire curtain with microscopic thread has already made your hands ache.

Sue Norrad’s free pattern uses worsted-weight yarn and a 5 mm hook. It’s a mesh-style curtain worked sideways, giving you plenty of handmade texture without requiring the very fine hook and thread associated with traditional lace curtains.

178curtain Café Curtain

This delicate Pierrot café curtain is one for crocheters who are comfortable following charts.

The free pattern is available in English and Japanese and is fully charted using crochet symbols. Worked with a small 2.3 mm hook, it produces exactly that fine, slightly nostalgic crochet-lace look that works beautifully across the lower half of a kitchen or bathroom window.

Mushroom Curtain

And then there’s this little beauty for anyone whose home décor has wandered firmly into woodland cottage territory.

The Mushroom Curtain is a newer filet crochet design featuring mushroom motifs worked into the mesh. The designer includes both instructions and a chart, and the finished curtain has enough open space to allow plenty of light through while the mushrooms remain clearly visible.

Heartstrings Curtain

This design is a lovely example of why filet crochet curtains don’t need to feel dated.

Heart motifs appear through the negative space of the crochet fabric, giving the curtain a romantic look without piling on lots of extra embellishment. I’d use this one in a bedroom, sewing room or even as a small decorative curtain inside a glass-front cabinet.

Ghost Curtain

Of course I had to sneak in a Halloween curtain.

This filet crochet design uses chains and double crochet to create little ghost motifs across the curtain and includes a chart to follow. It’s beginner-friendly as far as filet crochet goes, and I can absolutely see this hanging in a kitchen window throughout October — particularly in a house where Halloween decorating has somehow escaped the front porch and taken over every available surface.

What Yarn Is Best For Crochet Curtains?

For traditional lace curtains, cotton is still hard to beat. Crochet cotton gives beautiful stitch definition, blocks well and has enough structure to allow detailed filet patterns to show clearly.

But you certainly don’t have to use thread.

A lightweight cotton or cotton-blend yarn can create a softer, more modern café curtain, while DK and even worsted yarn can work beautifully for open mesh patterns and chunky valances.

The thing I would avoid is a yarn that stretches dramatically under its own weight. A curtain may look perfect on your blocking mat and then become considerably longer after hanging in the window for a week.

Don’t Skip Blocking

This is one project where blocking really matters.

Filet squares, lace motifs and scalloped edges can look slightly crumpled straight off the hook. Blocking opens those stitches, straightens the edges and allows the actual design to appear.

Measure your window before you begin, make a reasonable-sized swatch, block that swatch, and then measure it again. It’s one of those little extra jobs that feels unnecessary right up until it saves you from crocheting a curtain six inches wider than the window.

And if that still happens?

I’d call it deliberate gathering and carry on.

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