This is a fun project that creates a chunky, stretchy, loose lace perfect for letting sunlight come streaming into your craft room. I used Red Heart Super Saver and large needles, breaking all the “rules” for creating fine lace.

For those who don’t usually use acrylic yarn, this may be a challenge because you’ll be tempted to block, block, block. Don’t bother, except for the feather and fan trim. That’s right: just block the edge of the curtain. And that might be in vain. Of course, you could use real wool and block it perfectly into place.

Also, this pattern is “custom” for my odd-ball windows (52” rod width x 30 ½”). If your window size allows, use the pattern as-is. I suspect, though, that you’ll need to custom-fit the pattern. Remember: the fabric is stretchy and can be made to hang flat against a window (like a flat panel) or gathered like a normal curtain (which are usually far larger in width than the windows they cover). If you customize the math for your own windows, you’ll need these numbers:

Feather & Fan Trim: 17 stitch repeat

ZigZag Eyelet: 11 stitch repeat + 2 stitches

Garter Stitch edges: I used 4 stitches on each side, but you can adjust this number of stitches to make the other 2 pattern repeats work for your total number of cast on stitches. The Garter Stitch edge is not used on the Feather & Fan Trim.

You can also use a different lace pattern. I found the ZigZag Eyelet pattern in Barbara G. Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (1968) on p. 169. Just remember to knit your gauge swatch and crunch the pattern numbers accordingly.

As always, read through the pattern before beginning. Enjoy!

NOTE: When you begin to create the curtain rod cover by “picking up” the stitches on the WS (in the pattern), do not “pick up and knit” these stitches. You only need to pick up one leg of each of the loops. Use a smaller needle to make this easier.