Knitted curtain tiebacks

November 21, 2020

I wanted curtain tiebacks that were functional for my curtains hung inside window frames, but unfortuantely, the current trends are designed around curtains mounted outside window frames with large, bulky metal tiebacks - not so great for my craftsman framed windows in tiny NYC rooms!

Knitting curtain tiebacks ended up being the perfect solution:

A cream colored curtain with a coral arches pattern is held back by a small knitted strip made of grey and white yarn that's looped onto a cup hook that's screwed into the inside of the window frame.

Here's what they look like lying flat instead of holding the curtain back:

Two curtain ties lie flat on the table - each is finished with a small loop at both ends.

Pattern

I used a worsted yarn that's on the thinner side of worsted and US 2 - 2.75 mm needles, but this project is flexible and can be made with a variety of yarns with a needle that makes a stitch size you like. I usually recommend swatching for projects, but it's not necessary in this one since you're just knitting until you reach your desired length and the width is flexible.

Make a provisional cast on of 8 stitches with scrap yarn. I prefer to create this provisional cast on by casting on 8 stitches on a straight or circular needle and then working them in double knit i-cord (directions in the next step) for a few rows.

The curtain ties begin with a provisional cast on - I used some denim blue wool scrap yarn.

The bulk of the curtain ties are made up of double knit i-cord worked over 8 stitches:

  1. K1, slip purl wise wyif, to end of row, repeat
  2. Repeat step 1 until you reach your desired length.

Finish each end as follows:

  1. Pull yarn through the stitches twice.
  2. Make a small loop from current end to other side and pull back to start of loop through half the stitches.
  3. Repeat, but twist the yarn through the previous loop to make a single 2-ply loop and pull back through the other half of the stitches.
  4. Pull yarn through last row of stitches again.
  5. Knot off and weave in the end.

Each end has a small two-ply twisted rope loop.

I screwed in a very small cup hook inside the window frame to loop the curtain tie to when it was wrapped around the curtain.

Additional project notes

  • Needle: US 2 - 2.75 mm
  • Gauge: While I usually make gauge swatches, I didn't bother making one for this project.
  • Yarn used: 0.2 skeins (~32 yards) of Purl Soho Lantern in Platinum Gray, a worsted white cotton wrapped in a thin silvery grey linen

I've also documented these modifications and my other project notes for these curtain ties on Ravelry, but I'm attempting to document projects in a location where viewers don't need to create an account to see them and on a platform I have full control over, too, in case Ravelry ever disappears. Plus, as always, I'm just not very good at keeping external sites updated and am always trying to blog more.