1. Create a Seamless Repeat from a Drawing
We’re putting the tools into your own hands (professional, aspiring or otherwise) with a simple step-by-step tutorial that shows one way to create your very own seamless repeat design, no fancy editing software required!
2. Create a Seamless Repeat on Your iPad with Pixelmator
This design tool will be your one-stop-shop for creating, editing and enhancing your images. You can choose to create your repeat elements directly in Pixelmator or use an app like Procreate or Adobe Sketch and then use Pixelmator to build the repeat pattern. Spoonflower designer thinlinetextiles shows you how easy it is!
llamas
Does mastering the art of seamless repeats feel like the pinnacle of your surface design journey? We’ve got a not-so-secret truth to tell you—they’re easier than you might think! Spoonflower designer Anda Corrie is demystifying seamless repeats using the budget-friendly (just $9.99!) design tool, Procreate®, and her trusty iPad.
4. Turn a Drawing into a Seamless Repeat in Photoshop
Have you ever wondered what your doodle might look like as a repeating pattern? Spoonflower’s graphic designer, Alexis, is sharing just how easy it is to take your drawing off the paper and onto the screen in this Photoshop tutorial.
5. Design a Seamless Repeat with Photoshop Elements
Feeling a little out of your element? Allie’s custom geometric design tutorial using Photoshop Elements, the budget and beginner-friendly version of Photoshop, will be just what the design doctor ordered!
6. Create a Seamless Repeat in Photoshop
Watch the step-by-step tutorial
7. Create a Seamless Repeat in Illustrator
Join Esther Nariyoshi for a her Illustrator class in this recording from our first ever Surface Design Symposium!
8. Spoonflower Repeats
If you’ve designed a single element and want to upload it directly to Spoonflower, you can still create a repeating design! Using one of the five different types of repeats featured on your design page, you can transform your simple element to create a fabulous design.
Once you’ve designed your first (or next!) seamless repeat, upload it to your Spoonflower shop, set up your designs for success and get ready to start earning money doing what you love!
Bonus!
Design + DIY tutorials
1. Turn your calligraphy into fabric 2. Design a paper snowflake table runner 3. Personalize baby’s first blanket with Photoshop
I also use AFFINITY DESIGNER (henceforth described as AFDR), it is a brilliant tool and much more affordable than Adobe software.
Once my initial pattern is ready in SVG format (vectorial), I start AFDR and create a new document, with max resolution 400 DPI, and format A4 landscape. At this stage it doesn’t matter the size, because vector files (SVG, EPS, etc) can be resized to any size with lossless resolution. I create Artboard 1 and Artboard 2. Artboard 1 is sized to the initial A4 document size and Artboard 2 is sized in metric cm, to the fabric width, for example 140cm or 137cm or whatever.
I open the SVG file in my empty document, Copy/Paste the design into my empty page Artboard 1, and close the original SVG file; then ungroup the layer and edit the various elements. If the elements are in separate layers, I work them and lock each layer already finished.
While editing, I match the colours in AFDR to PANTONE Colour Finder (https://www.pantone.com/uk/en/color-finder), set to the Pantone FHI Cotton Colour Library. I copy the Pantone HEX Code (eg, #CBBDDF, etc) into the AFDR HEX Colour field, for each element.
Now the critical bit… I copy the finished work in Artboard 1 and past it into my Artboard 2, which is sized to the actual fabric width. You will notice that AFDR knows the difference size, so what you saw in a fairly big size in Artboard 1 A4 now appears a lot smaller in Artboard 2 which is say, 140cm width across. It is supposed to do this.
I then align the original element with the top left corner and duplicate it a few times, aligning carefully all the duplicates to ensure the pattern matches perfectly. When I have a fair few properly aligned, I group them and duplicate the grouped, to fasten the duplication process.
When you have the full Artboard width (eg 140cm) and length (eg 100cm) filled, just save first as a native Affinity Designer file, and then export the file to whatever format I need, a PNG or JPEG, for example.
I think I might just get the file ready and skip the duplication though, just save the original design in one single Artboard in A4 format or whatever A format suitable for the design. Then export it to a PNG or JPEG high resolution, at least 300 DPI or 400DPI and do the duplication in SPOONFLOWER, because it is specifically matched to how SPOONFLOWER takes orders in the widths available. This is probably a smarter way to do it, I think.
I’d be interested in a repeat pattern tutorial in Affinity Designer.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks so much for the suggestion!
A new Affinity Designer here, and would like to have a tutorial in Affinity. Using Adobe products now but would like to get away from depending on that company.
Hi Graham! Thanks for your interest in Spoonflower and for your suggestion. Liz Kohler Brown has a great tutorial on Skillshare on using Affinity Designer here. We also have some popular tutorials using Procreate here if you are interested in trying another tool. Procreate is definitely a Spoonflower community favorite!
Best,
Amy
Spoonflower
Affinity Designer is growing in popularity – I’ve just bought it but I’m learning from scratch as someone who aspires to becoming a surface designer. I’d also be really interested in any tutorials you have to offer.
what about affinity designer?
Don’t forget the tutorial for Adobe’s Project Paras for making repeats on the Spoonflower blog at https://blog.spoonflower.com/2018/11/how-to-make-a-seamless-repeat-with-project-paras/
Mike Scrutton, Team Project Paras
oops, my bad the Illustrator tutorial is there!!! Thanks so much!!!
Would love this tutorial using Illustrator. It would be such a gift to know how to do this!!! Thanks!!!
Would love tutorials using open source software like Inkscape and GIMP as well!
Hi Caitlin,
Thanks so much for the suggestion! We’re looking into offering tutorials that include these types of programs so please keep an eye out.
-Meredith from Spoonflower
There are folks out here using Corel Draw, too! More than I actually thought. And I’m pretty sure I even converted someone! 🙂
Agreed! Corel draw lover here too! Would be great if it was covered for some tutorials too. Great job for the tutorials on the other programs.
should be pretty much the same as Illustrator.
Hi Julee,
Thanks for adding this tool! We’ll have to look into this program for a future tutorial.
-Meredith from Spoonflower