How to Create a Pattern Design

Hello friends!

Do you want to know a secret about how I make the patterns for my fabrics and wallpapers? It looks complicated, but it is actually just like putting together a really fun puzzle. You don't need any fancy tools to learn how it works—just a piece of paper and your favorite crayons!

Here is how you can make your very own pattern:

Step 1: The Hero Doodle Start by drawing your favorite thing right in the middle of your paper. This is your "Hero"! It could be a smiling daisy, a striped cat, or even a giant strawberry.

Step 2: The Best Friends Your Hero doodle needs some friends to play with! Draw a few smaller things around it. These can be simple shapes like tiny stars, bouncy polka dots, or squiggly lines.

Step 3: The Copycat Game Here is where the pattern part happens. Whatever you draw on the top edge of your paper, you have to draw the exact same thing on the bottom edge. If a star is halfway off the right side, draw the other half on the left side! When you line up a bunch of those papers next to each other, the shapes will connect perfectly.

Step 4: Fill in the Gaps Look for any empty white spaces on your page and fill them up with more little dots, leaves, or shapes until the whole page is bursting with color.

It takes a little bit of practice, but creating your first repeating pattern feels so rewarding. Try it out this weekend and see what kind of wacky, wonderful designs you can come up with!