How to use the Seamless Pattern Generator
- Choose a pattern type. Shapes sprinkles dots, circles, stars, leaves, triangles, squiggles and hearts across the tile. Motif repeat takes your own drawing and repeats it as a grid, half-drop, brick or mirror. Geometric builds stripes, checks, gingham, polka dots, chevrons and fish scales.
- Shape the layout. On the Shapes tab, set Density, Smallest and Largest size (as a percentage of the tile), Rotation and Placement. Even spacing stops shapes from clumping; New layout reshuffles them, and the Layout seed lets you return to a layout you liked.
- Pick colors. Click a palette such as Meadow or Riso, or set the four color swatches and the Background yourself.
- Set the Tile size in pixels. The line under the field tells you how big the tile prints at 150 and 300 DPI.
- Check, then export. Switch between 3×3 repeat, One tile and Seam check, then press Download tile PNG, Download SVG (shape and geometric modes) or Download fabric PNG for a mock-up of several tiles side by side.
Everything is drawn in your browser, so a motif you upload never leaves your device. The settings are saved in the page link, which means the same seed and options rebuild the same tile later.
What makes a tile repeat without a seam
A repeating tile is a rectangle whose right edge continues into its left edge and whose bottom continues into its top. Picture the tile wrapped around a doughnut: there is no edge at all, only a surface that loops back on itself. Any shape that pokes out past the right side has to reappear, cut at exactly the same point, on the left side. This generator does that for every shape, which is why a leaf can sit right across a corner and still join up perfectly when four tiles meet.
The hard part of pattern design is not the seam itself but what the eye does with a repeat. Put twenty shapes in a tile and repeat it fifty times, and any accidental gap or cluster turns into a stripe running across the whole fabric. Designers call these tracks. Even spacing helps here: each new shape is placed in the emptiest spot, and the distances are measured across the edges too, so the gaps stay even from one tile to the next.
Motif repeats work by shifting columns or rows:
- Grid (full drop): every motif sits on the same rows and columns. Calm and formal, but lines of motifs read as stripes.
- Half-drop: every second column slides down by half a cell. The diagonal rhythm hides the grid, which is why so many wallpapers use it.
- Brick: every second row slides sideways by half a cell, like brickwork.
- Mirror: alternate columns and rows are flipped, which produces symmetrical shapes where motifs meet.
Half-drop, brick and mirror only close up neatly with an even number of motifs across, so the tool rounds odd counts up and tells you so.
Tile sizes and what they print at
Fabric printers such as Spoonflower recommend 150 DPI, so the pixel size of your tile sets the physical size of one repeat. A larger tile at the same DPI means larger motifs on the cloth, not sharper ones.
| Tile size | Repeat at 150 DPI | Repeat at 300 DPI | Repeats down one yard (36 in) at 150 DPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 px | 4 in (10.2 cm) | 2 in | 9 |
| 900 px | 6 in (15.2 cm) | 3 in | 6 |
| 1200 px | 8 in (20.3 cm) | 4 in | 4.5 |
| 1500 px | 10 in (25.4 cm) | 5 in | 3.6 |
| 1800 px | 12 in (30.5 cm) | 6 in | 3 |
| 2400 px | 16 in (40.6 cm) | 8 in | 2.25 |
| 3000 px | 20 in (50.8 cm) | 10 in | 1.8 |
Think about the product before you choose. A 4-inch repeat suits quilting cotton and gift wrap, where pieces are cut small. A 12- to 20-inch repeat suits curtains, duvet covers and wallpaper, where a tiny print turns into texture from across the room. Paper and stationery printers usually want 300 DPI, so the same 1500 px tile only covers 5 inches there. The DPI & Print Size Calculator does this conversion for any size.
Mistakes that show up only after printing
Hairlines that disappear. At 150 DPI one pixel is 0.17 mm. A squiggle drawn 2 px thick is about a third of a millimeter on fabric, and ink bleeding into the weave can swallow it. Keep fine lines at least 3 px (0.5 mm) thick at that resolution.
One loud color. A single saturated color among muted ones becomes a polka dot of its own when repeated. If one swatch keeps jumping out of the 3×3 view, darken it or use it for fewer, smaller shapes.
A tile that looks great alone. The single tile view flatters everything. Judge the pattern from the 3×3 repeat or a 6 × 6 fabric preview, where tracks and empty patches actually show.
Tips from practice
Squint at the repeat, not the tile. Step back from the screen or zoom out until the preview is the size of a stamp. Stripes, holes and diagonal lines you did not intend are easiest to see when the detail blurs away, the same way you check values in a painting.
Use three sizes of shapes. A pattern with one size of motif looks like confetti. Set a range wide enough to get large “hero” shapes, middle shapes and small fillers — for example a Smallest of 3% and a Largest of 12% — and the eye gets somewhere to rest.
Toss directional motifs. Fabric gets cut in every direction, so a print of upright flowers ends up sideways on some pieces. Turning Rotation up to ±180° (or ticking Tossed for a motif) makes the print look right from any side.
Save the seed with the file name. When a client loves version three, you want version three back. Keep the seed in your file name or bookmark the page — the link stores every setting.
Start a color story first. Pick the background and two main colors before the shapes, then add an accent. The Color Palette Generator is a quick way to find a four-color set that holds together.