Unit 7 · Project 1
Digital Road / Stencil
You'll design a repeating pattern digitally that will become the surface design for your pillow. The pattern must tile seamlessly — meaning when you place four copies in a 2x2 grid, the edges match perfectly. Your motif can be anything: geometric shapes, organic forms, animals, plants, abstract marks. The pattern will be printed and used as a stencil for fabric painting, so it needs to be high-contrast (dark shapes on white background) and have shapes large enough to cut cleanly.
Objectives
- 1Pattern tiles seamlessly in all directions
- 2Motif is personal and original (not a clip art download)
- 3High-contrast design suitable for stencil cutting
- 4Exported at 12x12 inches at 300dpi for printing
Materials
- Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or Adobe Express
- Your identity icon or new motif as starting point
Tips & Techniques
1Use the pattern repeat feature in Illustrator or Canva — don't manually tile
2Test your repeat by placing 4 tiles in a 2x2 grid and zooming in on the edges
3Avoid very thin lines or tiny details — they won't cut cleanly as a stencil
4Think about the negative space — the unpainted areas are part of the design too
Lesson Videos
Designing a Repeating Pattern
10 minHow to create a seamless tile pattern digitally for fabric transfer.