How to Make a Seamless Repeat Pattern in Illustrator, by Lazy Susan Studio on YouTube. 1 min 29 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 29 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open a new document and set the width and height to your repeat tile size, such as 10 cm by 10 cm. Choose CMYK colour mode for print.
Draw your motifs inside the artboard. Keep the main design in the middle and let some elements run over the edges.
Select all your artwork and group it. Go to Object, then Transform, then Move.
In the Move box, type your artboard width in Horizontal and 0 in Vertical. Click Copy to place a duplicate beside the tile.
Repeat the Move command with 0 Horizontal and your artboard height in Vertical, then click Copy again to cover the top and bottom seam.
Do one more copy diagonally by entering both the artboard width and height, so the corners match too.
Select everything and drag it into the Swatches panel to save it as a pattern swatch.
Double-click the new swatch, set Tile Type to Grid, and turn on the pattern preview to check the seams.
Draw a large rectangle and fill it with the swatch. Zoom in on the edges to confirm there are no gaps or doubled lines.
Tips and common mistakes
Turn on Smart Guides and switch to Outline view to line up copies precisely.
Anything outside the artboard will not repeat, so keep stray shapes inside the tile.
Use the Tile Tool in Pattern Options to nudge motifs without editing the artwork.
Test the repeat at print size, since small gaps are easier to spot when zoomed out.
Questions
Does the repeat tile have to be square?
No. Any rectangle works as long as you offset copies by the exact artboard width and height. Just keep those numbers consistent.
How do I keep the pattern after closing the file?
Saved swatches live in the document. To reuse them elsewhere, open the Swatches panel menu and choose Save Swatch Library as AI or ASE.
Will this work for fabric printing?
Yes. Set the document to CMYK at 300 ppi for raster effects, and check your printer's tile size before you export.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
