In this post, we’ll cover the basics of pattern creation as well as some tips and tricks.First, a brief history of patterns in Illustrator. Before Adobe® Illustrator® CS6 we used to create patterns by dragging art on to the Swatches panel or by choosing Edit Define Pattern. There were limitations to this approach, such as not being able to like we cannot edit the patterns, did not have any options to create variations, see the patterns live while we create them etc. These limitations were the building blocks around which we started the feature discussions and eventually came up with the idea of this whole feature.Let’s see how we create a pattern in Illustrator CS6. Here is the step by step process:Step 1: Select the art which you want to use to create a pattern and then choose ObjectPatternMake. This will enter you to a new Pattern Editing Mode (I’ll call it PEM) having a pattern tile.
You can also enter PEM by simply choosing ObjectPatternMake without selecting any art to start with a blank pattern.Step 2: In PEM you can edit your artwork and perform different operations. We have also introduced a Pattern Options panel (snapshot below) using which you can customize your pattern and choose from different tile types. You can use ‘Pattern Tile’ tool (at the top-left of the panel) to adjust the pattern tile.
In PEM, you can also save a copy of the existing state of the pattern by clicking on ‘Save a Copy’ button in breadcrumb.Step 3: Once you are done with the customizations, click on ‘Done’ button in breadcrumb to accept the changes. This will exit you from the Pattern Editing Mode and the Pattern Options panel will also close automatically. Your newly created pattern can be found in the Swatches panel.Any pattern can be edited by double-clicking over it from the Swatches panel to enter PEM. Panel OptionsPattern Tile tool: This tool is used to adjust the bounds of the tile. When selected the tile bounds shows tile widgets on corners and edges which can be used to adjust the size of the tile. Additionally, if the Brick tile type is selected, brick offset widgets are shown on the tile which allows user to change the brick tiling offset.Shift and Ctrl/Cmd modifier keys can also be used with the tool to constrain the size proportions.Tile Type: User gets 5 tile types– Grid, Brick by Row, Brick by Column, Hex by Row and Hex by Column. Selecting the tile type actually represents how the tiling will happen in the pattern.Brick Offset: This option gets enabled when tile type is set to ‘Brick by Row/Column’.
You can change the offset of brick tiling using this option. Brick offset can also be adjusted on the tile directly using the pattern tile tool.Width/Height: Tile size can be changed using this option.Size Tile to Art: When this option is turned ON, tile is resized to fit the artwork bounds and H/V spacing field is enabled with default value as 0 pt. When this option is turned ON, any art drawn in the pattern will always show specified H/V spacing with the copies by resizing the tile.
Also, if any of the art in PEM is scaled such that the complete artwork bounds change then also the tile is resized to maintain the artwork bound spacing with the copies.H/V Spacing: This is the horizontal and vertical spacing between the art bounds and the copies on each side. This value can be negative too, representing that the art is overlapping the copies.Move Tile with Art: If this option in ON, then the tile will also move on moving all the contents inside PEM.Overlap: This option shows how the copies will overlap the art from top/bottom or left/right. You can observe the overlap if the artwork bounds are greater than the tile bounds.Copies: This represents number of copies/repetitions of the artwork being shown inside the PEM. This shows how the pattern will actually look when applied to an object.Dim Copies to: It shows by what value the copies are being dimmed. Dimming the copies actually lets you focus more on the art. Unchecking this option shows how the actual pattern will look like.Show Tile Bounds: Turning this option ON shows the tile (a solid line) on the artboard.
Tile type can be grid, brick or a hexagon. Pattern Tile Bounds tool is used to adjust the tile. Tile basically represents how the layout of the overall pattern is. You can adjust the width and height of the tile to get the desired result.Show Swatch Bounds: Turning this option ON shows the swatch bounds (a dotted line) on the artboard. To distinguish it from tile, always remember-i) Swatch bounds are always square so at one side the pattern tile can be a rectangle with height may be half of the width, at the other side swatch bounds is always squarish.ii) The second most important thing about the swatch bounds is that the repetitions for an object in the pattern are shown only if an object is inside the swatch bounds, overlapping the swatch bounds or touching it. Anything outside the swatch bounds is deleted when you exit the Pattern Editing Mode.
So, this bound also acts as a demarcation line between the scratch area and the pattern definition area.iii) If the tile is squarish Swatch bounds are same for a grid type pattern but it spans a greater area if the tile is rectangular such that height is approximately half of the width and vice versa. For brick and hexagonal tile, swatch bounds are still squarish and bigger than the tile bounds. Tips:a) To keep the Pattern Options panel open and start the pattern creation process from the panel itself follow these steps:. Do WindowPattern Options to open the panel. From the panel flyout menu, uncheck the ‘Auto-Close on Exiting Edit Mode’. Unchecking this option will stop the panel from getting closed on PEM exit.
Now, select any art and choose ‘Make Pattern’ from the panel flyout menu to enter PEM. There are various other options available in the flyout to speed-up your pattern creation process.b) Keep a copy of the existing pattern if you want to edit any existing pattern.
Quilting is a timeless art that dates back as far as the first pharaohs of Egypt. It is a delicate art, blending colors, shapes, and craftsmanship. The exact origins of quilting remain unknown, but some key features of the art have not changed much over the years. For example, the fundamentals of quilting, piecing, and applique used for clothing and furnishings in diverse parts of the world likely resemble techniques used in the past.That said, much about the art has changed, as well. One of the biggest changes is how technology has enabled quilters to take their creations to the next level.
Quilters today can use to ideate, plan, and digitally cut increasingly complex quit designs.With just right around the corner, showcasing more than 500 quilts, we wanted to share creative tips and processes from groundbreaking quilters around the world. Below, you’ll see how in Illustrator CC has transformed a classic artform. Carolyn FriedlanderCarolyn Friedlander comes from an architectural background.
She not only designs quilt and sewing patterns, but fabric as well. She uses her fabric collections to create unique quilts that draw inspiration from the landscape of her Florida home.Carolyn uses Illustrator to bring her sketches to life, translating ideas into quilts and fabric. She starts with simple lines and shapes, then uses the computer to discover the best way to build them with fabric while working within the quilt’s size constraints. She also uses Illustrator to audition colors and fabrics to explore different colorways. Carolyn’s Tips. Create your own swatch library for each project using your favorite colors or fabric collection. This way, you can audition fabrics with the click of a mouse.
Use Illustrator to create project templates that are easy to replicate, adjust, and express. You can use these templates in any design you want to explore in fabric.
Rotate and mirror quilt blocks in Illustrator to explore design alternatives. Often, the best quilt designs come through play and experimentation.Download the Bartow Quilt Pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.
About Carolyn Friedlander:Carolyn is a fabric designer and award-winning quilter. She also designs her own line of quilt and sewing patterns and is the author of Savor Each Stitch: Studio Quilting with Mindful Design.Website:Instagram: Anne SullivanCreating a quilt requires math and logic, but savvy quilters use Illustrator to ease the burden. Anne Sullivan has a PhD in computer science and uses her background to calculate quilt math quickly and create shortcuts during the design process.Anne loves that Illustrator works with vector art instead of pixel art, so you can design your quilt “to size” without worrying about the file being too large. After a quilt is designed at scale, Anne does a little math to add the standard quarter-inch seam allowance to each piece and can quickly calculate yardage.Designing at scale also makes pattern-writing much easier. “I can design the quilt and then easily see how big to cut my pieces because they’re all drawn to size already,” Anne says.
How To Save A Pattern In Illustrator
“I just have to add the seam allowances and go.”. Anne’s Tips. Create artboards in your finished quilt size. Download gran encyclopedia planeta multimedia cd 80. This allows you to draw your design without having to scale, which makes it easier to calculate fabric yardage and cutting measurements, or turn your pattern into a paper-piecing pattern. Take the time to learn the keyboard shortcuts.
It will speed up your workflow and let you focus on design. Illustrator also allows you to make your own keyboard shortcuts for actions you use frequently. For instance, Anne has a keyboard shortcut for Select Same Fill Color because she uses that command to tweak colors.
She also has a custom shortcut for calculating fabric yardage. Use. This helps you visualize what the final quilt will look like.
How To Apply Pattern In Illustrator
Although the colors are not perfectly accurate ━ a computer screen can only show a subset of colors we can see from objects in real life ━ it is a fast and easy way to experiment. Anne has created Illustrator swatches for major fabric manufacturers,. Use layers to play with quilting designs. Keep the design on one layer, lock it, and draw quilting lines on a second layer. This allows you to manipulate quilting lines individually.
This is also a nice way to play with quilting motifs and thread color to see how it would change the overall design of the quilt.Download the Bridges Quilt Pattern by Anne Sullivan. About Anne Sullivan:Anne is an artist and creator whose primary mediums are quilting and programming. She appeared on the Fresh Quilting TV series and teaches workshops on how to apply design principles to quilt design.Website:Instagram: Daisy AschehougSome people draw their quilt designs on paper before creating them digitally. Daisy Aschehoug isn’t one of those people. Instead, she draws just the beginning of a quilt shape in a sketchbook before moving it into Illustrator where her designs really come to life.As soon as Daisy has an idea, she likes to work quickly, so it’s important to her to be able to make changes with just a few steps. Daisy experiments with combinations of curves and lines and finds the pathfinder tool essential for creating new shapes that can be made with templates that many quilters already have.
Seamless Pattern Illustrator
Daisy’s designs often include areas of negative space, and helps her visualize how much fabric she needs and the most efficient way to cut it before sewing. Daisy’s Tips. If you’re working with a block-based design, create a symbol. Edit the symbol to audition colors and prints. That will change the colors in all instances of that symbol — even if you’ve rotated it or changed its size. When larger pieces have sizes that aren’t consistent, create a cutting diagram to make your quilt math easier.
Create an art board of 42” x 36” (the standard size for a yard of fabric) for each fabric. Copy your shapes to the new board, add a quarter-inch seam allowance to each shape, and extend the art board to include all your shapes.
The resulting width of your board is how much fabric is required to construct the quilt. If you’re considering a quilting motif that traces some of the shapes in your piecing, use the pathfinder tool to join the shapes you want to echo. Then, use the offset path tool to space your lines — Daisy’s favorite is a half-inch. Use the stroke tool to make dashed lines that mimic stitches. The result gives you an idea of what the quilting will look like. Experiment with everything, but on always on a copy.
If you’re exploring ideas, copy your layer, lock the copy, and turn off the visibility. If you like what you’ve done, but get a wild idea that will significantly change your design, go ahead and save your file, then “save as” so you have a copy to play with.Download the Pivot Quilt Pattern by Daisy Aschehoug. About Daisy Aschehoug:Daisy is an award-winning quilter, pattern designer, and artist who resides in Oslo, Norway. She is a founding member of the Quilt Theory design group, and her quilts have been featured in many magazines and the recent book Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century.Website:Instagram: About QuiltConThousands of attendees come to see over 550 modern quilts on display at QuiltCon every year, featuring 360 juried creations from Modern Quilt Guild members around the world. The conference features four days of workshops and lectures, led by leading designers and quilters, and the show floor has dozens of vendors and exhibitors for days of shopping and fun.Want to learn more about modern quilting? Visit and join as a member to access monthly quilt patterns, block patterns, webinars, and more!