---
title: "How to make a repeatable pattern in Illustrator"
date: "2013-03-19"
description: "A step-by-step guide to designing a seamless, repeatable vector pattern in Adobe Illustrator, from a 300px tile to a reusable pattern swatch."
image: "https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/1.CK0kW2k2.png"
url: "https://bryanmanio.com/blog/how-to-make-a-repeatable-pattern-in-illustrator/"
---

# How to make a repeatable pattern in Illustrator

I had to design a repeatable vector pattern for a client last week for the first time, and figured I'd share the process I used from start to finish. The pattern was for the local music startup [Muzooka](http://muzooka.com/), and the goal was something music-related, subtle enough to sit as a background on their marketing materials.

To start, create a new 600×600px document in Illustrator.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/1.CK0kW2k2.png "1")

Turn on the grid — it makes the whole process much easier to keep aligned. `View > Show > Grid`.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/2.CUfIsSwK.png "2")

Next, draw a square exactly half the size of the canvas. Grab the rectangle tool (`U`), click once on the artboard, and enter 300px for both the width and height in the dialog that appears.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/3.CxHtzdQ7.png "3")

Center that square, give it a fill color so it's easy to see, and lock the layer so you don't accidentally select it later.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/4.Znucr4bf.png "4")

The key to this style of pattern is aligning your icons to the outer edge first. I brought in an amplifier icon and positioned it so its halfway point sat right on the left edge of the square.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/5.Ba6yUljt.png "5")

Here's the important part: every icon that touches the edge of the square needs an exact duplicate on the opposite edge, in the same relative position — otherwise the tile won't repeat seamlessly. Since the tile is 300×300px, this is easy: open the Transform panel (`Window > Transform`) and add or subtract 300 from the X or Y value to mirror the icon to the other side. Adding 300 to X moves it right, subtracting moves it left; the same logic applies to Y and up/down.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/6.Du2MuKm7.png "6")

With that, the icons are exactly where they need to be to repeat cleanly.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/7.D29D7lVh.png "7")

Repeat that same edge-alignment process all the way around the perimeter of the square.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/8.DEDUtA4A.png "8")

From there, start filling in the rest of the icons on the inside. The trick is keeping it visually balanced — once the pattern actually tiles, any spacing irregularities become very obvious very fast.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/9.DKEj1M7Q.png "9")

That's a solid start. Now unlock the bottom square layer and strip its fill.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/10.BwwVeJyi.png "10")

Select everything — including the now-unfilled square — and drag the whole selection into the Swatches panel (`Window > Swatches`). In the dialog that pops up, choose **Pattern brush**.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/11.DvT9Ck5T.png "11")

That's it. Test it out by drawing a new shape (`U`) and filling it with the swatch you just created.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/12.DTZC4wI_.png "12")

Add a complementary background color, and you're good to go.

![](https://bryanmanio.com/_astro/13.CmkVB-ir.jpg "13")