Trailing Repeat Patterns

Exploring trailing repeat patterns. Bill made it look so easy. *Sigh*

I recently purchased a sheet set with William Morris’s Willow Boughs. William Morris is one of my inspirations as a surface designer. His mantra… 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful,' and each person gets to decide what that means to them. Perfect. It also helps when cleaning out closets.

Anyhoo. This blog is really about trailing repeat patterns, of which Morris was the master. *chef’s kiss* I mean, come on, check this out! I have always wanted to learn how to do it, so I signed myself up for this mini-course. Morris makes it look effortless. It’s not. Designing a successful repeat pattern is difficult. Designing a successful trailing repeat pattern is ridiculously difficult. So, after the class, I put my sketches and stumbles in a folder and tried to unwarp my brain. No joke, I would stay up at night trying to figure out a way to incorporate my design process, already multi-stepped and awkward, into the trailing repeat design process, also multi-stepped and awkward. It’s taken me months to integrate the two. It stills feels awkward and I’m not thrilled with the results. If feeling inadequate is part of the learning process, then I must be doing something right.

I’m sharing this exploration, because I know there are designers out there who are struggling—Hang in there!, and non-designers who need to know how hard artists work to make your home beautiful—You’re welcome!

By the way, my William Morris sheets make me so happy. They are equally useful and beautiful!