How to repeat painting patterns

Make your decorations in one room uniform by reading this guide on how to create repeat patterns easily.

Level of difficulty

Level 2: Intermediate

What you need

• Cardboard
• Straight edge
• Scissors
• Eraser
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Spirit level
• Ruler
• Painter's tape
• Stencils
• Stencil colours
• Palette
• Stencil paint brush
• Stencil adhesive tape
• Protective sealer

The steps to follow

Drawing freehand patterns

1. First pick a pattern that you\u2019d like to use.
2. Draw the pattern onto a piece of cardboard.
3. Cut the shape out with a pair of scissors to make a template.
4. With a straight edge and pencil, draw guiding lines or boxes on the wall where you plan to paint the pattern.
5. Position the template and use a pencil to lightly trace the pattern on the wall.
6. Finish tracing the blocks of pattern onto the rest of the surface.
7. Start applying colours to the patterns
8. Erase any remaining or visible pencil marks from the wall.

Stencilling patterns

1. Clean the surface you plan to decorate.
2. To create a patterned border with a stencil, measure and draw a horizontal line on the wall to mark it out.
3. Measure up or down from this line and draw a second horizontal line to close the border.
   
   Note:
   Draw these horizontal lines with a straight edge. Check with a spirit level to see if the lines are straight.
    
4. Tape the outer edges of these lines with painter's tape.
5. Start stencilling from the far left of the border.
6. Fix the first overlay stencil on the wall with stencil adhesive tape.
7. Pour a few different colours onto your palette.
8. Get a small amount of paint onto a dry stencil brush and dab the brush with a paper towel to soak up the excess. It's important that the paint brush is dry and has a small amount of paint on it so that it creates the right effect.
9. Hold the brush perpendicular to the stencil, and move it around in a circular motion.
10. When you've finished stencilling the first pattern, move on to the next area.
    
    Note:
    Make sure to follow your horizontal guidelines so that your stencil will be level on the border.
     
11. Again fix the stencil on the wall with stencil adhesive tape and follow steps 5-9 to continue stencilling.
12. When finished, remove the stencil and let the pattern dry.

Related articles

• How to make a wall frieze
• How to stencil a border
• How to create painting effects

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