This week we come full circle with our third and final repeating pattern tutorial. We'll be using the offset technique. You may notice there's some cross-over with our first tutorial – if you squint hard, you'll see they're pretty similar in approach but with a slightly different way of shunting the elements around. This technique only really works if you're designing on a computer however - if you want to be more hands-on and use pen and paper, part 1 will probably suit you better.

You may notice too that this offset technique is the most covered elsewhere on the web, but what we hope to add is an explanation of why it works. Again, this is not a software tutorial, it's simply to furnish you with a process. (For our recommendation of top-notch software education, scroll to the bottom of this post). 

Don't get offset

Guess what? We start once again with a regular shape ...

This week we'll be covering another pattern technique that works well for symmetrical designs and dense regular patterns. It's more of a discussion than a step-by-step, as we're aiming to show you a pattern 'logic' that can be used for virtually anything you create.

We should add that once you've tried all the techniques in our three part series, you may find they're somewhat interchangeable, and that you prefer one over the others ... finding out what suits you best is what pattern design (and life) is all about. 

Keeping it whole

Just like part 1, start with a regular square or rectangle which, for the purposes of this week's technique, we'll call a 'bounding box' ...

This is a simple step-by-step guide to show you how to make a repeating pattern. It's the first of a three part guide to different techniques. All we want to do is share the basic principles with you, so you can be creative in whatever platform or medium you usually use – we won't be showing you how to design or how to use software. (If you want software tips, we really recommend lynda.com). This week's technique is great for free-style, loose patterns and dense, irregular patterns. What's really great about it is that it works equally well if you're designing on a computer or on an old-fashioned piece of paper ... nice.