1. From the Gallery, tap "+" to start a new project.
2. Set your Tile Size and Resolution (DPI) — we recommend 3000 × 3000 as a starting point (see section 1.2 for common tile sizes and DPI settings).
3. Choose your color mode. RGB works well for most workflows; you can convert to CMYK later for print-ready output.
4. Select your Repeat Types (e.g., full drop, half drop, or half brick) — see section 1.3 for details.
5. When you're ready, tap Create.

A tile size of 3600 × 3600 px offers excellent versatility. This equals 12 × 12 inches at 300 DPI or 24 x 24 inch at 150 DPI — a standard format widely used across the surface design industry for digital paper, fabric, stationery, and print-on-demand products.

You may consider working at 150–220 DPI rather than 300 DPI. While 300 DPI is the standard for high-quality printing, 220 DPI is rarely distinguishable from 300 DPI to the human eye, making it perfectly acceptable for large-scale pattern work. Lower DPI also means smaller file sizes, faster exports, and less memory usage — which matters when working on an older iPad. 

For fabric printing: fabric texture and ink absorption naturally soften fine detail. Spoonflower, for example, uses 150 DPI as its standard and converts all uploads to that resolution.

Tip: If your iPad has an M-series chip, you're in the top tier. If unsure, check yout iPad Settings → General → About for your model. We are optimizing PatternDraw to support bigger canvas size in the future.

Choose from 20+ seamless and seamed repeating styles. More options will be added soon.

Toggle Pattern View to switch between the full repeat preview and the single unit view.

Turn on Tile Border to display a border around the main tile. A separate toggle lets you show borders on all repeat units as well. Tap Edit Tile Border to adjust the border's thickness and color.

Colorways Mode lets you easily create and manage color combinations. Each new color you paint is automatically placed on its own layer, keeping colors separated — up to 20 colors per colorway. If you'd rather have multiple colors per layer or need more than 20 layers, simply turn off Colorways Mode when creating a new artwork.

Tap the Colorways button to view your Coloways panel. Tap "+" to create a new colorway. To change a color, tap it directly, or use Shuffle to randomize colors within the colorway, or use the Color Generator to generate a complete colorway. There's no limit to the number of colorways you can create. 

Each color in the Colorways panel maps directly to a layer — the first color is the background, the second is the first design layer, and so on.

Tap Options and choose Color Generator to browse themed palettes. Select a theme and press Generate to mix and match colors.

Tap Options and select Shuffle to automatically shuffle the colors within the current combination.

Hold and drag a color onto another to swap them.

Tap Options and select Lock Color, then tap any color to lock it. A locked color can't be changed, swapped, or shuffled. Tap it again to unlock.

Single Unit

It is not necessary a seamless unit. It is useful for editing in other programs before pasting back into PatternDraw.

Seamless Tile

It is for production. It creates a seamless unit that can be uploaded for printing if the vendor supports pattern printing.

Pattern Preview

It shows the pattern in a repeated, full-size view. This is ideal for printing wallpaper, wrapping paper, or creating digital mockups.

For screen use:

• PNG is best for high-quality digital design and transparency.
• JPG is ideal for easy sharing due to its small file size.
• HEIF offers modern high quality while saving storage space.

For production use:

• PSD is for professional editing as it is the only format that preserves layers.
• TIFF provides maximum detail for printing but does not contain layers.
• PDF is a universal format for printing and layouts but does not contain layers.
• BMP is specifically used for certain circular knitting machines.

The last button in the Brush Panel shows your brush and color history. By default, only brush changes are recorded. To also track every color and size change, go to Actions > Prefs > Brush History and turn off Save the Last Setting Only.

Tap the brush icon to open the brush selection panel. Press "+" to import brushes from the Files app. PatternDraw supports both Photoshop brush files and its own native brush format.

Tap a brush, then tap the Star icon to favorite it. Favorited brushes appear at the top of the brush category.

To access the Brush settings, select the desired brush and then tap it again. This will bring up the Brush settings menu, where you'll find both Basic Settings and Advanced Settings.

Basic Settings:

Here, you can adjust simple and common brush settings.

Advanced Settings:

For more detailed brush settings, toggle the switch to access the Advanced Settings.

While adjusting the brush settings, you can test them on the Drawing Pad to see how they affect your strokes.

P.S. All changes made in the brush settings will be synchronized across the Drawing Brushes and Eraser Brushes.

Adjust brush stabilization via Brush Settings > Stroke > Streamline.

You can select the desired brush and swipe to the left. Then, tap Duplicate to create a copy of the selected brush.

To reset a brush in PatternDraw, there are two available methods:

1. Select the brush you want to reset and swipe to the left. Then, tap Reset to restore the brush to its default settings.

2. Double-tap on the brush and select Details in the Brush Settings menu. Then, tap Reset, located at the bottom of the menu, to revert the brush to its original configuration.

Swipe right on a brush and tap Duplicate. The copy will appear in the Custom category. Tap the duplicated brush to open its settings, where you can adjust parameters or tap the name to rename it. Modified brushes remain in the Custom category.

You have two methods to multi-select layers.

Option 1. In Layers > Tap Select > Tap the layers to select more.

Option 2. In Layers > Swipe right to mutli-select layers.

A multitude of actions can be performed on the selected area. You can Merge, Duplicate and Delete.

You can make a layer invisible by tapping on the Eye icon located next to the layer panel. This will hide the selected layer from view.

You can swipe the desired layer to the left and tap Lock. Once the layer is locked, it cannot be edited or transformed until it is unlocked again.

Swipe the desired layer to the left and tap Delete to remove the layer.

Tap N on the right-hand side of layer and you will see the menu for adjusting opacity and changing different types of blend modes.

Here are two options:

Option 1. In Layers > Tap the name of the layer > Select Copy from the layer options popup.

Option 2. Tap Actions > Canvas. There, you will find the Cut / Copy / Copy all layers options.

To paste the copied layer, go to Actions > Tap Canvas > Paste.

Clipping Mask

STEP 1: Create and colour a base layer.

STEP 2: Add a new layer above the base layer.

STEP 3: Tap the layer in STEP 2 and select Clipping Mask from the layer options popup.

STEP 4: Then, you can fill material/paint like shading within the coloured area in the base layer.

Tap Actions > Canvas > Switch on Grid toggle. Once you switch it on, you can edit the Grid by using the Edit Grid located just below the toggle.

Tap Actions > Canvas > Switch on the Symmetry toggle. Once you switch it on, you can edit the Symmetry by using the Edit Symmetry located just below the toggle.

Move:

Pan the orange node to adjust the position of the Symmetry Guide.

Rotate:

Touch and turn the white node to change the angle of the Symmetry Guide.

You can also adjust the opacity and thickness of the Symmetry Guide at the bottom of the settings bar.

To reset the Symmetry Guide to the default position, tap Reset at the bottom of the settings bar.

You can open a floating window above your work and import an image for drawing reference.

Tap Actions > Canvas > Switch on the Picture-in-Picture toggle.

Tap Actions > Canvas > Tap Flip Horizontally / Flip Vertically.

PatternDraw offers two interfaces, and the default appearance is Dark Mode. To change it to Light Mode, go to Actions > Prefs > Switch off the System Auto Dark Mode toggle.

Tap Actions > Prefs > Switch on the Enable Painting with Fingers toggle. Then, you can draw with your fingers or other digital pens.

Tap Actions > Help > Language. Then, it will take you to the iOS Settings to change the language.

Use 2-finger tap for undo, and 3-finger tap for redo.

Long press anywhere on the canvas will bring out the Eye Dropper.

Hold and slide up and down on the color icon to adjust the brightness.

Hold and slide on the size icon to adjust the brush size.

Hold and slide the opacity icon to adjust the brush opacity.

Swipte right on the layer panel to select the layers, you can select multiple layers.

Swipe left to delete layers or Colorways.

Swipe right on the Colorways for shuffling your colors.