How to Gather Inspiration for a Pattern Collection

Creating art comes from my surroundings and my love of everything vintage and floral. My love for sewing, cross stitch, vintage linens and English gardens inspire my sketches, photography and art. My favorite source of inspiration comes from our acreage; wildflower field, garden, flower beds and small wooded space. The birds, butterflies and bees are equally as intriguing. So, join me as I share how to gather inspiration for a pattern collection.

When I began this first pattern collection, I was scattered and trying to do everything all at once. I was trying to learn Adobe Illustrator and create a cohesive collection as well.

Having come from a watercolor past, I was determined to incorporate my paintings into my patterns. I soon realized that this was too tall a feat and so I put it aside.

Photography

I started to take many photos of all of the flowers I truly loved and wanted in my first collection; roses, peonies, sweet peas, delphiniums and pansies.

My desire was to get as much detail as possible with my photos. My phone did a better job (and was quicker) than my DSLR camera.

Sketching

Realizing that I needed to get familiar with the art of sketching became evident. Having been so used to using watercolors, I had to learn how to sketch. Often, I would carry my sketchbook outside as I walked, sat and explored our acreage.

After taking many photos of the objects of my floral affection, I would sketch from them as well. Sometimes it would be just one part of a flower and other times it was the whole flower.

I found that my favorite pencil to sketch with was the Faber Castell 1.0 and my favorite sketchbook was the Strathmore Sketch 400 Series.

Even though I share a lot of my process, I held back for years in starting to sketch and paint because I feared failure. As creatives, you and I can be held back due to negative thinking. It might look like comparing your ability to others or not having the confidence to pursue your creative talent or putting your creations out into the world.

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Foraged Leaves & Grasses

While in the midst of working my way through the Immersion course by Bonnie Christine, I learned how to take mostly leaves and grasses and scan them on my printer’s scanner and create images to use in my collection as well. This was an entirely new concept but it was a treat not to have to “sketch” everything.

Cross Stitch

One of my most favorite ways to create an image for a pattern was to scan in a watercolor and upload it to Adobe Illustrator. Then I would place a signature, hand drawn x and repeat it over top of the watercolor. This image below were hand drawn using tracing paper. But once this image was uploaded into Adobe, it wasn’t very symmetrical.

As you can see below, this was the final repeat pattern for the peony cross stitch named Majestic Handiwork.

Please check out my first collection, Blooming and Becoming with more detail as well as mock ups on fabric items as well.

I hope you have enjoyed journeying with me through my early process of how to gather inspiration for pattern collection. I look forward to sharing more of my journey towards becoming a surface pattern designer.

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