The Repeat

What is a repeat and what does that have to do with my furniture?

A full repeat

The repeat is the size of the pattern of your fabric. This is measured both vertically and horizontally. In the above image you see the 9 flowers  - this is the whole 'repeat' since each line is different. These 9 flowers will be 'repeated' though out the fabric. Therefore, you need to measure 3 flowers across and 3 high to get the size of the repeat.

Understanding the size of the repeat is important when you are purchasing fabric and also placement on the furniture. If you underestimate the size you can easily end up with not enough fabric for your piece, and over estimating means you are wasting money.

When you are measuring the repeat you need to have a large enough piece to ensure you see the whole pattern. Samples more often than not won't give you the whole pattern, but will hopefully the repeat will be listed. If you have no idea, then you will need to measure it yourself.

Make sure to measure from the centre of pattern to the next time the pattern appears. This is important, do not measure from the top of the flower to the bottom of the pattern.

Source

If you have been quoted how much fabric is required for a particular project (be it a sofa, a single chair or a lounge suite), make sure that you allow for a pattern repeat. You may need to add anywhere between 10-85% to make sure you get the finished product you are looking for. See the image above.

You need this extra fabric to ensure your fabric will match up. This is important if you want a high quality finished product. I recently talked about the fastest way to make a piece look 'cheap' - mismatched fabric.

Here is a YouTube Video showing you haw to measure a repeat.

I hope that little tip was helpful. Let me know if there is anything you would like me to discuss.