Scandinavian Pattern

Make a Scandinavian-style folk pattern from 11 motifs of our own: a heart, a tulip, two birds facing, a five-point star, a leaf sprig, a six-petal rosette, a berry branch, a pine tree, a daisy with leaves, a diamond with dots and a single bird. Every motif but the single bird is drawn mirror-symmetric, left to right, and our tests check every point. Set one motif or two in turn as a grid, a half-drop, mirrored columns (every second column flipped, so single birds face each other) or a border stripe between two bars. Pick the spacing and motif size in inches or centimetres and four colours, such as red, sage and navy on off-white, then download a seamless SVG tile at real size, a full-size PDF with a motif key, a 300 DPI PNG or a background PNG at an exact screen size. Nothing is uploaded.

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How to make a Scandinavian-style pattern

1. Choose a preset, or pick a main motif and, if you like, a second motif.
2. Pick a layout: grid, half-drop, mirrored columns or border stripe.
3. Set the columns, rows, spacing, motif size and smallest gap (and the bar width for a border).
4. Pick four colours: a ground and three inks.
5. Download the SVG tile, a background PNG, or the PDF; print at 100% and check the 1 in test square.

What you can use it for

• Wallpaper, wall stencils and painted furniture layouts
• Fabric, cushion and tea towel mock-ups (real-size tile)
• Gift wrap, cards and holiday printables
• Borders for shelves, cards and journals
• Website, slide and phone backgrounds (SVG tile, PNG)
• Embroidery and paper-cut planning (motif key at a large size)

The 14 presets

#	Preset	Motifs	Layout	Spacing	Repeat
1	Red hearts and tulips on off-white, half-drop	Heart + tulip	Half-drop	1.2 in	4.8 × 4.8 in
2	Two birds facing, navy on cream	Two birds facing	Grid	1.5 in	3 × 3 in
3	Mirrored birds and hearts	Bird (faces left) + heart	Mirrored columns	1.1 in	4.4 × 4.4 in
4	Tulip border stripe, red and sage	Tulip + heart	Border stripe	1 in	8 × 1.46 in
5	Five-point stars and rosettes, navy and red	Five-point star + six-petal rosette	Grid	1 in	4 × 4 in
6	Leaf sprigs on sage	Leaf sprig	Half-drop	1 in	4 × 2 in
7	Berry branches, red on white	Berry branch + leaf sprig	Half-drop	1.2 in	4.8 × 2.4 in
8	Pine trees and stars, green and red	Pine tree + five-point star	Grid	1.05 in	4.2 × 2.1 in
9	Daisies with leaves, mustard and blue	Daisy with leaves	Half-drop	1.1 in	4.4 × 2.2 in
10	Diamonds with dots, red and navy	Diamond with dots + heart	Grid	0.95 in	3.8 × 3.8 in
11	Off-white tulips on navy	Tulip	Half-drop	1.1 in	4.4 × 2.2 in
12	Rosettes, mirrored rows border	Six-petal rosette + two birds facing	Border stripe	1.2 in	7.2 × 1.7 in
13	Black on white hearts and birds	Heart + two birds facing	Half-drop	1.3 in	5.2 × 2.6 in
14	Fabric scale: 3 cm hearts and tulips	Heart + tulip	Half-drop	3 cm	12 × 12 cm

Each preset only fills in the fields; change any setting afterwards.

The 11 motifs

Motif	Looks the same after
Heart	mirror left to right
Tulip	mirror left to right
Two birds facing	mirror left to right
Five-point star	mirror left to right
Leaf sprig	mirror left to right
Six-petal rosette	mirror left to right, mirror top to bottom, a sixth of a turn
Berry branch	mirror left to right
Pine tree	mirror left to right
Daisy with leaves	mirror left to right
Diamond with dots	mirror left to right, mirror top to bottom, quarter turn
Bird (faces left)	none (faces one way)

All motifs are our own drawings. Page 2 of the PDF draws each motif used, large, with its symmetries.

Layouts

Layout	How the motifs are set
Grid	One motif, or two in turn, on a square grid
Half-drop	Every second column moved down half a cell
Mirrored columns	Every second column flipped left to right, so motifs that face one way face each other
Border stripe	One row of motifs between two bars, repeating across

Which tool to use

You want	Use
Folk-style motifs as a print repeat	Scandinavian Pattern (this page)
A two-colour knitting chart	Fair Isle Pattern
A chart for any stitch pattern	Knitting Chart Maker
Japanese repeat patterns	Japanese Pattern Generator
A cut-out stencil	Stencil Maker

Also handy: the Knitting Chart Maker, the Japanese Pattern Generator and the Stencil Maker.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a traditional Scandinavian pattern?

No. These are our own folk-style motifs in the look many people search for as a Scandinavian pattern. We do not claim that any of them comes from a particular region, period or maker.

Are the motifs symmetrical?

Every motif except the single bird is built mirror-symmetric, left to right: parts off the centre line are drawn twice, mirrored, and parts on it from a half outline and its mirror image. The rosette and the diamond also look the same after a turn. Our tests check every point of every motif, and that no other mirror or quarter turn would.

Will the pattern repeat without a seam?

Yes. The motifs sit on a whole number of columns and rows, and a motif that runs over an edge carries on from the opposite edge, so copies placed edge to edge join with no seam. Our tests compare the pattern one repeat over by sampled colour, for every preset.

Why do two motifs need an even number of columns?

With two motifs in turn, or with every second column flipped, the pattern only comes back to the start after two columns. With an odd number the repeat would not join, so the maker asks for an even number instead of drawing a seam.

Is the tile the exact size I set?

Yes. The SVG tile is written in inches or centimetres (the first preset is 4.8 in square on a 1.2 in spacing), and the PDF prints the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square.

How is this different from the Fair Isle pattern maker?

The Fair Isle maker makes a knitting chart: a grid of stitches in two colours per row, with a float check. This page draws filled shapes as a print or wallpaper repeat, with mirrored folk motifs, borders and real-size tiles.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Everything is drawn by JavaScript in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.