Snowflake Pattern
Make a snowflake pattern from 7 snowflakes drawn with exact six-fold symmetry: each one is a single piece copied 12 times, turned in 60° steps and mirrored, so all six arms match. Pick one snowflake or mix two, set the size and line width, and place them in a grid, a half-drop or a scatter where the same seed always gives the same pattern and no two snowflakes touch. Choose 2 to 4 colours and download a seamless SVG tile, a background PNG for a phone, desktop, tablet or square post, a 300 DPI PNG or a PDF at full size with a snowflake key. Snowflakes that cross an edge of the tile carry on from the opposite edge, so the repeat has no seam (tested). Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Page 1 is the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square; page 2 is the snowflake key: the one piece and its 12 copies. The SVG tile repeats edge to edge; snowflakes that cross an edge carry on from the other side.
Snowflakes
Print and screen
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing is uploaded or saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make a snowflake pattern
- Choose a preset or a snowflake, and a second one to mix in if you like.
- Set the size and the line width.
- Choose a layout: one snowflake, grid, half-drop or scattered (change the seed for a new scatter).
- Pick the ground and snowflake colours.
- 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
- Phone, desktop and tablet backgrounds
- Website and slide backgrounds (SVG tile)
- Fabric, gift wrap and scrapbook paper
- Window and wall stencil layouts (full-size PDF)
- Cards, invitations and packaging
- Colouring sheets (black lines on white)
The 14 presets
| # | Preset | Snowflakes | Size | Layout | Seamless repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Classic white on navy, grid | Branching (fern-like) arms | 1.5 in | Grid | 3.89 × 3.89 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 2 | Half-drop stars and plates | Six-point star + Hexagon plate | 1.2 in | Half-drop | 3.28 × 3.28 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 3 | Scattered snowflakes (seed 5) | Branching (fern-like) arms + Simple six arms | 1.2 in | Scattered | 6 × 6 in, 26 snowflakes |
| 4 | Snowfall, many small flakes | Simple six arms + Arms with plate tips | 0.5 in | Scattered | 4 × 4 in, 60 snowflakes |
| 5 | Red and white holiday grid | Arms with plate tips | 1.2 in | Grid | 3.1 × 3.1 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 6 | Nordic cream and red, half-drop | Lace (branches and plates) + Ring and arrow arms | 1.4 in | Half-drop | 3.58 × 3.58 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 7 | Icy blue plates | Hexagon plate + Six-point star | 1 in | Scattered | 5 × 5 in, 22 snowflakes |
| 8 | Gold on black | Ring and arrow arms + Branching (fern-like) arms | 1.3 in | Half-drop | 3.38 × 3.38 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 9 | Mint and white, grid | Simple six arms + Lace (branches and plates) | 1 in | Grid | 2.74 × 2.74 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 10 | Bright scattered stars | Six-point star + Arms with plate tips | 0.8 in | Scattered | 5 × 5 in, 30 snowflakes |
| 11 | Black lines on white (to colour) | Branching (fern-like) arms + Ring and arrow arms | 1.6 in | Half-drop | 4.05 × 4.05 in, 4 snowflakes |
| 12 | One big snowflake (to trace) | Lace (branches and plates) | 6 in | One snowflake | – |
| 13 | Stencil size: 8 cm stars | Six-point star | 8 cm | Half-drop | 20.4 × 20.4 cm, 4 snowflakes |
| 14 | Night sky, four colours | Branching (fern-like) arms + Hexagon plate | 0.9 in | Scattered | 6 × 6 in, 40 snowflakes |
Each preset only fills in the fields; change any setting afterwards.
The 7 snowflakes
| Snowflake | Pieces drawn in the 0° to 30° wedge | Lines in the whole snowflake | Filled shapes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple six arms | 3 | 36 | 0 |
| Branching (fern-like) arms | 10 | 120 | 0 |
| Six-point star | 3 | 24 | 6 |
| Hexagon plate | 4 | 36 | 6 |
| Arms with plate tips | 4 | 24 | 12 |
| Ring and arrow arms | 4 | 48 | 0 |
| Lace (branches and plates) | 6 | 48 | 12 |
Every line is one of 12 copies of a piece; every filled shape is a piece and its mirror image, turned 6 times.
Background sizes (classic preset)
| Background | Pixels | Area at 96 px per inch | Grid steps across × down |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone 1080 × 1920 | 1080 × 1920 px | 11.25 × 20 in | 5.78 × 10.27 |
| Desktop 1920 × 1080 | 1920 × 1080 px | 20 × 11.25 in | 10.27 × 5.78 |
| Large screen 2560 × 1440 | 2560 × 1440 px | 26.67 × 15 in | 13.69 × 7.7 |
| Square post 1080 × 1080 | 1080 × 1080 px | 11.25 × 11.25 in | 5.78 × 5.78 |
| Tablet 2048 × 2732 | 2048 × 2732 px | 21.33 × 28.46 in | 10.96 × 14.61 |
Grid step and repeat
| Snowflake size | Line | Gap | Step | Seamless repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 1 mm | 0.25 in | 1.29 in | 2.58 × 2.58 in |
| 1.5 in | 1.2 mm | 0.4 in | 1.95 in | 3.89 × 3.89 in |
| 2 in | 1.5 mm | 0.5 in | 2.56 in | 5.12 × 5.12 in |
| 3 in | 2 mm | 0.5 in | 3.58 in | 7.16 × 7.16 in |
Step = snowflake size + line width + gap; the repeat is 2 × 2 steps, so the half-drop and two-snowflake mixes repeat too.
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Seamless snowflake repeats and backgrounds | Snowflake Pattern (this page) |
| A fold-and-cut paper snowflake | Paper Snowflake Template |
| Gift wrap with mixed holiday motifs | Christmas Wrapping Paper |
| A snow or ice texture | Snow Texture |
| Fair Isle knitting bands | Fair Isle Pattern |
Also handy: the Paper Snowflake Template, the Christmas Wrapping Paper and the Snow Texture maker.
More free tools
More pattern and print tools?
Pattern makers and print tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
Are the snowflakes really symmetrical?
Yes, exactly. Each snowflake is one piece drawn between 0° and 30°, copied 12 times: turned by 0°, 60°, 120°, 180°, 240° and 300°, and mirrored. Our tests turn every snowflake by 60° and mirror it and check that every point lands on another point of the same snowflake.
Do real snowflakes have six-fold symmetry?
Real snow crystals are never perfectly symmetrical, but a single crystal often comes close to six-fold symmetry because ice crystals are hexagonal. The source we use is dated in our notes. The snowflakes here are drawings with exact symmetry, not pictures of real crystals.
Will the tile repeat without a seam?
Yes. A snowflake that runs over an edge of the tile is drawn again from the opposite edge, so copies placed edge to edge join with no seam. Our tests compare the pattern one and two repeats over, by pixels and by path.
Do the snowflakes overlap in the scattered layout?
No. Each snowflake has a circle that holds it, line width included, and a new one is only placed where its circle stays clear of every other one by the gap you set, across the tile edges too.
What size are the background PNGs?
Phone 1080 × 1920, desktop 1920 × 1080, large screen 2560 × 1440, tablet 2048 × 2732 and square 1080 × 1080 pixels. Snowflakes are drawn at 96 pixels per inch of the size you set, so a 1.5 in snowflake is 144 pixels across.
Can I get the same scatter again?
Yes. The scatter is worked out from the seed number: the same seed and settings give exactly the same pattern; a new seed gives a new arrangement.
How is this different from the paper snowflake and snowflake colouring pages?
The paper snowflake template is a fold-and-cut wedge, and the colouring pages are big single snowflakes to colour. This page makes repeating snowflake patterns and screen backgrounds with a seamless tile.
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.