During lockdown I’ve had more time to explore and document my pattern making process – and share with other makers too.

I have so enjoyed the online workshops I’ve done with students all over the world – something I would never have expected and which has been a real treat in these other wise quite isolated times.

Sharing time together has been really special and gaining an understanding of their practice and their particular approach to pattern making has been an ongoing source of inspiration to me.

I thought it might be nice to share a few tips from some of things we have learned together.

Firstly, it seems to me that good pattern is all about creating a sense of movement AND balance. This is something the exercises we do together really help to explore. Together we go through a series of sequences that explore repeat print making and all the endless possibilities of the block. This sequence is something I hope students will take away with them and use to expand and develop their pattern making practice.

Space is your friend. Good design is all about learning how to harness negative as well as postive space. Again – in my workshop we spend time exploring the different properies of negative and positive space and how to create the best balance.

As well as exploring the pattern making  I’ve also been helping students to get better results transferring their marks onto fabric.

When printing blocks onto fabric there is a lot to consider including the block, the printing medium, printing bed, fabric and how to best apply the ink – getting all these ingredients right can help you get a great print or not as I have learned from my many mistakes over the years. It’s important to me that I give my students as much technincal help as possible so they can get the print results they deserve.

I really hope to be back teaching physical workshops in my Sussex studio soon but in the meantime if you would like to take your pattern making skills onto the next stage do get in touch by emailing  sarahburnspatterns@gmail.com

Happy patternmaking!

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