Spoonflower offers 5 different options for repeating patterns you have uploaded yourself: Basic (the default option), Half-Drop, Half-Brick, Center, and Mirror. You can access all repeat options once your design has been uploaded here.
A Basic repeat just creates tiles of your design straight up and down, while a Half-Drop or Half-Brick repeat staggers the tiles vertically or horizontally. Center repeat takes itself quite literally, and prints one single iteration of an image right in the middle of whatever size and length of fabric is selected, and the Mirror repeat does just that, mirroring the design both vertically and horizontally.
The design preview window allows you to toggle back and forth between the layout options in real time, so if you're having a hard time picturing what these look like, don't worry. Try it out with any image you upload and just play around!
Pro tip: Sometimes you may find certain repeats blocked from use when ordering wallpaper. Designs on wallpaper must repeat once or an even number of times across the 24 inch width of the roll to ensure each roll aligns properly with the next. Designs that measure 24" wide will automatically have the half drop, half brick, and mirror repeat options blocked (since each printed roll is identical, a design that fills the width of the roll would make these repeat options invalid). By making your design smaller (just click the "smaller" button once), the other repeats will become available to you again.
Basic Repeat
We will tile your design from the lower left corner up and to the right to fill the available space for your order. If you upload an image larger than the area then we will crop it back towards the lower left corner (e.g. the top and/or right sides will be cropped). The design will not be stretched or changed in its dimensions.
Half-Drop Repeat
This is like the basic repeat, except the design is repeated with a half-step vertically as you move to the right.
Half-Brick Repeat
This is also a staggered repeat, but the design shifts a half-step horizontally to the right as you move upwards like bricks, hence the name.
Center Repeat
Your design can be centered on fabric only. We will not alter the size or dimensions of the design. NOTE: If the size of the design does not match the size of the product, the space around the edge of the design will be left unprinted.
Side note: Designs saved at a Center repeat will not be available on Wallpaper or Home Decor items.
Mirror Repeat
This layout tool creates designs without obvious seams by mirroring your original design so that it folds out into four sections with every edge pixel identical to its immediate neighbor. Try it out on photographs and scanned designs that have irregular edges that will not repeat smoothly and may otherwise give you an obvious tiling effect.
See also: Why can't I make my image bigger on Spoonflower?
See also: Sizing Your Design