Laurens Top 10 Tips for Pattern Matching Tile Print Fabrics

Jun 30, 2025

Tile and grid like prints and designs are everywhere this summer and I am here for it! Full of pattern and detail, these types of fabric designs make beautiful summery garments. It can be easy to get put off working with them though and worry about pattern matching and getting the grid straight.

Fear not though. It is easier than you think and actually the grid-like design in these types of print can help when you are cutting out to ensure you have a garment that will hang and drape perfectly!

The Delphi print from our latest exclusive fabric collection falls right into that category. Its larger scale squares are filled with meaningful icons and symbols representing Greece and Greek Goddesses, radiating that summery feeling and giving you all the chilled vibes of relaxing in the sun!

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Delphi Tiles Viscose Linen Fabric

£18.00 /m

Fran Shirt Kit

from £79.00

Fran Trouser Add-on Bundle

£55.00

Darling Ranges Dress Kit sizes 0-20

£85.00

Here are my top 10 tips for cutting out and sewing with our Delphi Fabric Design

1. Opt for more simple designs that don’t have too many panels or seams

Think simple tops and dresses with no centre front seam or princess seams and skirt styles that have a front and back panel rather than several sections with vertical seams. Tiered styles can work but it might work better to lengthen/shorten the tiers to fit in with the dimensions of the grid or pattern repeat on the fabric. Button up styles are ok too - they just need a bit more consideration when cutting out.

2. Draw grid lines on your paper pattern pieces - front and back

Using a ruler (a quilting ruler really helps) draw lines parallel to the grainline and at 90 degrees to it. You can also make fold lines on your pattern pieces on the front and back. They don’t need to be a specific distance apart or match your fabric. You just use them as a reference point when placing the pattern onto the fabric to ensure the grid-like design on the fabric is straight.

3. Cut on the single layer!

Rather than cutting your fabric out on the fold, cut it out flat. Using the grid lines you have drawn on your pattern pieces, manipulate the fabric as needed to get it lined up and straight. Then cut around the pattern piece - but NOT down the centre front or back if your piece is to be cut on the fold! Once you have cut around one side, keep the pattern piece on the fabric and flip it over, creating a fold in the fabric. Then line up the grid lines on the other side. This will make sure the pattern repeat is nice and even left to right and up and down!

When cutting out sleeves or any other cut x2 pieces, use the first one you cut out as a template for cutting out the second - just make sure you flip it over to get a left and right side!

4. Think about the most prominent part of your garment and what part of the design you would like to feature

If you are making a top or dress with no centre front seam then you can make sure that the centre part of the tile print is along that centre front fold line and a complete tile is at the neckline. Take account of the seam allowance that will be used at the neckline and ensure when you cut out that you are positioning the pattern piece by this amount above the tile. This will make sure that once the neckline is sewn, the tile will still be complete. On this top I wanted the bow and arrow at the centre front neckline.

5. Make a feature of the print

There might be parts of your garment where you can adapt the pattern to fit in with the print, like on the centre back pleat on this Closet Core Fran Shirt. When cutting this out, I adjusted the size of the pleat to make it the same width as one of the tiles. I also turned it into a box pleat - rather than an inverted pleat - to feature one of the tiles. Just remember to take account of the seam allowance at the top when cutting out too!

6. Match the grid lines - not the contents of the grid or tile

In a fabric like this Delphi print that has a very clear vertical and horizontal grid like repeat, it makes things a LOT easier if you match the grid, not the contents of the tile or grid.

7. Matching across the centre front

If your garment has a button band or placket down the front, it can make things easier to have the edge of a tile at the edge of the placket. This is usually different from the centre front of the garment.

On this Closet Core Fran Shirt below you can see the edge of the grid is not at the centre front, which is where the button holes are, instead it's at the edge of the placket. In this example, when cutting out, draw on the seam allowance down the front edge of the paper pattern piece and position this in between a column of tiles on your fabric.

Once the seam is sewn and it’s attached to the facing, a whole complete tile will be visible. For full details of cutting out and sewing this type of garment check out the Sewing Society Fran Shirt videos. We also have a step by step check matching blog that explains the same pattern matching principles with checks!

8. Match across the side seams

Making sure your tiles or grid continues across the side seams will give a really slick finish. When you come to cut out the front and back bodice, depending on what you have cut first, take a look at what part of the tile is at the bottom edge. Just make sure the same part of the tile is at the bottom edge when cutting out the other bodice. Remember you aren’t matching the contents of the grid here, just the grid lines!

9. Pin with accuracy

When you come to sew together your pieces that have been pattern matched, place pins at the grid lines where they meet, as well as any notches in your pattern. This will help to make sure that once they are sewn everything still lines up.

10. Sew with a walking foot

This can also really help to stop the fabric slipping as you sew. It ensures that the fabric feeds evenly through the machine and keeps those grid lines matched up. It’s not essential so don’t worry if you don’t have one but yay if you do! It does really help!

I hope you are feeling inspired to give this gorgeous fabric a try! It really is a lovely fresh sand on-trend print to wear and once you follow these tips you'll see how easy it is to create a gorgeous garment you can feel proud of!

For more specific and detailed instruction on working with this print, check out my top tips video for the Fran Shirt - it comes with the Fran shirt kit and cal also be purchased seperatly and viewed as many times as you like!

Happy Sewing!