A Passion For Pattern

Katrin Cargill sums it up best in the first few sentences of her book: “Pattern surrounds our lives,” she says. “Some of us are more aware of it than others.

A lot of us are intimidated by it - do I dare use that gorgeous large-scale damask on my sofa, or shall I play it safe and use neutral linen, or perhaps be a little brave and use a dotted pattern?”

Check It Out

Painting checks on a wall can be one of the most simple—and most satisfying—projects you’ll find. It’s important, however, to suit the size of the squares to the space and the larger the scale of the checks, the more spacious a room will seem. This variation has a special touch, too; look closely and you’ll see that there’s a miniature check border.

Preparation:

1 x Quilt Pattern

1 The measurements given in this project area based on 8-inch square checks that cover a 108x140-inch area. Make sure the surface of the wall is smooth and clean before painting. Repair any blemishes, such as cracks and holes, using a multipurpose spackle, smoothing it with sandpaper once it has dried. Then apply two coats of cream paint using the large sheepskin roller. Let the wall dry thoroughly.
Marking the Pattern:

2 Measure the height and width of the wall, and work out a square size that will fit comfortably into these dimensions. Mark a 4-inch wide horizontal band 32 inches above floor level for an 8- to 9-foot ceiling height, creating a dado effect (as if the room had a chair rail). Use the masking tape to mask off the edge of the ceiling and the base board. This will help keep the painted squares in a straight line at the top and bottom of the wall.

3 From the top of the wall, draw vertical lines at intervals of 8 inches with the ruler and pencil, making sure you leave a gap where the dado band will be painted in later. Then, to complete the outline of the squares, mark horizontal lines at intervals of 8 inches, starting at the top of the wall, again making sure you leave a gap for the dado band. (If your wall is perfectly straight, you can guarantee the accuracy of your squares by using a plumb line and level to mark them out.)

4 Starting at the top of the wall, mask off alternate squares on every other row until you reach floor level. Painting in the Squares.

5 Using the 6-inch roller, gently roll on the blue-gray paint inside the masked-off squares. Allow to dry thoroughly before peeling away the masking tape; otherwise, the tape may pull the wet paint off.

6 Repeat steps 4 and 5, masking off individual squares with tape and then painting alternate squares along the remaining rows - this will form the pattern of checks over the entire wall surface. Make sure you do not paint over the 4-inch wide gap for the chair rail.

Painting in the Dado Band:

7 Divide the 4-inch band in half horizontally with a pencil line and mark off every 2 inches along the top and bottom of the dado band. Using the craft knife, cut out a 2-inch square from the middle of the stencil board.

8 Carefully align the stencil against the 2-inch marks made along the top edge of the dado band and using the small 2-inch roller, paint inside the square stencil with the blue-gray paint; continue to paint in every other square along the top. Allow to dry thoroughly, and then repeat the process on alternate squares in the row below.

9 Use a crayon (this should be of a color which is darker than the shade of blue-gray paint, but also harmonizes with the contrasting color) and the rule, to delineate the top and bottom lines of the dado band.