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Want to learn how to create repeating diagonal stripes in Photoshop? In this tutorial I am going to show you how to use Photoshop’s pattern preview tool to easily create repeating diagonal stripes.

How to Create Diagonal Stripes in Photoshop with Pattern Preview

First create a new document. For this example I am going to use 200 px by 200 px with the background contents set to transparent.

After you have created your document we are going to use the line tool to create a line from the bottom left corner to the top right corner of our canvas.

Photoshop line tool

Starting in the bottom left corner make sure you hold down the shift key first and then click and drag up to the upper right corner. When you hold down the shift key it will constrain your angle to 45 degrees.

Next, you will want to adjust your stroke width. From the menu at the top set your fill to none and your stroke to black with a stroke width of 50 px. Make sure your line is centered on the canvas. You can click and drag it until the Photoshop guidelines indicate it is in the center.

Another way to center your object is click M for the marquee tool and then Cmd/Ctrl + A to select everything. Next hit the V key on the keyboard to access the move tool. This will bring up the align controls in the top menu. Select to align both horizontally and vertically.

After you have centered the diagonal line to your canvas go to View > Pattern Preview to bring up the pattern preview tool in Photoshop.

The pattern preview tool was a new feature with Photoshop 2021. If you are using an older version of Photoshop keep reading below to see how to create a repeating pattern using the offset filter.

With the pattern preview mode open you will see your pattern continue beyond the space of the canvas. Here you can double check to make sure the pattern looks seamless.

screenshot of how to use the pattern preview mode in photoshop

Defining your Pattern

When the pattern preview mode is open go to Edit > Define Pattern to save your pattern to Photoshop. A dialogue box will open where you can name your pattern.

Testing Your Pattern

To test out your pattern open up a new document. I like to use the dimensions of digital scrapbook paper which is 3600 x 3600 px with 300 dpi, color mode set to RGB and background contents white.

With your new document you are going to add three layers. In the bottom of the layers panel click to add a solid color adjustment layer. This will be the base color for your design.

Next click to add a pattern adjustment layer. From the drop down you can select your newly created pattern. Finally create another solid color adjustment layer. This will be the color for your pattern. You will need to create a clipping mask by right clicking on the layer and select – create clipping mask from the menu. You can also achieve this by holding down the opt/alt key and clicking between the two layers.

screenshot of how to create a clipping mask in photoshop

Using Color adjustment layers makes it easy to change out the colors of your pattern.

diagonal stripes pattern in photoshop

How to Create A Repeating Diagonal Stripes Pattern with the Offset filter

If you are using an earlier version of Photoshop that does not have the pattern preview feature then you will achieve the same result by using the offset filter in Photoshop. In the video below I show you how to create a diagonal stripe pattern with the offset filter.

After you have created your line you will want to make a duplicate. Right click on the layer and select duplicate layer. Next go to Filter > Other > Offset. Photoshop will prompt you to convert your line into a smart object before you can use the offset filter.

screenshot of photoshop offset filter

In the dialogue box you will want to set your horizontal and vertical offset to be half of your canvas size. In this example we used the dimensions of 200 px by 200 px therefore you will set the horizontal and vertical offset to +100 px. Under the undefined area you can select Repeat edge pixels.

Next duplicate this new layer with the offset selected. In the layers panel double click on the offset feature. It will bring up the dialogue box again.

This time change the offset to be a negative 100 px horizontal and vertical offset. Once you have done this you will see additional lines in the upper left and lower right corners of your canvas.

Now go to Edit > Define Pattern to save your pattern. You can test your pattern using the same method described above.

Check out the video below that walks you through these steps on how to create a diagonal striped pattern in Photoshop.

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More Photoshop Pattern Tutorials