When someone is referring to a “pattern repeat” of a home decor fabric, they’re referring to the size in inches horizontally and vertically of a given design printed on or woven into the fabric. For example, assume a flower basket design is 27" wide and 18" tall. Since home decor fabric is typically 54" wide, in this example the basket design would be repeated every 27" horizontally for a total of two times across the width of the 54" wide fabric. The basket design would be repeated every 18" vertically for a total of two times for every 36" length of the fabric. So in this example, a one yard length of 54" wide fabric would have 4 flower basket designs on it. A fabricator will use the pattern repeat to calculate the various cuts of the fabric to center a design on each upholstered cushion or to align the designs on drapery panels.