What Is a Pattern?
A pattern is a design that repeats over and over again. Patterns are everywhere! Look at your shirt — does it have stripes, polka dots, or plaid? Those are all patterns!
Every pattern has a repeating unit, which is the part that keeps showing up again and again. In a stripe pattern, the repeating unit might be: blue line, white line, blue line, white line. The blue-white pair repeats over and over.
In a polka dot pattern, the repeating unit is a dot with space around it. In a checkerboard pattern, the repeating unit is a dark square next to a light square.
Patterns can be simple (just two things repeating) or complex (many things repeating in a longer sequence). But they all follow the same rule: some part of the design repeats in a predictable way.