The repeat is the distance, up the roll, before the pattern starts again. With a straight match every strip has to start at the same point in the pattern, so a drop cannot be cut at just any length.
Drop length = wall height + trim, rounded up to the next whole repeat
Drops per roll = roll length ÷ drop length, rounded down
A repeat of 0 means no repeat: the drop is just wall height + trim
What the repeat setting means
Enter 0 for a paper with no repeat. Brewster describes a random or free match as having no design repeat, so strips can be joined anywhere, and that is what 0 stands for. Enter the number printed on the roll for a straight match. A drop match (a half-drop or quarter-drop) shifts each strip by part of a repeat. Drop matches are not modeled here, so for such a paper treat the count as a starting point and follow its instructions.
One room, six repeats
A 14 × 10 ft room with 8 ft walls and 20½ in × 33 ft rolls, with no trim, so only the repeat varies. The repeats are examples:
| Repeat | Drop length | Drops per roll | Rolls to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| None / free match | 8 ft | 4 | 8 rolls |
| 12 in | 8 ft | 4 | 8 rolls |
| 18 in | 9 ft | 3 | 10 rolls |
| 24 in | 8 ft | 4 | 8 rolls |
| 25 in | 8.33 ft | 3 | 10 rolls |
| 30 in | 10 ft | 3 | 10 rolls |
Every row needs 29 drops, so the differences are all in the drop length and how many fit on a roll.
Bigger does not always mean more paper
A repeat of 12 in leaves the 8 ft drop at 8 ft, because 96 in is exactly eight repeats. A repeat of 24 in does the same. But 18 in does not divide 96 evenly, so the drop rounds up to 108 in, and a 33 ft roll then yields fewer drops. A 25 in repeat gives a 100 in drop, shorter than 108 in even though 25 is larger than 18. The 24 in repeat needs 8 rolls, fewer than the smaller 18 in repeat’s 10 rolls. The count follows how the repeat lands against the drop, and the rounding means there are boundaries rather than a smooth trend.
Reading your own paper
Take the repeat from the roll label or product page, and use the planner with your own room, roll size and any trim your instructions call for. If the drop (wall height plus trim) is a multiple of the repeat, the repeat costs nothing; if it is just over a multiple, it adds a full extra repeat to every drop. The full roll-count method explains the drops themselves.
What changes the estimate?
- The repeat printed on the roll, and whether the match is straight
- Wall height and any trim added to each drop
- Roll length, which sets how many drops fit
- Whether the paper is a half-drop or offset match, which this does not model