Some people want to create very basic stained glass art, perhaps an image of a horse, or a basic geometric design like those found in many Arts and Crafts windows. Others are looking for more esoteric or personal designs that would be very difficult or even impossible to locate.

If you are looking for existing stained glass patterns, the internet is full of free patterns, just doing a simple search will net you hundreds of possibilities. There are also many books that have high quality patterns, many of which you can find in our publications section. You may want to check out our growing free pattern section as well.

If you want to create your own patterns, you will have to have a good basic understanding of how stained glass projects work. You will not want to make a pattern with large complicated cuts or ones that have many very small pieces. You'll have to understand that somethings are just not possible with glass and learn how to get around those issues.

Once you create your initial pattern, step away from it for a while, maybe an hour or so. When you come back, take a good look at the pattern and make sure that the cuts to be made are realistic. You don't want to create undue work if the pattern could be slightly reworked with little effect on the final aesthetic output.

Creating stained glass patterns is an art form that may take you a while to reach a decent intermediate level. Don't be discouraged, but also don't rush your learning. Start with a simple project, one of maybe 20 pieces and go on from there. You'll soon learn many shortcuts that will benefit you for years to come.