Wallpaper confusion

I would read it as an idiots way of saying 61.5cm.

But then anything is possible from that description. :))

I think it means the pattern repeats at 61, so the lengths need be cut at least 30.5 longer than a full length (from floor to ceiling)

Does it not mean that the pattern repeat is 61cm but that the pattern is staggered by half a pattern repeat between the two edges of the paper? So in your calculation you need to allow an extra half pattern repeat in every alternate drop.

Stephen

That was my suspicion but I can also read it as described by Eric and Phil.

It's for my daughter and the supplier only has two rolls. If it was for me I'd start papering in the middle of the wall, work outwards in each direction and, if it runs out, finish with some plain colour (probably white!). But it's not for me...

Yep. A drop pattern can get a bit mind blowing. But the simple way to minimise wastage is to cut alternate pieces from alternate rolls.

F submitted this idea :

I would guess at it repeats every 61cm and that that the match point moves down by half of that (30.5cm) for each length.

Absolutely right! You have both rolls on the go, cutting the first, third, fifth and seventh drops from Roll 1 and drops 2, 4, 6 and 8 from Roll 2. That way, each drop is an integral number of pattern repeats, and you waste very little.

People!

This seems like a major DIY tip to me.

Can it go in the wiki??

It's not rocket science! I've been doing it since Adam was a lad, and assumed it was common practice!

Never heard of it. It is one of those tricks that everybody who knows just assumes everybody knows.

Very useful for a beginner to have explained.

No mate, AFAIC it is rocket science :-) Get it on the Wiki.

Sorry to highjack your thread, but I've just papered an alcove in the spare room.

I've always found that wallpaper unrolled 'pattern up' IYSWIM. In other words if you unroll it facing you, the pattern is the right way up.

The paper SWMBO chose seems to work the other way. So instead of placing the paper on the paste table & unrolling it to length, then cutting, pasting & folding - you have to unroll, cut to length, then reverse.

Is that common nowadays?

If you unroll it with the pattern facing away from you then it's still the right way up, just needs rotating around a vertical axis.

The free end of the roll goes to the top of the wall.

Or have I misunderstood you? Are you saying that when you look at the roll, you can't see the pattern until you have unrolled it and then turned it over? The pattern is facing the inside of the roll rather than the outside?

If I got it right second time then, no, I've never come across any like that. Has management bought it from an 'outlet' that has had to repack the wallpaper?

This is absolutely correct for the particular drop and pattern repeat the OP mentioned, and clearly worth more widespread knowledge, but in the general condition, the numbers could just as easily work out so that this ploy was not necessary.

I guess this is the time for the mathematicians to produce a formula into which we can input drop, repeat, straight/ staggered, and it will tell us whether to cut from one roll or two at a time.

Chris

Sorry, I knew I hadn't explained that very well. In this case the free end had to go to the bottom of the wall, the cut end to the top.

Is this a case where the pattern orientation is indicated somehow, or simply you feel it looks better that way? I guess some objects should clearly be a particular way up, lots of others are more abstract.

Chris

Never come across that. Are you sure it's the right way up? No clues in the pattern?

Having said that, in the early days, I once set about papering a stair well with the longest drop first. Somewhere between paste table and wall, probably as I balanced on the bannister, I managed to transpose bottom and top.

Management wouldn't accept upside down flowers.

My dad papered my nan's lounge and it looked really nice until some smart alec asked why the flowers were upsde down...

Previous occupants of my previous flat had made their own border by slicing strips of wallpaper, so I had sideways flowers round the cornice.

Owain