How to Paint Chevron Stripes

Last Updated: October 27, 2022

From home décor to ladies' fashion to graphic design, chevron stripes seem to be all the rage these days. While seemingly straightforward, creating your own chevron pattern can get confusing, especially when working on a large surface like a painter's canvas or wall. However, with a little bit of preparation and planning, the process can be much simplified.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Creating a Template on Paper

1
Plan out your chevron pattern. Before you start painting, it’s best to decide how you want your stripes to look. For example, do you want them to be vertical or horizontal? You can also decide on their thickness, number, and shape. The thinner your stripes, the more of them you will be able to put on the wall.
2
Draw a grid on a blank sheet of paper. To get the cleanest and most accurate lines, draw a graph to plot out your design before your start. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a straight vertical line down the center of the sheet of paper. Then, draw two additional vertical lines on either side of the first line. Each line should be halfway from the middle line to the outer edge of the paper.
- You should now have three equidistant vertical lines going down the sheet of paper.
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3
Do the same thing with horizontal lines. Using the ruler, draw a horizontal line in the middle of the sheet of paper. Then draw two additional horizontal lines above and below it to create 16 equal-sized squares on your sheet of paper. You will use these as points of reference for your stripes.
4
Begin creating an outline for the stripes. Starting on the square at the upper left-hand corner of the page, draw a diagonal line from the upper left-hand corner of the square to the lower right-hand corner of the square. Repeat this on each of the three squares directly below it.
- Then, move onto the next column and draw a diagonal line from the upper right-hand corner to the lower left-hand corner.
- Continue alternating directions and columns until you have completed filling in the remaining squares. You will then have the outline for your chevron stripes.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Painting on Your Template Paper

1
Use a base coat. An easy way to paint in your stripes is to apply a base color to the entirety of the paper (retrace lines afterward, if necessary). Then, once your base coat has dried, you can paint different colored stripes over it.
- To keep your lines clean when painting the stripes, try using painters tape on the borders.^{[1]
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- Keep in mind that you should mark which stripe gets which color as it can get confusing. You can do this by dotting each line with the color it will take, or by marking them with bits of tape.
2
Paint each stripe separately. This is a good method if you plan to paint each line a different color - or at least more than two. For example, if you want to alternate shades of blue, you could start with a light blue at the top and then paint each stripe a darker blue until the bottom. This would give you an ombré look.
- Make sure your lines are clearly marked so your colors don't run over and into each other.
3
Wait for the paint to thoroughly dry. Depending on the thickness of your paint, this can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour. Once it has dried, gently pull up the tape if you used any. You can also take the time to erase any remaining pencil marks from your original grid.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Painting Stripes on a Wall

1
Plan out your chevron pattern. Before you start painting, it's best to figure out the size and style of your design. To do this, first, measure the height and width of the wall you want to paint with a measuring tape. Once you've made note of both numbers, decide how many stripes you want to paint and in what fashion. For example, let's say you want 5 stripes on your wall with 5 peaks on each line.
- This will help you graph the pattern of your design in the future.
2
Use a blank sheet of paper to lay out your design. This drawing doesn't have to be exact, but it will help you figure out where and how to space out your stripes. Simply draw a mini-version of your wall with the height and width clearly marked along the side and bottom. Then, draw in the horizontal and vertical lines of your grid and make sure they are relatively even.
- If you are concerned about getting an exact number for the spacing between your horizontal stripes, try using this simple formula - ceiling height/2x. For example, take the height of your ceiling divided by 2x to get the number of inches between each line. The 'x' in this equation would be the number of chevron stripes you'd like on your wall. So, if your ceiling is 90 inches and you want to paint three stripes, then the formula would follow 90/2(3), and you would get 15 inches (38.1 cm) between each stripe.
3
Paint the wall a base color.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Andre Kazimierski
Painting Specialist
Expert Interview. 26 January 2022.} Keep in mind that this base color will be the color of one of your stripes. You also need to make sure you cover the wall in at least a coat or two and let it dry overnight. Depending on the condition of the wall, you may also need to first use a primer before applying a coat of color.
- Be sure to follow the directions on whatever paint you choose.
4
Mark off a grid on your wall. Use measuring tape, a yardstick, and a pencil to draw horizontal and vertical lines in a grid pattern across the surface of your wall. Then, use painters tape to mark the boundaries for each chevron stripe. You may also want to use any extra bits of tape to label which stripe gets colored in.
- Refer to your drawing to make sure you are spacing correctly.
5
Paint in your chevron stripes.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Andre Kazimierski
Painting Specialist
Expert Interview. 26 January 2022.} Once the base coat has dried and you've set up your grid, simply paint in the areas between the painter's tape. These should be the lines you've marked with bits of tape. Go over each area with a thick paintbrush or thick roller, and then let it dry.^{[4]
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Research source}
- Once all the paint has dried, carefully pull off the painter's tape and voila!

Community Q&A

Question

How do you do it like a braid?

Community Answer

Draw two of them. Make one flipped horizontally and overlapping the other. Erase the outline of the first stripe where the two intersects every other time. Do the same for the other stripe where you haven't for the first. Then paint each stripe in a different color otherwise you will not be able to tell that it's two stripes.