These fab Photoshop philosophies will make your life easier and your work load less.
1: Avoid cropping motifs
Allow your motifs to extend over the edge of the canvas. Should you have to create a repeating pattern later on, you won’t have to recreate the missing design or replace a cropped element with a full one.  It’s much easier to build a continuation of a design with a little overhang.  Keep it to a 5cm strip approximately, as too much of an extension will blow out your file size.
2. Swap merged layers for grouped layers
Resist flattening or merging layers in your files. Again, you’ll need separated layers for repeating patterns or to modify the design later on.
Keep your effects to no more than five layers. More than that can make your file size too large. Keep them unhidden and at the top of the layers panel so they apply to all the layers underneath. If the design needs to be put into repeat later you can change the elements that sit below and the effect layers will still apply to all the elements. You can also drag these layers onto another file to duplicate the treatment elsewhere. Â Put them in a group labelled Effects for easy access.
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4. Keep an unmerged border
Due to their often highly detailed nature, borders can be very tricky to rebuild! Keep an unmerged and uncropped copy in case you need to change it.
5. Remove unwanted layers
Delete any layers you no longer need when you’re happy with the final design. It keeps the file size at a minimum and it also ensures the file is clean and easy for the client to understand.
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