Surface pattern is a fundamental component of human expression, especially in textile design. It is often influenced by patterning in nature, structures that are also often easily described by mathematical principles. This paper presents the workshop as a method for exploring the relationship between rules and pattern. A workshop was conducted with textile- and fashion design students to test two assumptions: Design guided by rules would create a recognisable pattern, and, Visual patterns would easily be reducible to rules. The aim was to explore the relationship between pattern and rules in design processes, and to provide a foundation for reflection and critical discussion of this relationship. The results of the workshop could not reliably prove either assumption because, as was discovered through the workshop, the concepts of pattern and rules are neither universal nor obvious, and as such cannot be so simply tested. Pattern and rules are varied and nuanced phenomena and their relationship equally so.