Patterns and textures are becoming a bigger part of web design, and an increase number of resources are available for freebies in this area. Some are tools that will help you to quickly create your own background pattern, while others are sources of stock textures that can be used in your own work. Of the available options for finding textures, these are the best that I have found.

BgPatterns

BgPatterns is a really nice resource for quick experimentation. You can create a repeating background pattern by selecting an image, a color scheme, a texture, and you can even rotate the image. Rather than taking the time to create something from scratch in Photoshop or Illustrator, give BgPatterns a try and see if you like it.

Stripe Generator

Striped backgrounds are still pretty popular for web 2.0-style designs. If you’re looking for a striped background, Stripe Generator is your best choice. You select the colors, width of the stripes, shadow and the angle.

Lost and Taken

Lost and Taken is a site that publishes images of copyright-free stock textures. The textures are of good quality and there’s some variety as well. It’s set up in blog format and you can subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on future textures.