Choose "Pattern" followed by "Make." Illustrator will enter pattern-making mode and add your pattern to the swatches palette. In the Pattern Options Palette, deselect "Move Tile With Art." ...

Our newest class, Text Effects in Adobe Illustrator, will teach you how to create custom word art by integrating different patterns, fonts, and lettering. Not quite sure what that looks like?

Once you've selected a pattern swatch in Illustrator, you can apply the pattern to other tools. Using the Rectangle Tool, you can quickly use a pattern to fill the entire page using the same pattern.