As for scanning, which scanner do you have and what resolution are you scanning it at?

If using Photoshop 7, there is Filter - Pattern Maker. Image Ready has Filter - Other - Tile Maker. I think the Patter Maker was new in Photoshop 7 but Image Ready had Tile Maker for last version and version 7. There is also a set of plug-ins from Xaos Tools. Terrazzo is one of the plug-ins. It will do patterns. You can even pick from over a dozen symetry designs. I would have posted an example but it was hard to tell from your image how the pattern should have been repeating.

I use an hp multifunction scanner. i scanned it in at 300dpi. The size of the material is well over 3000pixels and over 25mb. i well look for these filters your are talking about. i use photoshop 6 and paintshop pro 7. paintshop pro7 has a seamless tile maker but it fades the edges or distorts them and makes the tiles look really bad also when there are patterns on them.

That sounds like what Image Ready does with the faded edge. With Terrazzo, you can select part of image (always best to work with image size larger than one repetition of pattern. You can adjust selection with Terrazzo) and see how it will looks as you move it around image and/or change size of selection.

300 dpi should have been good enough. You go much higher than that and you got one huge file. I've never scanned a fabric. I know there is a "Descreen Printed Originals" setting. I'm wondering if that might help. Not really printed originals but worth a shot.

or a simple trick is to duplicate the layer, transform it by flip horizontal, merge the two layers and do the same verticaly