Walls and Ceilings - Wall Texture - Skip trowel

I have existing wall texture that a friend id'd as skip trowel. Does anyone know how this is created? I've also heard that sand is added to the topping to help make this affect. But don't know how to apply the mix.

I've used the 'hopper' and knockdown method (without sand)before and the resulting texture does not match.

I have a fairly large (~8 x 20) area to do.

thx.

Skip trowel is like it sounds. You put mud on a hawk(square platform on a straight handle) and skip it on with a trowel. The word skip is used because of the action you use. You apply presure in some areas and skip over some. The sand you want to use is called silica sand. Dump some in your bucket with mud and mix. The amount depends on what your matching. It might be hard to next to impossible to match your existing texture. Everyone has a different tecnique. If the room is bigger than the wall your matching you may want to skim that wall and start with a new texture throughout. Just a thought.

Thanks. I was hoping not to have to skim the surrounding areas, and start over. A lot of additional work. I'll give the skip trowel a try.

btw, I have used another technique for small patched areas that need re-texturing to match the skip trowel I'll share. I used a wet shop brush (like used in high school woodshop to clean the table tops), and applied thinned mud from a mud tray, in a random pattern. It looks like puppy-dog paw prints on the wall. Let set for 10-15 minutes, and then knockdown with a 12" blade. Looks pretty close to the original.