In this paper, a new and innovative method for the patterning of grinding wheels is presented. The patterns are machined with a patterning tool by using fly-cutting kinematics. By changing the patterning process parameters, different pattern sizes and densities can be machined in a flexible way. Surface and cylindrical grinding experiments show that grinding with patterned grinding wheels can significantly reduce process forces, grinding burn, and grinding power. The surface roughness increases because less active cutting edges remain when grinding with patterned wheels. But especially for roughing processes, the results show great potential for increasing the overall grinding performance. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00170-014-6579-8.