A Guide to Patterns

A pattern is any repeated design which can be woven into a fabric or printed on top of it. Typically, stripes and checks are woven into the fabric - but some can also be printed on. This usually happens when the stripes are diagonal or the pattern is too intricate to weave.Patterns come in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. If you've ever wondered what they are all called let's shed some light on them!You can also find saveable references at the bottom of the page. Simply pin them to your Pinterest boards and refer back to them when you need to.  

Types of pattern

Stripes

Aradonis stripes

Vertical stripes of plain coloured satin alternate with contrasting narrow embroidered bands in the manner of the costume of a bayadère or temple dancer.

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Awning stripes

Relatively wide, even, usually vertical stripes of solid colour on a lighter background. It resembles the pattern on awning fabrics.

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Balanced stripes

A stripe pattern with a symmetrical layout, in which typically vertical, coloured stripes are arranged around a centre.

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Barcode stripes

A stripe pattern consisting of vertical lines of varying width just like in a barcode.

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Bayadere stripes

Brightly coloured stripes of various widths are laid out horizontally. The pattern is named after the Bayadere dancing girl of India.

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Bengal stripes

Stripes of the same width, alternating light and dark colours, which are wider than candy but narrower than awning stripes. Also known as Regency or Tiger stripes.

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Candy stripes

A symmetrical stripe pattern with small-scale, vertical awning stripes, similar to the stripes on a candy stick.

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Chalk stripes

A vertical stripe pattern that resembles lines drawn with tailor’s chalk. The width of the stripe is wider than the pin stripe

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Hairline stripes

The thinnest stripe pattern possible, with the vertical stripe width of about the diameter of a human hair.

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Herringbone

A traditional woven or printed design of zigzags in a stripe layout, also called chevron.

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Pencil stripes

A stripe pattern produced by lines that are as thick as ones drawn by a pencil. The distance between lines is often wider than the lines. Also known as dress stripe.

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Pinstripes

A vertical stripe pattern produced by very thin - and sometimes broken - lines that are one or two yarns thick.

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Regimental stripes

A diagonal stripe pattern with colours originating from the British regiments. This pattern is mostly used for neckwear.

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Roman stripes

A stripe pattern consisting of bright, multicoloured contrasting vertical stripes which can range in thickness. The repeat of the pattern is often quite large.

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Unbalanced stripes

An asymmetrical stripe pattern consisting of typically vertical, unbalanced stripes that do not have a centre.

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Checks

Argyle check

Consisting of two- or three-colour diamond- shaped rectangles and lines diagonally arranged, this pattern is mostly used on knitted fabrics.

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Basketweave

This is an allover pattern resembling the structure of a basket or a woven fabric through interweaving lines.

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Buffalo check

A two- or three-colour pattern screating squares of equal size often with black as a colour. Also known as Queen Charlotte's check.

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Checkerboard

A pattern consisting of equal sized checks of alternating colours as they appear in a checkerboard game board.

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Dupplin check

A pattern formed by a combination of usually houndstooth checks and windowpane checks, forming a check pattern within a check pattern

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Gingham

A pattern of solid-colour squares created by overlapping stripes of the same width. Intermediate squares in the centre are 50 percent lighter.

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Glen check

A district check pattern including a combination of large and small checks. Also called Prince of Wales check and commonly used for suits.

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Graph check

A check pattern created by crossing usually thin lines on a solid ground to resemble the texture of graph paper.

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Gun club check

Four colours (typically black, brown, gold, and green) intersecting to create rectangles of various sizes, reminiscent of the countryside.

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Harlequin check

A pattern of diamonds arranged in a lattice, often with a tiny dot where the diamonds' points meet.

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Houndstooth

A pattern of small jagged checks with irregular points on the squares’ corners, like the teeth of a dog. Also known as dog's tooth.

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Madras check

A pattern with brightly coloured stripes of varying thickness crossing each other to create uneven checks. Typically used on shirts.

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Pin Check

A check pattern resembling small dots produced by intersecting pin-sized stripes that are one or two yarns thick.

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Plaid Check

A Scottish design that consists of crossing bands of varying widths and two or more colours horizontally and vertically.

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Shepherd's Check

Resembling Gingham check, this pattern is the simplest of the district check patterns. It is made up of small, even-sized checks of two colours.

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Tartan Check

A pattern consisting of stripes of various widths and colours duplicated in both directions, which used to designate a distinctive Scottish clan.

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Tattersall Check

A relatively small-scale check pattern produced by regularly spaced, thin darker lines on a usually light background.

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Windowpane Check

A widely spaced check pattern formed by two perpendicular pinstripes resembling panes in a window. It is commonly used on suits and shirts.

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Other patterns

Polka dot

Polka dot is also a geometric pattern made up of filled circles of the same size and colour, arranged at equal distances from each other.

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Trellis

Often occurring in Moroccan design, trellis features a supporting structure of interwoven lines sometimes adorned with vines or flowers.