Gingham, plaid, tartan or check: the difference

Gingham

In a woven gingham, coloured and white threads run in stripes of equal width both along and across the cloth. Where two coloured stripes cross you get a solid square, where two white stripes cross you get white, and where one of each crosses you get a lighter tint. That gives gingham its three-tone look from only two yarn colours.

Because the yarn is dyed before weaving, true gingham looks the same on both sides, though printed versions exist and show the pattern on one side only. It comes in every size, from tiny checks you see as a texture to large blocks. A big two-colour check, often red and black, is sometimes called buffalo check. Gingham is light, usually cotton, and has a fresh, summery feel.

Plaid and tartan

A tartan is made of stripes of several colours and widths that repeat in the same order across the cloth and along it, so the pattern crosses itself. The repeating unit is called the sett. Traditional tartan is woven in a twill weave, which gives tiny diagonal lines where the colours meet. Many tartans are associated with particular Scottish clans, families or regions, and new designs are still recorded today.

Plaid is where British and American usage part. In Scotland, a plaid was originally a long piece of tartan cloth worn wrapped over the shoulder. In American English, plaid means any tartan-like pattern of crossing coloured bands, whatever its origin. In British shops you will more often see tartan or simply check. Madras, a light, bright cotton check that takes its name from the Indian city now called Chennai, belongs in the same family.

Check, windowpane and houndstooth

Check covers any pattern of crossing lines that makes squares or rectangles. A few named checks turn up often enough to know.

• Windowpane: thin lines forming large squares on a plain ground, like the frame of a window.
• Houndstooth: a broken check of small jagged, four-pointed shapes, usually in two colours and woven in twill.
• Glen check: a muted, complex check of small and large squares, common in suiting.
• Graph or grid check: fine, even lines on a plain ground, smaller than windowpane.

What a check means for cutting a kameez

Checks are honest: any misalignment shows. A well-cut checked kameez has the lines meeting at the side seams, running straight down the centre front or placket, and sitting level at the hem. Our guide to choosing colours and prints for a custom design touches on this; here are the points specific to checks.

An even check, the same in every direction like gingham, can be cut either way up. An uneven check, where the bands differ from one side to the other or from top to bottom, has to be laid out in one direction, which uses more fabric. Large checks need more fabric still, because each piece has to be placed to match its neighbour. Small pieces such as a yoke, cuffs or a placket are sometimes cut on the diagonal, so the check turns into diamonds as a deliberate contrast.

If you are sending your own checked fabric for Stitching Only, say in your notes that you want the checks matched and where the boldest stripe should sit, and photograph the fabric flat so the repeat is clear. We confirm that there is enough fabric before you post it; our guide to checking you have enough fabric explains why matching changes the amount. A straight kameez shows a check most cleanly. Ask for a Stitching Only quote to start.