Alternatives to Gingham

Tablecloths and picnic blankets are often made from gingham.

Gingham is a fabric pattern made from two colors of thread that interlock in a checked pattern. One of the colors in gingham is always white, though the other can be anything. Gingham was first produced in this pattern in the mid-1700s in England, and was later very popular in a blue and white color scheme. There are many other traditional weaves that have some of the aspects of gingham, but offer their own looks and possibilities. Does this Spark an idea?

Tartan

Tartan is also commonly referred to as plaid, though plaid has a more general meaning. Tartan is the most common patterning found on Scottish kilts, but is also very commonly found in men's casual shirts, especially flannel ones. Horizontal stripes of different sizes and colors are woven together to create a pattern less regular than gingham, though still square. The multicolor weaves allow for shirts that are more complexly colored than the two-color gingham.

Hounds Tooth

Hounds Tooth is a more complicated weaving pattern that creates a pointy-shaped repeating pattern that looks similar to a hound's tooth, hence the name. This fabric is normally found in black and white, though other colors are sometimes used. The pattern has been popular for women's suits, and is often used in accessories like shoes and handbags.

Glens Plaid

Glens plaid is a more complicated weave of plaid that is often used in men's tweed suits. It's usually made out of two similar muted colors. The pattern that's woven is a series of small and large checks that are patterned themselves to form a larger checked pattern. This produces a rich coloring to the fabric while only using two colors of thread.

Shepherd's Check

Shepherd's check is a two-color weave very similar to gingham, but the twill weave is visible, creating a diagonal patterning not present in gingham's plain weave. The color scheme with shepherd's check isn't as strict as it is with gingham, either. It was named for the shepherds that lived in Scotland who wore this pattern. The technique used to create this pattern led to the development of hound's tooth.

Candy Stripes

The inspiration for the Candy Stripe pattern.

The candy stripe pattern is similar to gingham, but the changing color of the weave only goes vertically, not horizontally. The stripes are usually boldly colored on white. Candy stripes are never more than 1/8 inch wide. The traditional coloring of candy stripes are red or orange on white. The name comes from their similarity in pattern and coloring to that of candy strips. Young volunteer nurses used to wear the candy stripe pattern to distinguish them from professional nurses.

References

• Alexander West: Know Your Shirt Fabric Patterns