Plaid & Argyle

Are you mad for plaids, tartans, checks, and argyles? Then you’re in the right place! Missouri Star carries lots of plaid fabric by the yard, plaid precuts, and even plaid quilt patterns! You will find both even and uneven plaid fabrics in all sorts of colors for all sorts of projects; they can be the main event of your quilt or serve as the blenders to mix with other prints and solids.

A Brief History of Plaid Fabrics

Each Scottish clan has their own distinctive tartan fabric which is woven–usually in wool–in its own unique colors with warp and weft threads that cross at 90° angles in repeating patterns. The earliest known tartan fabric dates back 3,000 years! Today, there are over 25,000 registered Scottish tartans–usually distinguished by the surname of the clan. Tartan fabrics were once very handy for keeping track of your enemies and your friends on a battlefield.

The word plaid (pronounced played in the UK) was first used in Scots Gaelic around 1510; the word means “blanket.” For the Scottish, plaid refers to a specific piece of tartan plaid fabric that is worn over the shoulder. You can imagine how this piece of wool cloth would have been useful in cold weather as a cloak or shawl to keep warm!

Most Americans use the words tartan and plaid interchangeably. But while all tartans are plaids (unless the plaid is registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority), not all plaids are tartans. Although we don’t carry authentic wool tartan fabric by the yard, you will find lots of cozy flannel cotton tartan fabric by the yard in a variety of color options.

How Can I Use Plaid Fabric in Quilting?

When working with plaid fabric in quilting projects, it's essential to pay attention to the scale of the plaid pattern and how it interacts with other fabrics in your design. Plaid fabric can be combined with other fabrics in your quilt to create contrast and balance. Pairing it with solids, florals, or other prints can result in visually dynamic quilt designs.

When cutting your plaid fabric, pay attention to the direction of the plaid pattern; depending on the design of your quilt blocks, you may want the lines of the plaid to run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Be consistent in your cutting to maintain a cohesive look throughout your quilt top.

Plaid fabric can also be fussy cut to feature specific elements of the pattern within your quilt blocks or appliqué pieces. This technique allows you to highlight certain colors or motifs within the plaid design, adding visual interest and personalizing your quilt.

Is Check Fabric the Same as Plaid?

Yes, check fabrics are indeed plaids! In fact, any woven fabric using two or more colors that cross over each other on the warp and weft can be referred to as plaid fabric. Check fabrics fit this definition and adds two rules: First, only two colors may be used. Second, the colors must cross in even patterns of warp and weft threads so as to create squares or checks.

One of the trendiest examples would be Buffalo check fabric, which is sometimes also called buffalo plaid fabric. Think of Buffalo check fabric as a large-scale version of gingham check. You’ll find iconic buffalo check fabric in red-and-black colors the most frequently, but black-and-white, navy-and-white, and red-and-white are also popular colors for buffalo plaid fabric by the yard. From time to time you will also see other modern color combinations of buffalo check fabric pop up!

Is Argyle a Plaid?

So what about argyle fabrics? Although not considered a plaid, argyle fabrics are related. The argyle pattern originated with Clan Campbell of Argyll in western Scotland in the 17th century. It began as a knitting pattern for socks that grew to be so popular, argyle socks were dubbed “tartan hose.” Later, argyle made the jump to golf course attire. Today you can find this pattern of overlapping diamonds printed on argyle fabric in various color combinations, and Missouri Star has several choices of argyle fabric by the yard to choose from! You can even create your very own Easy Argyle Quilt Pattern using the free tutorial below!

Using argyle, check and plaid fabrics in quilting projects offers endless creative possibilities! By experimenting with design elements, color choices, and techniques, you can create quilts that are both visually stunning and deeply meaningful. Plaid on!