tartan patterns

Clan fabric designs

Tartan patterns are designs of intersecting horizontal and vertical stripes in multiple colors, forming a distinctive checked or plaid appearance.

Traditionally associated with Scottish clans, each tartan identifies a family, region, or organization.

The pattern repeats symmetrically in both directions: The kilt featured the MacDonald tartan.

Tartan appears on clothing, blankets, and decorative items.

Related
  • kiltsPleated Scottish wraparound garments
  • clan tartansDistinctive Scottish family patterns
  • settBadger's underground home
  • plaidWoven crisscross pattern
  • ScotsPeople of Edinburgh's nation

Scottish heritage · bagpipes · Highland games · Highlands · woolen mill · Black Watch · ancestral lineage · heraldry · color palettes · family crests · textile fibers · Celtic traditions · wool · clans · crisscross · Gaelic · blanket · stripes

Categories
Opposites
pattern complexity/type

tartan patternsunpatterned

Lacking repeated design

monochrome · solid · plain · blank · solid color

geometric vs. organic pattern structure

tartan patternspaisley

Curved teardrop textile motif

floral patterns · botanical prints · arabesque · damask · tie-dye

cultural/geographic origin

tartan patternskente cloth

Handwoven Ghanaian silk-cotton fabric

batik · chinoiserie · ikat

Family

tartan

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G