Pattern 102

Monday, July 6, 2015
So yesterday I was standing in line at Starbucks when I noticed a girl wearing a plaid shirt.  It was one of those plaids that I would call a 'Tartan' plaid.  At least 'Tartan' plaids to me are those that you typically see on Scottish kilts.  I looked up the definition of the word and learned that they are also referred to as 'family plaids' as everyone in a family would wear the same plaid.  Anyway, while I was waiting for my turn at the counter I thought I would look at the girl's plaid shirt in a little more detail and see if I could figure out the repeat.  We spend so much time standing in line, I have found I can make productive use of that time by looking around for pattern inspirations.  And since I have been on this year long pattern quest I notice patterns everywhere.

So here is my first attempt at creating a 'Tartan' style plaid pattern.  I started with my usual two inch by two inch square file.  I drew out my different width stripes to create the repeat, copied the pattern to a new layer and rotated it 90 degrees, and finally reduced the opacity of the rotated layer to 50%.  I am sure it is not exactly like the one I saw, but it is similar in style, and it is my take on the whole look and feel.  I think it turned out pretty good.