Plaid vs. Tartan vs. Check — What's the Difference?
Plaid
In North America, "plaid" is a general term for any fabric pattern consisting of crisscrossing horizontal and vertical stripes in multiple colors. It's an umbrella term that covers everything from tartan to buffalo check to madras.
In Scotland, however, "plaid" originally meant something quite different. A "plaid" (rhyming with "played") was a specific garment — a large rectangular piece of tartan cloth worn as a blanket, shawl, or wrapped around the body as part of traditional Highland dress. The great belted plaid (féileadh mòr) was the precursor to the modern kilt. So in Scotland, a plaid is something you wear, not a pattern you see. See Plaid in Scotland for more on this history.
Tartan
Tartan is a specific type of plaid pattern with defined characteristics. A true tartan has a recorded sett — a specific sequence of colored threads that repeats in both the warp and weft. The pattern is symmetrical, woven in a 2/2 twill, and registered (in many cases) with an official body like the Scottish Register of Tartans.
Not every crisscross pattern is a tartan. Tartan requires the mathematical precision of a defined thread count. A random arrangement of colored stripes, even if it looks tartan-ish, is technically just a plaid.
Check
A check is typically a simpler pattern than either plaid or tartan. Checks use a regular, repeating grid of squares, usually in two or three colors. Gingham, buffalo check, and tattersall are all checks. The distinction between a check and a plaid is somewhat fuzzy — many checks could also be called plaids — but checks generally imply a simpler, more regular structure.
The Quick Summary
- All tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartans. Tartan is a subcategory of plaid with specific structural rules.
- All checks are plaids, but not all plaids are checks. Checks tend to be simpler and more regular.
- In Scotland, "plaid" means a garment; "tartan" means the pattern. In North America, "plaid" means the pattern.
- Pattern complexity goes roughly: check < plaid < tartan. Though there's plenty of overlap.
A Note on Usage
In everyday conversation, using "plaid" to mean any crisscross pattern is perfectly fine — that's how the word is used in most of the English-speaking world outside Scotland. On this site, we use "plaid" as the broad category, "tartan" for the specific Scottish tradition, and "check" for simpler grid patterns.