Patterns

Stripes and spots and squiggles and dots, and some textures too.

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Ais forArgyle

Argyle is the name for a pattern made up of lines and diamonds. It is a very common pattern on socks and waistcoats.
Something is asymmetric if it not symmetric. If something is asymmetric, if you cut it in half, the two sides will not be mirror images of each other.

Bis forBlank

Something is blank if there is nothing on it yet. Things that are usually described as blank when they are new are pieces of paper, an artist's canvas, or a computer storage device like a hard disk. These are all things that are blank before you write on them.

Bis forBlotch

A blotch is a large, irregular spot on something. The leaf in the picture is blotchy.

Cis forChecked

A check pattern is made up of a grid of two different colours of squares, so that no two squares the same colour are next to each other.
The check pattern in the picture is made up from black and white tiles.
A group of things are concentric if they all have the same center. The circles in the picture all have the same central point. Any shape can be concentric - triangles, squares, or even three dimensional shapes like spheres.
Crosshatch is a pattern that is formed by creating a series of intersecting lines. The most popular crosshatch pattern is made by crossing veritical and horizontal lines.

Dis forDots

Something is spotted if it has a pattern of small, round things all over it. Many animals are spotted. If the spots are perfectly round and even they are usually called dots. People will usually call animals covered in dots spotted and clothes covered in spots to be dotted.
Fair isle is a colorful geometric pattern that is often knitted into clothing such as hats, mittens and sweaters. This pattern is called fair isle because of its origins in Fair Isle on the Shetland Islands in Scotland.

Fis forFleck

A fleck is a small piece of something, like a fleck of dirt.
Something that has a lot of flecks on it is called flecked.

Fis forFloral

Floral is the name for a pattern, usually used on fabric, that is made up of pictures of flowers. Floral prints are very popular on skirts, dresses and on loungeroom furniture.
A formation is an arrangement of things, or how something has been formed. You might talk about a rock formation, a cloud formation, or aircraft flying in formation.

Gis forGingham

Gingham is a kind of woven fabric pattern, also called plaid and sometimes called checked, but it is not the same as a checkerboard pattern.
Grain is a word used to describe the direction of the fibers or layers inside a natural material like wood or stone. Materials with a grain are very easy to split along the direction of the grain, and they are naturally stronger if the grain is run lengthways along a piece of that material.
Anything else that has a distinct direction in what it is made from can also be described as having a grain, such as the direction of fur on an animal's hide.

Gis forGrid

A grid is a series of parallel criss-crossing lines. A grid is usually made up of lots and lots of equal sized squares.
Herringbone is a pattern with a distinctive zigzag in it. It can be seen on tweed clothes, knitted clothes and also as a floor design.
Houndstooth is an abstract two-colour check design that was made by weaving two colours of wool together in a particular way. Houndstooth is most commonly seen in black and white.

Lis forLattice

A lattice is made from strips of a material like wood crossing over itself, leaving gaps between the strips. The gaps are usually square or diamond shaped, but more intricate lattices have more interesting shapes. Lattices can be made from wood, plastic, metal or may even be made out of pastry strips on top of a pie.

Mis forMosaic

A mosaic is a picture made from lots of tiny colored pieces. Traditionally, mosaics were made from pieces of tile, stone or glass. Modern mosaics can be made from photographs.

Pis forPaisley

Paisley is a pattern based around twisted teadrop shapes.