Patterns

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

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Pis forParquet

Parquetry is a type of floor covering made from small pieces of wood, cut and joined to form patterns.

Parquet floors are often found in older buildings and places where people want a special decorative look.

Pis forPiebald

Piebald is another word for pied. It is generally used to describe horses.

Pis forPied

An animal is pied or when its coat or feathers has large patches of two or more colors, usually on a white background. Horses with this coat pattern are called piebald.
Pinstripes are stripes that are very thin, between other much wider stripes. Pinstripe is a very common pattern on suits and business shirts.

Ris forRibbed

Something is ribbed if it has a raised pattern on it or markings that look a bit like ribs.
The person in the picture is wearing a ribbed hat and scarf.

Sis forSpeckle

Something is speckled if it is covered in small marks or specks.

The eggs in the picture are speckled.

Sis forSpots

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.
The boat in the picture has spots.

Sis forStripes

Stripes are bands of alternating colors. You can have stripes of just two colors, or lots of different colors like the socks in the picture. Socks and ties are often striped, as are animals like tigers and zebras.

Sis forSwirl

You swirl something when you twist or whirl it around. A swirly pattern might leave spiral shapes.

Sis forSymmetry

Symmetry means that if you draw a line through something, usually down the middle, then the two halves of it are identical but reversed - like looking into a mirror. Things that are symmetrical are usually nice to look at.
People's faces are symmetrical because if you draw a line down the middle of your face the left and right sides are the same. In fact, your entire body is symmetrical, as are animal's faces and bodies. Lots of everyday things are symmetrical. How many symmetrical things can you see around you?
The picture is a shape that is symmetrical along the left and right half and the top and bottom halves.
The opposite of symmetry is asymmetry.

Tis forTabby

Tabby is a pattern made up of stripes, spots and swirls that is usually seen on cats. It helps them to camouflage so they can sneak up on their prey.

Tis forTartan

Tartan is a fabric pattern made by weaving different colours together in stripes in both directions. The stripes can be different widths, and there can be lots of different colours, unlike gingham which is made from two colours with equal width stripes.
In Scotland, different families had their own unique tartan pattern.
Tortoiseshell is the name for a pattern that looks like old household items such as combs that were made from the shells of sea tortoises. Modern items with this look are made from swirled plastic.

It is also a cat coat color.

Wis forWaffle

A waffle is a thin cake made from batter in a special device called a waffle iron. Waffle irons usually have a distinctive pattern on them.
Waffles are sweet, and are usually eaten for breakfast with melted butter, syrup or jam.
Waffle is also the name given to a pattern that looks like a waffle, which is sometimes found on knitted clothing and blankets.

Wis forWhorl

A whorl is a pattern where things grow or spread outward in a circle from one central point, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Instead of twisting up into a long coil like a spring, everything stays neat and flat in a single ring.

On plants, if three or more leaves form a perfect ring around the exact same spot on the stem, that is a leaf whorl.

On Animals, a "cowlick" is a swirling circle where the fur grows outward from a single point.

Or on your fingers. Some people have a whorl pattern made of circular skin ridges that look like target rings.

Wis forWoven

Something is woven if it has been made by the process of weaving. Wicker baskets are woven.

Zis forZigzag

A zigzag is a line that keeps changing direction, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, in a regular way. A lot of socks have zigzag patterns on them.