How to Make Plaid in Photoshop

Plaid is a woven cloth that has a color pattern that consists of stripes in both the weft (crosswise threads) and warp (lengthwise threads). The structure can either be a plain balanced weave or twill. You can find it almost anywhere in design these days. Not only is it popular in refined circles, it is quite common in the punk and grunge world. Therefore, it would be handy for designers of all types to discover how to create their own reusable versions of it. This how to make a plaid in Photoshop page will show the process step-by-step.

Anyone can do this tutorial as long as they have a general knowledge of Photoshop's basic level toolbars. Since there are no specialty filters used to make this graphic, you can make it with any modern image editor such as Gimp or Paint Shop Pro. It should take you around 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

In this how to, you will learn how to mimic the textile structure in plaid with a micro pattern so that you can create a more realistic fabric. Because you will build it from the pixel level, you can easily customize it later with your own stripe combinations. At the end of the instructions, you will make a sample cloth image from gradients. This lets you get a feel for how it will appear blended with your own backgrounds or texture maps.

Your first two layers will make the color foundation for the stripes. In this sample, a pink, black and white plaid is generated for the warp and weft. Basically, you make the lengthwise columns first then just rotate a duplication of it 90 degrees clockwise. Keep in mind that it is important to lay down the colors exactly so that they line up with the micro pattern in the latter step.

1. Create a new document by typing Ctrl + N.
2. Set the width and height to 78 pixels.
3. Give the file a transparent background.
4. Name the transparent layer warpColors.
5. Zoom in to 600% by holding down Ctrl and tapping the + key until the image title shows the right percentage.
6. Activate the rectangular marquee tool with the M shortcut.
7. Drag a selection around the first two columns and fill with the color white.
8. Fill in the rest of the columns with the following color pattern. You can also use the picture below for reference.

• four black
• six pink
• four black
• two white
• fourteen pink
• two white
• twenty-eight black
• two white
• fourteen pink

1. Once the colors are done, duplicate the layer by dragging and dropping it over the page icon at the bottom of the layer window.
2. Change the rotation of it with Edit -> Transform -> Rotate 90 CW.
3. Make the layer opacity 50%. This option is located in the upper right corner of the menu.
4. Now, you need to save this file and set it aside until later.

In this step, you will construct the micro pattern that puts attractive diagonals across the surface of your plaid. Be sure to follow the graph exactly so that the seamless image will tile properly.

1. Create a new document.
2. Set the width to 14 and height to 4 pixels. Give the file a transparent background.
3. Change the foreground color to black.
4. Zoom in to 1600% by holding down Ctrl and tapping the + key.
5. Place a guide line along each 1 x 1 pixel square.
6. Name the layer twill.
7. Activate the rectangular marquee tool with the M shortcut.
8. Drag a 1 x 1 pixel square in the bottom right corner. The guides will help show you how many pixels you are selecting.
9. Fill the pixel with your foreground color.
10. Refer to the image below and fill in the rest of the opaque squares.
11. Select the whole image with Ctrl + A then go to Edit -> Define Pattern. Name it twill.
12. Save the pixel file and close it.
13. Go back to your original file and create a new layer called twillPattern.
14. Fill it with your pattern. Use the shortcut Shift + F5. Then, choose the one you just made.
15. Change the opacity to 50%.
16. Now, you select all the graphic and define a new pattern called myPlaid.

Note: To learn more about micro patterns, visit How to Make Micro Patterns in Photoshop.

At this final stage, you will try out your finished graphic on a sample cloth that you make yourself. Notice that the highlights and shadows of the sample will be translated into the fabric layer. Below you will learn how to make a cotton and wool version.

1. Create a new document with a width and height of 500 pixels and give the file a transparent background.
2. Call the original layer plaid.
3. Fill the layer with myPlaid using the shortcut Shift + F5.
4. Add grain by picking Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise. Choose Gaussian and Monochromatic at 15%.
5. If you want a wool look, move on to the Stray Fibers section. Otherwise, proceed to Test It to finish with cotton.

• Stray Fibers:

1. Use Shift + Ctrl + N to add a new layer. Name it fibers.
2. Change your foreground color to white and the background to black.
3. Go to Filter -> Render -> Clouds.
4. Then, add Filter -> Sketch -> Chrome with a Detail setting of 10 and Smoothness of 0. Repeat this step a second time.
5. Pick Filter -> Brush Strokes -> Ink Outlines. Use the following settings: Stroke: 1, Dark Intensity: 0, Light Intensity: 50.
6. Open Image -> Adjustments -> Threshold. This will flatten out the values to just black and white.
7. Go to Select -> Color Range. Change the Select option to Sampled Colors then activate the first eyedropper on the window. After this, click a black spot in your image window and click OK.
8. Delete the selection.
9. Change the layer blend mode to Overlay or Soft Light. Blend modes are located in the top left corner of the layer window. Make the opacity between 25% and 50%.

• Test It:

1. Make a new layer named cloth then drag it under your plaid.
2. Using the gradient tool, fill the background with a black to white transition. This tool can be accessed with the shortcut G.
3. Change the mode on the tool to difference then make a few short horizontal drags. This layer will represent cloth that you can blend with your texture.
4. Change the layer blend mode on the layer plaid to Overlay.