Join us for our Ultimate Dollar Deal - Over 3,000 products discounted to just $1.00! Join us for our Ultimate Dollar Deal
Over 3,000 products discounted to just $1.00!
00
Days
:
00
Hrs
:
00
Min
:
00
Sec
Find Out More
Find Out More
How to Create a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop
  • By Design Bundles
  • 9 Mins
  • Photoshop Tutorials

How to Create a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop

Learn how to easily make plaid patterns in Photoshop.

Today, we will go over how to make a plaid pattern in Photoshop. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to make so many different plaid patterns to use on cards, wrapping paper, home decor, social media posts, sublimation designs, and so much more!

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

For this tutorial, we used a retro vintage color palette to create our plaid pattern. You can create a plaid pattern using any color palette, so take a look at our collection of modern color palettes for excellent options.

Step 1 - Create the Weave Pattern

In Photoshop, create a new document (Cmd/Ctrl + N) that is 4x4 pixels @300 dpi with a transparent background.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Zoom in as much as you can and select the Pencil Tool (B).

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Click the Brush Preset picker drop-down menu in the top toolbar and set the pencil size to 1 px.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Paint some pixels in order to make a “line” going from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner. Since you are working with a very small canvas, your line will be made out of squares/pixels and look like a zigzag.

Start with the top left corner square and go down one square, then right one square, down one square, then right one square, and lastly, down another square and right one more square. Your zigzag should look like three overlapping L’s. Paint the top-right square as well. See the following image for a better understanding.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 2 - Define the Weave Pattern

Next, go to Edit > Define Pattern.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Name it WeavePattern and click OK. You can save the small weave pattern file or delete it if you want.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

You will see the pattern you defined in the Patterns panel. This pattern is important for all the plaid patterns you will be making.

When making plaid patterns from now on, you can start at Step 3 as you only need to make the WeavePattern once.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 3 - Create a New Document and Add a Rectangle the Same Size as the Canvas

Create a new document that is 500x500 pixels @300 dpi. Select the Rectangle Tool (U) and click on the canvas. In the Create Rectangle dialog, enter the exact dimensions as the canvas size and click OK.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Move the rectangle to the center of the canvas. With the rectangle layer selected in the Layers panel, set the Stroke color to none and change the Fill color if needed in the Properties panel. Resize and realign the rectangle to the center if needed. This rectangle will be the base color of the plaid pattern.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 4 - Add Vertical Stripes Using the Rectangle Tool

With the Rectangle Tool (U), add vertical stripes across the canvas. Vary the thickness and colors like in the following image.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 5 - Flatten All the Layers

We need to make the stripes and the rectangle base layer a single layer. Right-click inside the Layers panel and choose Flatten Image.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 6 - Rename the Layer to Vertical Stripes and Duplicate the Vertical Stripes Layer

Double-click the layer’s text in the Layers panel and rename the layer to Vertical Stripes. Right-click on the Vertical Stripes layer and choose Duplicate Layer.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

When the Duplicate Layer dialog pops up, enter Horizontal Stripes for As and click OK.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 7 - Rotate Horizontal Stripes Layer 90°

Select the Horizontal Stripes layer in the Layers panel. Then go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° Clockwise.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 8 - Add a Pattern to the Bottom Layer

Select the bottom layer (Vertical Stripes, in our case), click the Create new fill or adjustment layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Pattern.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

In the Pattern Fill Dialog, click the pattern preview on the left if it’s not showing the WeavePattern and choose the WeavePattern we created earlier. Then click OK.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 9 - Clip the Top Layer to the Pattern Fill Layer

Right-click on the top layer (Horizontal Stripes, in our case) and select Create Clipping Mask.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

The following image shows the plaid pattern we created!!

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Step 10 - Define the Plaid Pattern

Now we can define the plaid pattern in Photoshop as we did before with the weave pattern. Go to Edit > Define Pattern.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

Name it Plaid Pattern 1 and click OK.

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

You can use the plaid pattern in Photoshop like any other pattern. Now, go back to Step 3 and create a new plaid pattern with different colors and stripes!!

How to Make a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop 22

If you’d like to try making a plaid pattern in Illustrator, we have a guide for that as well. Since making a plaid pattern is so much fun, maybe you’d be interested in learning how to make a camouflage pattern in Photoshop.




6 Related Photoshop Tutorials

Creating a honeycomb pattern in Illustrator can be a bit time consuming, but you can achieve stunning results with simple techniques. And when you are done, you can use it as a phone or desktop wallpaper, as a text effect, or combine it with text to create unique sublimation designs....

For this tutorial you may want to get a Color Palette as reference.1 - In Photoshop create a “New Document”, make it 15 Centimeters in “Width” and “Height” @300 Pixels/Inch and with a “Transparent” Background.2 - Go to Filter > Render > Clouds...3 - Then, go to Adjustments > Threshold… and ...

Photos can be enhanced with a beautiful oil effect in Photoshop. The technique can be used to create an elegant paint style with just about any photo. In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a Photoshop Oil paint filter.Step 1 - Convert image to Smart ObjectOnce in ...

Voronoi patterns are found everywhere across nature. Recreating this pattern in vector software is super easy. In this tutorial we will be making a mosaic pattern in Inkscape by using the Voronoi Pattern tool. We will also use the Tweak Tool to give color shade variations.Step 1 - Draw a ...

1 - In Illustrator, create a “New Document” measuring 1000 x 1000 Pixels.2 – Select the “Ellipse Tool” (L) and draw an “Ellipse” inside your document. Select the “Anchor Point Tool” (Shift + C) and click on the top Anchor Point to make the lines straight.3 – In the “Appearance Panel” click on the “Effects Menu” ...

1- Open Ai.2- Open a new Document.3-Select File > Place to select your image to create a pattern with.4- A new window will appear. Select the image you would like and click Place.5- Select the image. (ctrl A)6- We now need to use the pattern ...

You may also like

Help Center
ol image