Check (fabric)
Encyclopedia
A check is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines forming squares.
, played on a squared board, particularly from the expression shah
mat, "the king is dead", in modern chess parlance "check-mate". The word entered the French language as echec in the 11th.c., thence into English.
where woven dyed wool
was, at one time, a principal cloth. District checks were created as camouflage
for moving inconspicuously on the laird's
lands. The checks are associated with a specific area as opposed to the tartan
of a family or clan
. Checks are also used as distinctive patterns for woven cloth in modern designs.
The check pattern is also used in many other areas other than textile styles, for example on a board used by the mediaeval Exchequer
to perform financial computations and on a board used for playing chequers
(English draughts) and chess
and for heraldry
.
Etymology
The word is derived from the ancient Persian word shah, meaning "king", from the oriental game of chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, played on a squared board, particularly from the expression shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
mat, "the king is dead", in modern chess parlance "check-mate". The word entered the French language as echec in the 11th.c., thence into English.
Use in fabrics
Check-patterned fabrics display bands in two or more colors in woven cloth. Checks are traditionally associated with ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where woven dyed wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
was, at one time, a principal cloth. District checks were created as camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
for moving inconspicuously on the laird's
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
lands. The checks are associated with a specific area as opposed to the tartan
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
of a family or clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
. Checks are also used as distinctive patterns for woven cloth in modern designs.
Other uses
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
to perform financial computations and on a board used for playing chequers
Draughts
Draughts is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemy's pieces. Draughts developed from alquerque...
(English draughts) and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and for heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
.
See also
- Argyle (pattern)Argyle (pattern)The argyle pattern is made of diamonds or lozenges. The word is sometimes used to refer to an individual diamond in the design but more commonly refers to the overall pattern. Most argyle layouts contain layers of overlapping motifs, adding a sense of three-dimensionality, movement, and texture...
- FlannelFlannelFlannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
- GinghamGinghamGingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarn.The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch...
- Madras (cloth)Madras (cloth)Madras is a lightweight cotton fabric with typically patterned texture and plaid design, used primarily for summer clothing—pants, shorts, dresses and jackets. The fabric takes its name from the former English name of the city of Chennai, India...
- Plaid (pattern)Plaid (pattern)For other meanings, see plaid.A plaid is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in two or more colors in woven cloth.Common examples of plaid patterns include:*Tartan, the pattern most commonly associated with plaid....
- TartanTartanTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
- Tattersall (cloth)Tattersall (cloth)Tattersall describes a check or plaid pattern woven into cloth. The pattern is composed of regularly spaced thin even vertical warp stripes, repeated horizontally in the weft, thereby forming squares. The stripes are usually in two alternating colours, generally darker on a light ground. The cloth...
- DiaperingDiaperingDiaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
Sources
- Harrison, E.S.;Our Scottish District Checks;National Association of Woollen Manufacturers, Edinburgh;1968 p6.