Tartan Pattern Generator

Design a tartan thread by thread and export it as cloth, files for a mill, or a seamless tile.

Tartan Pattern Generator builds a tartan as a weaver would: a thread count, mirrored around its pivots, woven in a real draft. The cloth on screen shows the diagonal of a 2/2 twill at your ends per inch. Start from a classic sett or paste one in.

You get a seamless PNG, JPEG or TIFF at true size for print and screen, plus a per-thread SVG and swatches for Illustrator. For a mill there is a tech pack, a loom file and the threadcount. Colorways and production numbers are saved with the project.

How to use it

1. Open File and pick a tartan Classic setts like Black Watch and Royal Stewart sit in the menu. Or press Randomize for a new one. Each opens ready to edit.
2. Edit the bands in Pattern Each row is one color band and its thread count; the sett mirrors itself around the pivots. + Add color band for more, or Import SRT threadcount… and paste notation like B24 K4 R6.
3. Choose the Weave 2/2 twill is the standard tartan cloth. Plain weave suits gingham; Herringbone and Basketweave make the structure part of the pattern. Each crossing blends two colors, so the weave changes the shades.
4. Build Colorways Press + Duplicate active, then pick Ancient, Weathered or Muted, or move the Hue, Saturation and Lightness sliders. Every colorway keeps the same sett and goes into the tech pack.
5. Fill Production, then Export Ends and picks per inch, fabric width and shrinkage set the physical size of every file. Then export the tile, the SVG, or the Tech pack and Loom file for the mill.

FAQ