How is Buffalo Check made?

Buffalo Check is woven as a plain weave.

Plate No. 002pattern

First documented: c. 1850
Origin: Woolrich, Pennsylvania, United States
Fiber: wool, cotton
Weave: plain weave
Family: checks

Plate No. 002 · pattern

Buffalo Check

Buffalo check is a large two-color check, classically red and black, woven in equal blocks. It became a North American workwear staple through heavy woolen overshirts in the nineteenth century. Unlike gingham, the two colors are of similar weight, so the blended intersection reads as a distinct third tone rather than a deepening of one color.

Illustration: a North American logging camp around 1900, men at a distance in heavy red and black checked wool coats among felled timber, ox team and sledge, cold morning light — A North American logging camp around 1900, men at a distance in heavy red and black checked wool coats among felled timber, ox team and sledge, cold morning light.

Named for

Commonly attributed to a mill designer's herd of buffalo. The account is traditional and not firmly documented.

Also known as

buffalo plaid

Common questions

What is Buffalo Check made of?: Buffalo check is a large two-color check, classically red and black, woven in equal blocks. It is traditionally made of wool or cotton.
How is Buffalo Check made?: Buffalo Check is woven as a plain weave.
What is Buffalo Check named after?: Commonly attributed to a mill designer's herd of buffalo. The account is traditional and not firmly documented.