Tabby is a pattern made up of stripes, spots and swirls that is usually seen on cats. It helps them to camouflage so they can sneak up on their prey.
Tartan is a fabric pattern made by weaving different colours together in stripes in both directions. The stripes can be different widths, and there can be lots of different colours, unlike gingham which is made from two colours with equal width stripes.
In Scotland, different families had their own unique tartan pattern.
Tortoiseshell is the name for a pattern that looks like old household items such as combs that were made from the shells of sea tortoises. Modern items with this look are made from swirled plastic.
It is also a cat coat color.
A waffle is a thin cake made from batter in a special device called a waffle iron. Waffle irons usually have a distinctive pattern on them.
Waffles are sweet, and are usually eaten for breakfast with melted butter, syrup or jam.
Waffle is also the name given to a pattern that looks like a waffle, which is sometimes found on knitted clothing and blankets.
A whorl is a pattern where things grow or spread outward in a circle from one central point, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Instead of twisting up into a long coil like a spring, everything stays neat and flat in a single ring.
On plants, if three or more leaves form a perfect ring around the exact same spot on the stem, that is a leaf whorl.
On Animals, a "cowlick" is a swirling circle where the fur grows outward from a single point.
Or on your fingers. Some people have a whorl pattern made of circular skin ridges that look like target rings.
Something is woven if it has been made by the process of weaving. Wicker baskets are woven.
A zigzag is a line that keeps changing direction, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, in a regular way. A lot of socks have zigzag patterns on them.
