Giddy for gingham or tender for tartan, plaid and chequerboard have cornered greeting card designs in 2025. From the bonny Highlands to Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road, square and criss-cross patterned weaves, infused with rustic overtones, homely nostalgia and grassy picnic lunches, are currently angling to add a touch of whimsy and playfulness to designs.
Back from padding the greeting card show aisles at Top Drawer and Spring Fair, greeting card journalist and promo filmmaker, Gale Astley, discovered this year it’s hip to be square.
Far from having a chequered past, gingham has a sweet, feminine and wistful reputation. “There’s no place like home,” Kansas girl, Dorothy, famously dreams while donning her gingham pinafore and clicking her ruby slippers in The Wizard Of Oz. While, in another film blockbuster, actress Margot Robbie as Barbieoptimistically greets the sunny morning and begins her ‘perfect day’ in a pink gingham sundress.
Gingham has always had girlish appeal, sparking images of school uniforms and cheerful innocence. However, its current revolution is making the grade in the greeting cards and giftwrappings playground, taking notes from the fashion runways. “The trend is reflective of what is going on in the fashion world with bows and gingham, celebrating the whimsical and leaning into the hyper feminine,” believes Rachel Cannings, designer and founder of Hot Pink Press (pictured top)
Jo Hawkins, founder of Apple & Clover, is always on the look-out for new fashion and interior trends that can translate into cards to keep her ranges fresh and modern. “I think the check trend has become popular as it harks back to a simpler life in the countryside, where things were homemade and AI didn’t exist,” she suggests.
And, despite technological advances, greeting cards are still thriving, “which shows people’s need for real, personal connection. With this in mind, designing chequered patterns on cards felt like the perfect fit – as it makes our cards feel comforting in an increasingly modern, and for some, scary technologically advanced world,” Jo adds.
Traditional plaid is imbued with the nostalgic vibes of halcyon summer days and home-spun joys. Gingham daydreams of picnic blankets spread with an alfresco feast, homemade bakes and jams, on the ranch vintage Western shirts and adorable babywear in sugary pastel hues.
With the gingham pattern filled with longing for hearth and home, greeting cards are primed to inhabit this wholesome trend. “I think there are certain trends that seem to come in and out of fashion, however gingham has a timeless quality. It has a comforting, homely feel to it that always resonates,” observes Sarah Jackson, director for Stormy Knight, her hot off the press gingham giftwrap and cards ‘dwelling’ at Top Drawer Spring 2025.
“With its delicate checks, gingham evokes a sense of warmth and cosiness, perfect for conveying heartfelt sentiments with a card,” says David Nichols-Rice, director for Ricicle Cards. Nestled among David’s ranges is a delightful design of a picnic scene set against a cheerful gingham backdrop that perfectly exemplifies the chequered trend. “It captures the essence of a joyous celebration, making it an ideal choice for birthday greetings,” explains David.
The subtle textures of gingham compliment Lil Wabbit’s bold illustration style, creating card designs with depth and vibrancy. Georgi Doig, the publisher’s director of happiness, feels “It’s a design choice that feels familiar, special, and most importantly, stylish for customers of all ages.”
Georgi also notes gingham has a timelessness that evokes warmth and nostalgia, whilst it’s also a pattern that can be refreshed for cards designs. “The classic chequered pattern works perfectly in all different colourways, and for a variety of card sending occasions, from New Baby to Birthday to Love to Easter cards.”
Well-known for its connotations of the simple country life, recently, the perky pattern has stepped out of its past reverie, left its farmhouse feel at the door, and, along with chequered and tartan prints, gingham has been squaring up on greeting card designs and wrap as a playful, spirited and joyous version of its former self.
“I love using patterns in my work and gingham is up there in my top favourite patterns,” says Leanne McBrien, founder of Letterbox Lane. “Gingham has a real sense of nostalgia for me. It reminds me of tablecloths my granny would use on her dining table. My gingham patterned card designs were inspired by those tablecloths, but to stop them being too twee and make them a little more modern I used a graphic type, which I think complements and contrasts against the cute gingham pattern.”
Grace, director of Grace Jackson Design, has also taken the classic gingham form and playfully modernised it in her contemporary Woven card range. “The gingham trend gives us nostalgic feelings of picnics in our childhood and being together in the warm summer sunshine. It sparks joy, celebrates simple pleasures and ultimately is fun! I wanted to take a gingham pattern and give it a twist, so my designs are interwoven and come in six colour-popping variants,” she explains.
Along the same lines as gingham, a tide of tartan is having a fling with card designs. Thanks to The Traitors presenter, Claudia Winkleman, singer Taylor Swift and actress, Saoirse Ronan, this heritage print has been thrown back into the spotlight.
Timelessness and stylish, tartan oscillates between the traditional legacy of Scottish clans, British royalty and countryside status and rebellious and radical design. The iconic plaid holds a delicious contradiction that has dissented again and is appearing in contemporary, bold but cheeky prints on cards.
“I’ve been drawn to tartan and gingham patterns since going to the V&A Dundee exhibition last year. These patterns are fundamentally very eye-catching, something I am always thinking about as a card designer. I’m not Scottish, but I live in Glasgow and wanted to take something quintessentially Scottish and rework it in a cheeky way – hence the pants!”, jokes Rachel Canning of Hot Pink Press.
With square patterns dancing on cards in 2025, their versatility and rich heritage elevating designs and oozing with homely nostalgia and cheerful charm, greetings designers won’t be cutting corners!
Images: A die-cut jelly design from Stop The Clock Design; Fabulous tartan pants from Hot Pink Press; Grace Jackson Designs’ Woven range giftwrap; A chequered Mother’s Day designs from Apple & Clover; The perfect picnic on a Ricicle Cards design; Spring is in the air on a Paper Rose card; Snail mail, a Letterbox Lane card design; The home of quirky checks on a card from Evermade; Luna the Husky from Lil Wabbit; Pink foiling and gingham on a New Baby design from Stormy Knight.
