Last week I reviewed a new primer for design, Digital Textile Design, written by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac (Laurence King Publishers). This week we have an excerpt to share: a tutorial on making custom plaid. Plaid is on everything in fashion right now. It’s the print that unites grunge rock and school girls. And depending on the colors and line weights, it can be as unique as a thumbprint. Any crafter can learn to use Adobe Illustrator, and, with Bowles and Isaac’s tutorial, create their own personal version of the classic and versatile printed plaid. The instructions for building the print are simple, and include images of the tools directly from the program.

Download the PDF to start working on a plaid. If you create one, share it in the CRAFT Flickr pool! And please visit Melanie Bowles’ new blog, makeitdigital.