Though the black and white checkered flag fabric is the most widely used print in racing to date, history surrounding its origins is challenging at best to find. Some researchers say the origin of the Checkered Flag came from early dirt track racing. The story goes that the wives used their black and white checked table cloths to signal to their spouses that food was being served (which leads me to wonder when and how the red and white checkered fabric so synonymous with picnics came into popularity). Others say that its usage can be traced back to the early 1900’s through an old photo of a checkered flag being used to end a race during the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race in New York 1904.

Seems somewhere between then and now, fabric of various colors and prints have been transformed into auto racing and motor sport flags, and used to indicate anything from track conditions, to important messages for drivers, to the signaling of the start or end of a race. Most of all it has become synonymous with winning.

Although popular Nascar driver and racing prints have been out of print for some time, the black and white checked fabric can still be found ready and waiting for its new found owner to craft it into the next winning hand.

Posts by J&O Fabric Store