This origami tessellation is just a fun little idea that I had about a month ago. It's pretty basic, but I think it's a cute pattern. Something to do when you don't have a lot of time or aren't feeling up to doing the more complex stuff. The idea was to have small pyramids made up of micro grid triangles. That's all there is to it! To fold it I did a classic small hex twist on the back. Then I folded a series of 6 three pleat long arms all around it. These created the tiny triangles on the front.  That's it. Super easy to do. I used tant paper, but I think this particular origami design would've looked way cooler with thinner paper that could be backlit. I don't think that I drew a crease pattern before folding this. But I've unfolded it to create one. 

This original origami tessellation I just did last Saturday..I had the diagram for it for a few weeks and finally decided it was time. When I examined the diagram more carefully, I realized that what I'd drawn didn't actually work as a flat fold. I tinkered with it a little more and finally arrived at the finished idea.  This was a beast of a tessellation to fold. I mean, it was just super, super hard. It fought me every step of the way.  What makes it such an advanced tessellation is that it uses multiple flagstone elements, but it also layers them all on top of each other. The original inspiration for it started out innocent enough. Just three trapezoids twisting around an open triangle. I completed the rotation by attaching another trapezoid and then repeating the triangle set again until it came full 360.  What I was left with in the center was a rather large gap to fill in. Many small triangles and an open back hexagon did the trick.  Because folding it was so...

 This is a tessellation from back in mid May. It's kind of a weird one. It starts with a collapsed hexagon and then there are teardrop shapes tucked into it. In order to repeat the pattern, I simply added some long 'arms'. The edges of the 'arms' are half hexagons. The remaining spaces were filled in with six sided 'pyramids'. It's a fairly simple tessellation , but actually folding it is a little tricky. Only because there are a lot of small, fiddly shapes to work. I'm sure I had a diagram at one point, but where it is now is anyone's guess. I did, however, unfold it to crease a new one.

 This is a flagstone tessellation that utilizes alternating trapezoids and triangles spinning around a small hexagon on the other side. What this particular starting point creates is the opportunity to a rotation of six pyramid like shapes. Those shapes are made up of four triangles and three trapezoids. I used these same shapes to create another flagstone called Crowded Temples . I like the fluidity of this new tessellation a little more.  You can see the reverse side is mostly triangles with a few small hexagons. Even though it looks like it should be very hard, I find that tant paper very readily submits to flagstone folding. It's still difficult, but not as difficult as it appears. Crease pattern included.

 This origami tessellation is based off a pretty simple idea that I had. But since its design allows for so many shapes in a relatively small amount of space, it winds up looking very impressive. The premise is six rhombuses tucked into each circling around an open back hexagon. Then I add a small triangle tucked into the outer edge of every other rhombus. I use that triangle to repeat more rhombuses and to repeat the center point.  The edges of the three other center rhombuses have large triangles tucked into them.  I may have a crease pattern. Need to find it. Filed under: June 2026 Origami Tessellations

  Using the same starting point as two of my other original tessellations ( Eyes of the Pyramids and Stock Market ), I did a third original design. The first two were majority flagstones, but this tessellation is built strictly with collapses. The center point is three trapezoids/three small triangles tucked into the central small triangle. In order to repeat the pattern, I added open hexagons into the long edges of the trapezoids. Around the open hexagons there are alternating trapezoids and triangles. Using the short outer edges of those secondary trapezoids you can then repeat the center module.  The remaining spaces are reconciled using large and small triangles. This is a difficult tessellation . Collapsing the small triangles isn't easy. 

 This is a difficult origami tessellation that uses collapsed hexagons to create series of 12 rhombuses around a center point instead of the typical set of six.  The hexagon collapses can be oriented top or bottom in any pattern desired. You can also swap in small offset hex twists in place of any of the collapses.  I don't know why I used thin paper for this one. I should've known better. The thin paper made it much harder to execute.  My original plan was to flatten everything and then go back and re-orient the directions of the folds to create a more cohesive pattern. However, the paper was not strong enough for that. If you decide to fold this I recommend thick paper.  I might try to fold this tessellation again sometime with better paper, but for now, I leave you with my first, semi-successful attempt.  Crease pattern included. 

 This original tessellation continues my exploration of patterns that can be created using a specific starting point. In this case, the starting point is a set of three trapezoids tucked into the points of a small triangle. My Eyes of the Pyramids origami tessellation uses the same starting point, but has a much different overall design. This is also a mixed technique design. It uses mostly flagstone collapses, but the central triangles between the trapezoids are tucks.  Often, when I hit upon a beginning point idea that works, I'll explore it for additional possibilities. A lot of people probably do the same. When working with geometric patterns there are generally multiple configurations to be found.  These standard shapes fit together in seemingly infinite ways.  In this particular origami tessellation when I repeated the central concept, I found that the trapezoids fits around an open hexagon in the remaining spaces.  Depending on your experience you mig...

 This is a twist based tessellation that I created a few weeks ago. I was just looking for an unusual pattern that could work without too much fuss. I had the idea to rotate 3 trapezoids around an open hexagon and then tuck two triangles into each one. It was easy enough to repeat. Just angle the trapezoids off of each other. But that only gave me three repeated sides, not six. I don't remember how I decided I needed to add open triangles, but those filled in some of the other areas.  No idea what became of my original crease pattern. I seem to loose track of them quite often. But I will create a new one and add it soon.  I actually find the back side more interesting. That's just my opinion.  This is an intermediate tessellation . It would be easy, but I think how the small triangles connect to the open hexagons on the reverse side make it a little bit tricky.  Crease pattern added. 

 This somewhat difficult tessellation is one I really like. It's just one of those patterns that flows beautifully and makes perfect sense. There are a lot of great tessellations out there. There are a lot of ones that I've created of which I'm quite fond. But this particular tessellation is one of a rare few that I absolutely adore. I think that a lot of people will agree.  As soon as I had finished mapping out the design, I knew it would be a really good one. What's even better, is that I was able to fold it really neatly. It  happened to be one of those rare days when the paper was exceptionally crisp. It was a perfect confluence of ideal circumstances.  The pyramid shapes consist of three trapezoids and three rhombuses each. This original origami tessellation is mostly a flagstone, but features a small triangle at the center of each pyramid style molecule that is a tuck collapse. There are actually four triangle collapses per pyramid molecule, but only the cent...

 I'm not really sure how to describe this particular advanced tessellation . It's quite different from what I usually do. Yet, at the same time, it's kind of basic.  When you look at the back side of this origami tessellation it's a fairly uncomplicated pattern. However, what that creates on the front  side of the paper is pretty remarkable. It's essentially an assortment of small and various layered shapes that are created by a relatively simple configuration on the opposite side.  That's not to say that it was easy. It was kind of hard to fold.  While the back side is not complicated, it's quite dense. Making it difficult to fold.  I used white tant paper thinking that thicker paper would be the best method. However, after having folded it, I would say that thinner paper would be the way to go for the best result. Thinner paper would better facilitate all the necessary overlaps and tucks required to execute the design.  Crease pattern follows. ...

link to full size image opens in google photos.  This original origami tessellation is fully twist based, but gives the appearance of something more complicated.  It actually uses a fairly simple idea of six sets of double parallel triangle twists around a collapsed hexagon. The back view shows how the collapsed hexagons work/look. I couldn't just straight up repeat the center because the twists would go in conflicting directions. I didn't have space to add buffer shapes and still have full repeats. So, I did mirror images as a compact work around.  I recommend clicking the first photo to open the full sized image in order to see all the unique subtleties of this particular design.  Crease pattern included. Filed under: May 2026 Origami Tessellations

  This is a difficult tessellation that I recently conceived and folded. It's a hybrid design of tucks, collapses and twists.  It's quite a dense pattern that is pretty labor intensive. It's worth the effort though.  In this case, we have rhombuses tucked into each other around an open hexagon. The point of each rhombus tucks into the edge of the next. Classic stuff.  However, when I tuck more rhombuses into the outer edges of the central ones, I am able to add sets of rhombus twists around a small offset hexagon.  The only other shape is trapezoids that take up the remaining gaps between the two main molecules.  It took a while to fold. There's not anything particularly tricky about it other than the fact that there is so much going on. There are a lot of shapes to be folded. This is only a 32 pleat grid and relatively speaking, there is an abundance of shapes to work.  The back view clearly shows how the trapezoids relate to the two kinds of hexagon...

 The past few weeks I've been on sort of a lucky streak regarding unusual tessellations . I've just been hitting upon some weird designs lately. It's always fun and intriguing to try to work out the strange ones.  I'll typically start out with a small prototype. This contains the initial idea as a kind of proof of how it works with the grid.  However, the trick with these small 'testers', is that doing one molecule is exponentially easier than doing the same thing 7 times to a single relatively small hexagon of paper.  So, I'll go in pretty confident, only to be dumbfounded by how much trickier it has become since expanding it to a true tessellation.  Most of the time, it's eventually successful (more or less). Sometimes, not so much.  This is one I really like. It's  strange. And it uses some odd tricks to complete the flat fold.  I know that I drew a pretty detailed crease pattern before folding it. Don't know why I didn't immediately take ...

Quirky designs are one of my signature styles when it comes to origami tessellations . The kind of configurations that skirt the fine edge between practicality and impossibility. They're fun and intriguing and sometimes infuriating.  But when you find one and are able to complete it, it's a very satisfying feeling.  Sometimes they turn out mesmerizing looks. Other times, not so much. All in all, that beauty is entirely subjective.  But it's about the journey more than it is about the destination. That's the allure.  It's the call of the possibilities. The tease of the puzzle. The challenge of the execution.  It's why we keep searching for new combinations. More difficult ones. Because we can. Because they're there. Waiting to be found. Daring us to try.  This advanced tessellation is a perfect example of all those principals. Crease pattern below. It looks simple, but it will make you work for it.