I haven't done one of these in a really long time. This is a reverse engineer of a tessellation by gatheringfolds (Madonna Yoder). She calls the design: Incendiary.  While I don't generally fold other people's tessellations anymore, every once in a long while, I'll get the urge to do so just for the challenge of puzzling out someone else's thought process.  The center was obvious to me right away.  It took me a little while to notice that the other key piece of the mystery was the three triangles around the open back hex. Once I realized that, it was just a matter of filling in the rest of the gaps with the remaining shapes.  First time I went to fold it, I used regular printer paper. That was a misjudgement on my part. This tessellation requires sturdy paper. Once I switched to tant paper, I had no trouble folding it.  My diagram for how I sussed it out is below. 

 This is a new linear flagstone tessellation I created a while back, but only just recently folded.  I actually had the idea for it a month or two ago, but ran into some difficulties figuring out exactly how to construct it properly. I kept getting stuck on one spot that wasn't working out as expected.  So, I decided to walk away from it for a bit with the hope that if I came back to it after some time away, the answer would finally hit me.  It worked. When I returned a while later, I saw the solution. But then, I promptly misplaced it.  It was lost for a little while before I finally found it again recently and was able to fold it at last.  The front of the tessellation is all rhombuses and trapezoids. The back is all triangles. What's unique about this particular design is that the pattern follows a sort of offset structure. Rather than everything flowing horizontally and vertically, it all moves along the diagonal. Which is precisely what made it so tr...

 This one is a little different design. It uses a combination of three different kinds of triangles. It has right triangles, small triangles and double size triangles. They all collapse into each other. It creates a pretty unique finished pattern.  It's a somewhat difficult tessellation . Not especially difficult though.  It also features a connecting shape that I don't often utilize. Mostly because it simply doesn't come up in the geometry of most of my ideas. It's basically just a long rectangle that results from having the right triangles arranged parallel to one another.  When I drew out the idea on the grid paper, I kind of expected things to be situated closer together than they actually are. However, I'm quite pleased with the finished result.  Crease pattern below.  Filed under: October 2026 Origami Tessellations

 This is a fun one. It's a pretty easy tessellation that features a cool finished design.  You've probably seen a few different kinds of twist and or flagstone tessellations that feature three rhombus 'cubes'. I've done some. Lot of other creators have as well.  In this case, I kept it very simple. Three rhombuses twisted around a natural triangle. In order to repeat the pattern just follow the creases created by the original folds.  I chose to leave some space between the repeats. My first instinct was to keep everything close together, but I refrained. I thought it might look nicer with some broader spacing.  But you could easily keep the 'cubes' butted right up against each other for a denser design.  I really like how the reverse side looks back lit. That's often how I feel about purely twist based tessellations .  I have both a crease pattern and a video demo for this tessellation. You can see my other videos by subscribing to my youtube channel ...

This particular original tessellation is a little strange. When you first look at it, it doesn't really appear to have repeating elements. However, if you look horizontally, then you can see several different sets of repetitions. There are the triangle triads across the center. There are the double triangles. There are also repeating groups of hexagons and open triangles.  The same is true of the reverse side.  There are some trapezoid sets.Various rhombus sets.  So, while it might look random, it is anything but.  This is an intermediate level tessellation . It's not too tricky. It's also all tuck or collapse folds. No twists. No flagstone connections. It's a good way to practice those fiddly little triangle collapses.  Sorry, no crease pattern at the moment. I only drew the pattern on the paper that I used to fold it. Will probably unfold it at some point and upload one. 

 This new tessellation is tuck based. There are a few configurations that I gravitate toward when coming up with new designs. One of those is a set of four triangle tucks. This consists of a center triangle with the other three tucked into each of its edges. I'll often use small modules like that as an inspiration point for creating new tessellations. Using the grid and the geometry to figure out what other patterns and shapes will be successful with it. In the photo of the back view you can see the multiple sets of four triangles that I'm talking about. That simple set was my jumping off point for the entire origami tessellation .  This is a mildly difficult pattern to fold. There are a lot of small tucks, which can be tricky. But, the more you practice those type of folds, the easier they become.  I don't have the crease pattern for this one available at this time. If I'm able to find it, I'll add it later. 

This tessellation utilizes a lot of trapezoids. They're an extremely versatile shape when creating origami tessellations. It's a hybrid of twist, tuck and flagstone folds. I've been searching for layered types of designs such as this lately. Yet another fun way to manipulate the geometry of the grid.  The center is an open back hexagon with rhombus connected to it. Then there are some trapezoids folded over the edges of the rhombuses.  Six of those trapezoids connect to more of the same, while the other six twist around open back triangles. Everything repeats from there.  It's a somewhat difficult tessellation to fold. Not super hard though.  The back side features all the small triangle twists as well as the larger ones.  If you'd like to try to fold it for yourself you can use the crease pattern that I've provided below. Good luck!

This is one of those tessellations that was conceived of one way and then when I had finished folding it, I decided that the I liked the back side more.  Even with a lot of planning and visualizing, you can't always picture exactly how the finished design will look; particularly when it's back lit.  So, sometimes what you thought you wanted as the front side turns out to be less impressive than what you had imagined for the back side.  Although, I do have to say, I am somewhat partial to the rhombus triads that feature in the second photo. While the center point was my starting inspiration, those sets of rhombuses also played a big part in how I conceived of and create this tessellation.  In the crease pattern which follows, the blue lines indicate fold in the opposite direction.  Essentially, the design is trapezoids around small offset hexagons which are connected to each other by the aforementioned rhombus triads.  This tessellation combines twist eleme...

This is kind of a weird combo or offset hex twist and flagstone tessellation . Three rhombuses twist around a small hexagon, while the other three connect to them using classic flagstoning. Then I add another rhombus in between those sets of two.  At that point the classic six rhombus star is formed further out.  What's especially interesting about this tessellation in particular is that it has a few classic shapes side by side.  You've got the three rhombus 3D squares. The six rhombus stars. Then you also have the more unusual set of six rhombus at the center point that kind of resemble fan blades or whirlpools.  The reverse side of the tessellation also has an cool feature of its own. The triangles form pyramids in sets of six. Geometry... you gotta marvel as its fluidity.  Crease pattern below. I digitally altered the color of the model, just to make it pop more. No other edits were done to it.  Filed under: September 2026 Origami Tessellations

 I've had this crease pattern sitting around for a while waiting to be folded. Finally got around to doing it.  It's a linear flagstone tessellation comprised of rhombuses and trapezoids. There seem to be infinite ways to combine these two shapes into various patterns. I particularly like this one because it's simultaneously random and structured.  My execution could've been somewhat neater. Some of the seams are a little wonky. It's been pretty humid lately where I'm at. Even better quality paper has its limits.  Although the back side came out looking pretty perfect. Nice.  For a flagstone tessellation , it's not that hard. Everything comes together pretty harmoniously.  I did run the pics through photoshop to change the color. Just because I can.  If you want to fold it, see the crease pattern below. Where you place the triangles on the back is somewhat personal preference. Although there are some rules to follow. You don't want the triangle to tou...

Here's a recent tessellation I created . The hardest part of creating anything, tessellations or otherwise, is coming up with the initial idea. Once you have that, it's just a matter of following the clues to bring the design to completion.  In this case, the starting point was a set of four triangles and three rhombuses. I repeated the pattern circularly until the circuit was closed.  From there, I had a somewhat large center gap that needed to be reconciled.  I was able to do so using a small offset hexagonal twist surrounded by small triangle twists. The little stars.  There are many ways to create origami tessellations . I find they are a combination of puzzle, geometry and art.  I learned to do them in stages. Starting out by following other designers' crease patterns. Then progressing to reverse engineering finished models without any guidance. And finally moving on to creating my own. Video tutorial and crease pattern included.   

This origami tessellation is sort of an exercise in how much chaos can be contained in a single sheet of paper.  It also features an interesting illusion.  When you look at it, it appears that small isosceles triangles and regular small triangles are rotating around small hexagonal twists.  It's actually rhombuses and triangles. But half of each rhombus is facing upwards while the other half is folded in the reverse. It's a neat little optical illusion.  As far as folding it goes, it was intense. All those little folds are literally on top of each other. There is simply no relief until you get to the edges .  The other side is just as crazy. It's definitely an advanced origami tessellation that demands strong paper and a lot of patience.  I did it, just to see if I could. Sometimes that's all the motivation that's required.  If you're feeling a little insane too, you can use the crease pattern to fold it for yourself. 

Lately, I've been looking for tessellations where I can incorporate a triad of triangles into the design. By that I mean, a set of three small triangles tucked into a central triangle.  This tessellation is a new design that fulfills that directive. You can see that idea in the three 'Mercedes Stars' which appear at mid-center. It can also be seen near the edges where the triangles are facing upward instead.  This tessellation is mostly flagstone based, but the addition of the triangle sets makes it a hybrid design.  Full on flagstones have their constraints when it comes to how the various shapes can successfully interact with one another. However, by adding different style elements, we can find new configurations which otherwise wouldn't be possible.  Looking at the back of the tessellation you can easily see the triangle sets working to facilitate the pattern on the front.  Should you want to fold this, the crease pattern and a video demo is available below...

 It's time for something a little less intense. Sometimes those turn out to be some of my favorite finished designs.  For me, I love the puzzle of aspect of complex origami tessellations . How, you come up with an idea, but then you still have to solve exactly how to make it work geometrically.  Even so, it's a nice detour to occasionally do something simpler. It also saves money on fancy paper. LOL. Since you can do the easier ones with ordinary paper.  This is 20 lb. yellow printer paper. It always backlights so well.  This tessellation is simpler, but it's not simple. I'd say it's probably an intermediate level fold .  I designed it as the second picture. But as often happens with tessellations similar to this, I wound up liking the other side more.  My crease pattern is somewhat worse for wear, but it still illustrates all the components of the structure.  And now... a video tutorial is also available! Subscribe @ YouTube

  This origami tessellation uses a similar style to my ' Higgs Boson' design . It swaps out some of the shapes for different ones, but follows the same kind of thought process for how it's conceived. Lots of overlapping layers, collapses and tucks. Lots of fun.  Now, to look at my rendition, you might think it's not an actual tessellation. The center doesn't appear to repeat. It's true. On a 32 pleat triangle grid which only has enough space for two series of modules, there is not enough room to repeat. However, with a larger grid, the third set could in fact repeat the center.  On the reverse side, you can see how the triangles and trapezoids interact to help facilitate the design on the front.  The sneakiest part of designs like this one is keeping track of which way you want your fold to go. Assuming you want a consistent pattern that is. When folds land at close angles to each other, they must go in opposite directions. So, part of the fun is deciding how t...