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.

 This is an intermediate origami tessellation that I did last week. It's a simple design that creates an interesting pattern. Not every tessellation has to be intricate or complicated in order to be visually pleasing. In fact, sometimes the less complex models yield some very intriguing results.  This one is just an idea I wanted to do that centered around a very specific starting point. Three rhombuses tucked into a small triangle. I also wanted to be able to repeat that molecule as much as possible.  I wound up using a series of open hexagons and large triangles There are also some trapezoids, but far less of them.  It's a straight up tuck tessellation . No twists. No flagstone style collapse folds. Every shapes just tucks neatly into the others.  What I find particularly appealing about this kind of origami tessellation is that it's very easy to conceptualize. It's a great starting point for creating your own designs. Everything fits together quite neatly. ...

Here's a new flagstone tessellation using trapezoids in yet another way. They truly are the most versatile of all the standard shapes in origami tessellations.  I used to think it was triangles that were most versatile, but having explored so extensively with trapezoids, I am convinced that are even more so.  Just when I think that I can't find possibly something else new to do with them, they surprise me again. The central pattern was my inspiration. A hexagon flanked by two rhombuses on each side and trapezoids at top and bottom. From there, it was just a matter of working out how to repeat it.  I'm sure it can be done using many methods, but I landed on a couple that I liked. This is one of them.  My grid isn't really large enough to show the repetitions, but the pattern is fully repeatable. For the back side, lots and lots of triangles are required.  In order to fold this tessellation , you'll need a little bit of patience and a good quality paper. C...

This is a pretty simple original origami tessellation that uses the natural twist of an open back hexagon to create multiples series of spinning miniature house shapes.  The  unique array of disparate shapes combine to form what reminds me of small dancing microscopic hemoglobin cells. The hue of the paper, no doubt, contributes to the sensory illusion.  This intermediate level origami tessellation can be folded fairly easily, provided you possess just an intermediate level of skill and a small amount of patience.  Who knows what scientific phenomena the finished patterns will make you think of. It mostly depends on what color paper you choose.  The back side of the original tessellation is a crowded configuration of overlapping large natural hexagons which serve as spacers for the repetitions.  Crease pattern follows.  Top right corner has a different tessellation which can be ignored for these purposes.  Filed under: May 2026 Origami Tessella...

 I don't really remember this intermediate tessellation from a few weeks ago. Had to unfold it to determine the structure. Looking at the finished photo doesn't really reveal any clues as to its origin.  But the truth is, that it's actually quite simple. Not that easy to fold, but the architecture is not that complex.  Basically, it's open back hexagons with rhombus twists tucked into them. I connected the repetitions by mirroring. In other words, I took the way that the rhombuses in the center connected to each other in the center and created opposite facing angles my chosen distance away. The actual molecules are not mirrored. They flow the same as the center.  Doing this creates an obstacle. The joining folds want to flow in opposite directions. This happens with rhombus twists because they naturally twist in opposite directions when connected to each other using certain methods.  To overcome this, I folded some shapes 'backwards'. This let me fold everythin...

 Here's kind of a cool flagstone tessellation that I created recently.  It looks somewhat random, but it really isn't.  The center point is six rhombuses around a small hexagon on the opposite side. Pretty typical tessellation starting point.  Then I add some long parallelograms off of their edges. The other gaps are a series of interconnected trapezoids.  I didn't have enough paper/grid to actually do the repeats, but I do believe it is possible with more surface area.   My crease pattern actually shows dual ideas.  It shows both the pattern folded in the above model as well as another idea for where to go with the same starting point.  In the case of this particular model I just repeated the sets of trapezoids. The crease pattern however, has another idea. One which I haven't yet folded. Where you can alternate the sets of trapezoids with parallelograms and large triangles.  In theory, you could fold my original origami tessellation ...

 This is an interesting hybrid  flagstone tessellation that I recently designed and folded.  It uses a few different techniques and patterns. It was pretty hard to actually fold. Some of that difficulty can be attributed to weather conditions and the paper being softer in warmer/more humid seasons. But it's also a tricky configuration to execute even under favorable circumstances.  There was a good chunk of time while I was collapsing it that I was doubtful that I would be able to successfully complete it. Fortunately, it did work out. I was able to bring it to completion. Even if not quite as neatly as I would have liked.  It starts out innocently. Just a common set of six triangles attached to an open back hexagon.  Then I add a right triangles  and mirror image right triangles to the edges of the original center triangles.  At that point the secondary pattern emerges where the regular triangles and right triangles can be twisted around an offs...

 Every once in a while I'll come up with an unusual configuration of rhombus twists that I use to create a new tessellation . Unlike traditional twist based rhombus tessellations, these designs will feature awkward patterns and unorthodox overlaps.  I just enjoy trying to come up with functional patterns that seem like they shouldn't work.  This tessellation is a new one in that style.  It features overlapping rhombus twists around a large hexagon. Some triangle twists help make the pattern repeat.  The back view is mostly unremarkable. Although, there are some interesting micro right triangles.  Whenever I create tessellations like this I'm always hoping for a surprise interesting pattern on the other side. Sometime I get one and sometime not so much. Still, a good  fold regardless.  My crease pattern is a little messy, but it mostly gets the point across. Filed under: April 2026 Origami Tessellations

 This is a recent collapse style, somewhat difficult tessellation that I created. It starts off twist based. Three triangles twisting around another triangle on the other side.  Then I tuck some trapezoids into those three triangles. From there I'm able to add two different molecules that repeat.  One is an open back hexagon. Three edges have the trapezoids and the other three have triangles. Those triangles can then repeat the central point.  The other is twisting three trapezoids around a triangle on the other side.  There's a healthy dose of tucks and twists to keep most folders excited.  Getting everything situated is tricky. There are a lot of micro triangle twists on the reverse side.  I'm a big fan of these kinds of tessellations . They're intricate, yet easy to understand.  Crease pattern included for those who dare!

  This is a new flagstone tessellation that I did last week. It uses trapezoids and triangles in a linear pattern.  The pattern is particularly interesting because of how the smaller subsections of the shapes each continuously mirror on diagonal paths. A pair of two triangles one way, then mirrored, then again and so on.  Same with the trapezoids. up, down, up, down on a diagonal plane.  Back side is all triangles.  Another interesting feature of this tessellation is that some of the triangles on the back side only worked right in certain gaps. While there were a few choices of the spaces to put then into, if you chose the wrong one, you were left with gaps that didn't quite work.  I can usually tell if a gap will work if it has certain features. Either it nestles right up against the shapes on the other sides. Or there's only a micro rhombus gap on one side. Or there's a small hex gap, but one edge is cut off.  I've tried to illustrate these conc...

 This is one of those tessellations where I pack an absurd amount of triangle twists into a small space and see what the result is. More often than not, you'll get a pretty interesting design on the opposite side.  This tessellation starts its life with an open back hexagon. From there, it's pretty much a chaos of triangle and rhombus twists. Not really chaos, but it kinda looks that way when you see the other side.  My grid wasn't large enough to actually repeat the center, but I think it can be done if you have more pleats to keep going.  I did this one quite some time ago, so I don't really remember how it came to be exactly. Although, I do remember that I was kind of fixated on folding the edges of open back hexagons in on the center.  My crease pattern is below. I think I remember that I made a small mistake when tracing it. I believe there's a missing triangle in the right mid edge section.  I like to fold twist based tessellations using thinner pap...