This hybrid flagstone/collapse tessellation is from just the other day. The concept is to combine classic flagstone style folds with traditional tucks/collapses. I've done a few tessellations using this technique. This is the latest one.  Open back hexagons are connected to rhombuses using flagstone folds. Then I add a triangle collapses between each rhombus and use the top point to repeat the pattern.  On the back of the tessellation you can see that reconciling the remaining spaces in the design required a few more triangles and some more rhombuses as well.  I would say this is a difficult , possibly advanced tessellation . I had a lot of trouble with it, but I'm not sure if it was strictly because of the complexity or if the weather didn't factor into it to some extent.  If you want to fold it, be prepared to spend some time on it.  Crease pattern included. Filed under: July 2026 Origami Tessellations

 This is a new advanced tessellation that I created last week and folded this week. It's kind of a diabolical pattern in that it contains six series of seven interconnected triangle collapses. If you've ever attempted to do any larger number of triangle collapses you'll know how difficult it can be.  The other portion of the tessellation is pretty standard. A flagstone style set of an open hexagon surrounded by six trapezoids.  The magic happens when I add a rhombus before repeating the center. That's what creates the gaps where all the triangles can reside.  I chose a pattern of the center triangle facing forward with the rest facing backward. This is personal preference. They can be arranged any way you like.  I also altered the pattern near the edges just to create cleaner lines. Replacing some partial trapezoids with rhombuses.  If you wish to fold this origami tessellation , definitely use a strong paper and plan your ups and downs ahead of time. It ...

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...

 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. ...

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 the tessellation that I reference in the previous post. I had the central idea. That came to me quite easily. It wasn't hard to figure out how to repeat that. However, when I did, I was left with a rather large gap that I didn't know how to fill.  I played around with various sets of shapes and still wasn't sure what would actually work.  When you're stuck, sometimes it's best to just take a step back and work on something else for a while. So, I did.  A week later, I was thinking about it again and came up with a new plan to reconcile those empty spaces. I still knew that it wasn't quite right, but that I was almost there.  At that point, I decided I would go with what I had so far and see if I could figure out the final answer as I folded it.  This isn't an approach that I usually take. It risks wasting fancy paper and a lot of grid folding time. But, occasionally, this is the only way for me to figure trickier things out completely. It doesn...

  This is one of those exceedingly difficult tessellations that I occasionally do.  It's from maybe a month ago. I struggled to get a good photo of it.  It's more about the challenge of can it be done than it is about how mice the final product might look.  I don't really remember how I did it. Looking at the back view, it looks to be collapsed hexagons.   Shockingly, I have the crease pattern, which looking at it, is pretty crazy. I'm honestly not sure how I managed to fold it to completion at all. It's pretty dastardly.  Sometimes you just get an idea and you have to see it through. A lot of times those really complex ideas are much better in theory than they are in real life.  But it still feels good to make it happen! Filed under: March 2026 Origami Tessellations , though it's probably from back in January or February. 

 When I mapped this one out, it looked pretty ordinary. However, when I went to fold it, I discovered that it had some obstacles.  It's concept is inspired by 'Chevrons' which was created by gatheringfolds. That design is alternating rhombuses.  In this case, I added rows of alternating triangles in between the rows of rhombuses.  What I thought would be a pretty straightforward flagstone tessellation turned out to be much more complex.  Some of the triangles on the back side needed to be folded over on top of each other. It was a technique that I really hadn't done before. It's quite difficult to get everything situated neatly under such circumstances.  It turned out okay. Could've been better for sure. Honestly, I'm surprise I was able to complete it at all, given the fact that I was not expecting those challenges.  I drew it out quite spontaneously on the paper on which I folded it. As far as I can recall, there wasn't anything all that unusual abo...

 This is a tessellation from quite some time ago that I don't think that I ever posted. Not sure why. It's a pretty cool pattern. It's similar to my 'Space Invaders' tessellation , which some people really seem to like. So perhaps, this one will be of interest as well.  So, it starts out with an open back hexagon with right triangles around, just like 'Space Invaders' does. But then, I tuck the short edges of the right triangles into each and that's how I get the repeats.  There are not so willing rhombus twists in the gaps, but it does work.  It was difficult to get a good photo because of the dark color of the paper, but the full size image is decent.  This design kind of takes some liberties with what I would call a flat fold. It doesn't really twist neatly or as expected, but I managed to make it behave. There are a lot of micro triangles which make it an advanced fold . The finished pattern is worth the trouble.  Crease pattern included.

  This particular tessellation was kind of a let me see if I can do it sort of idea. I knew that it wouldn't be one of those pretty design. It's just an exercise in execution. Several layers on top of each other that make sense in theory, but are rather difficult to make happen.  I did make it happen, for the most part. It turned out as expected.  It's from quite some time ago. So, I don't remember too much about it. Don't have my original diagram.  I do know that it starts with open back hexagons. And then I add those very small natural trapezoid off of them.  I think that I added some rhombus twists after that. Not entirely certain. I will have to unfold it to be sure.  If you're interested in testing how much stress your paper can take, this one will do it.  If you want to see how many layers of folding you can successfully wrest from a single piece of paper, this one is for you.  It's absolutely an advanced tessellation . A test of your mettl...

 This is an origami tessellation that I just completed a few days ago. I thought of it a few days before that, but failed to successfully execute it the first time around.  It's a really tricky one. I'd say that it's an advanced tessellation , for sure. I found it quite difficult to fold. Maybe partially because it's a style that I don't do that often. But also, because it's a style that is just inherently finicky.  I came up with it by folding an ordinary open back hexagon. Then I decided to do reverse folds on three of the six edges. That's how I got the center triangle.  Reverse folds are something leftover from the days when I did origami animals and things like that. Other people's. Not my own.  Every once in a while, those techniques that I picked up doing those early learning models still crop up in my mind to use in a new tessellations.  The other folds of the molecule were just simple natural edges I used in order to be able to repeat the pat...

  This is an interesting flagstone tessellation that I recently folded. It's rhombuses and equilateral triangles arranged in a linear repetition.  I had some trouble folding it. The other side has a lot of overlaps. Still, the concept is sound.  Even though it's a linear pattern it actually has a circular format on the back side. There are numerous small hexagonal twits with the the rhombuses and triangles twisting around them.  On the front side you'd hardly know that to look at it. All you see are the rhombuses and the triangles aligning to each other.  During the conceptual process, I was quite surprised to discover that rhombuses could be twisted around hexagons in an oblong state. That was new for me.  My crease pattern is included below.  This is an advanced origami tessellation . Everything is on top of each other and it's not easy to execute. Still, give it a try. See how well it works out for you. You'll learn a lot.  Filed under: Octo...

 This is a 3D origami tessellation that I recently created. It's very rare for me to come up with a three dimensional design. I'm more of a 2D sort of thinker. Still, every now and then, something a little different occurs to me.  In this case, it's a hybrid of micro rhombus stars with three dimensional star twists coming out of the centers.  Admittedly, it wasn't something that I had planned. It was more of a fiddle and find sort of creation. Sometimes those are the best kind! The back side is a chaos of overlapping folds and small hexagons.  It's definitely an advanced fold . Everything is very small and contentiously overlapping. But it's worth folding just to test yourself to see how well you can do it.  My crease pattern is below. It's not that easy to illustrate 3D design in a 2D drawing. Suffice it to say that you need to squeeze the center together along the most central lines in order to create the twisted stars. From there, it's just a matter...

  This origami tessellation builds on the concept of isosceles triangles tucked around an open back hexagon. I first encountered this technique on Arsenuy K's instagram feed. Where I then, solved, but didn't fold that design of his. Because I thought it probably wouldn't work well with my size/type of paper.  So instead, I did another tessellation with the same center point. An original design of mine called: " Laughing Envelopes ".  Now I've created this one. Again, the same starting point, but different from there. This tessellation uses small triangle twists off of the ends of the isosceles triangles and then repeats the pattern.  The back side, you can see, is just many small hexagon twists tucked very close together.  This is an advanced origami tessellation . You will need to be able to manipulate the paper with minute detail. Everything is layered on top of each other.  My crease pattern below shows the structure.  Filed under: October 2025...

This is a crazy one. I don't really remember how I arrived at this particular pattern. Most likely, I was just messing around with a small experimental grid to see what caught my eye.  I guess that I was feeling especially bold at the time I landed on this idea. This ia definitely an advanced origami tessellation .  Some of the shapes in this one are almost impossibly small. At least, for the size of paper that I normally use. Which in this case was standard 8..5 x 11 inch printer paper. I figured tant paper would be too thick to let me make such teeny tiny folds. And also, that it would be too thick to allow for all the overlap that was required. For the most part, that worked out to be true.  Of course, the converse of that is, such thin paper stresses easily and doesn't stand up well to too much fussing and cajoling.  Anyhow, it turned out mostly successful. Could've been neater, but considering how tricky it was, I'll call it a win just that I was able to finish ...

 This is a reverse engineer of a  flagstone tessellation designed by Joel Cooper. I do not know it's name. I was not aware of its existence until I was emailed by a reader (Jessie) asking for help solving how to fold it.  I sent them a couple of diagrams. The first of which, I thought at the time was good, but was not right at all. Sorry! The second time, I was pretty close, but later realized, it was still not quite there.  Finally, I decided to just try folding it myself to see if that could help me figure it out once and for all.  The mostly successful result is shown above. It's somewhat scruffy because I was still solving as I was working the paper that I used to fold it.  I will unfold it soon and use it to create a finished crease pattern. Then I'll upload it here.  The design is three interconnected rhombus stars which are surrounded by open back hexagons. The design is repeated by adding new triads of rhombus stars.  I found it a confusi...