Playing with Tessellation

Today I would like to design a quilt pattern that tessellates. (If you need a reminder of what tessellation is see my 17 April 2010 post.)

What if I start with this simple block that I created using a nine-patch grid?

What if I take 4 of this block, rotate them, and then combine them?

This is an interesting pinwheel, but it won't tessellate. There are three repeated shapes filling the space; there needs to be just one.

What if I make a second block by reversing the colors in the original block?

What if I replace 2 of the blocks in the pinwheel with this new block?

This will tessellate because the white shapes and the green shape are identical.

What if I repeat 4 of the pinwheel blocks and combine them to make a pattern?

This is definitely a tessellating pattern, one shape repeated over and over.

What if I rotate the 4 pinwheel blocks and then combine them to make a super-pinwheel block?

Is this a tessellation?

If I put 2 super-pinwheel blocks together, I find that the green and white patterns are identical. This is a tessellation.

Can I improve this?

What if I change my 2 original blocks by introducing a triangle into the bottom left corner?

When I put them together, the pinwheel is only slightly different.  Will it make a difference?

Yes it does. There is an extra jig in the pattern making it livelier and more interesting to look at.




That this is made using 2 very simple blocks amazes me.




For more tessellation see My Posts by Subject in the sidebar on the right and click on Tessellation.