Single Diagonal 45-degree Grid: Square grid with one diagonal added through each grid square, forming a checkerboard pattern of alignmentĭouble Diagonal 45-degree Grid: Square grid with both diagonals added in every grid square Grid Spacing: The distance of one grid line between two neighboring grid lines in another grid direction Grid (Square/Triangle): Smallest shape outlined by grid lines on a finished grid Triangle Grid: Grid folded in three directions with 60 degree angles at each intersection, native to hexagonal paper and also folded on squares and rectanglesĤ5-Degree Grid: Square grid with either half or all diagonals added Square Grid: Grid folded in two perpendicular directions, typically on a square sheet of paper Grid : Pattern of evenly spaced folds that are used for referencing other folds in a tessellation Here's my list of the most important terms to understand when you're starting to fold tessellations: I try to stick to consistent definitions throughout my teaching, and to explain my terms in plain English - no math speak. This can make it hard to learn, since everyone is saying things in different ways.

Unfortunately, the vocabulary of tessellations is not standardized across all tessellation designers and each tessellation book uses different definitions - and different colors and symbols for their diagrams. While you may already be familiar with origami terms like mountain and valley folds, sinks, squashes, swivels, and rabbit ears, tessellations have a vocabulary of their own.

Tessellation square dot paper