Pattern & Tiling · 2D
Islamic Star Pattern
Hankin’s polygons-in-contact method
Lay down a tiling of polygons, then from the middle of every edge send out two rays at the same angle until they meet. One angle, dragged slowly, blossoms into stars and rosettes.
- Method
- Hankin 1925
- Rule
- 1 angle
Watch it drawn with compass and straightedge, hear the chord of its lines, and turn the Dimension dial to raise its form in space.
Facts
- Try the 8·8·4 tiling at 67.5° for classic eight-pointed stars (khatam).
- The trihexagonal tiling at 60° gives six-pointed stars and hexagons.
- Animate the contact angle to watch patterns you know flow into one another.
- The same rule runs across every tile, so the pattern stays seamless.
History and meaning
Craftsmen in Iran, Morocco (zellij) and Moorish Spain built vast star patterns with compass and straightedge. E. H. Hankin rediscovered one of their likely methods in the 1920s by studying the construction lines left in historic tilework.
Across the dimensions
- Wraps into Star Pattern PolyhedronGive up one side of a polygon at every corner and the tiling folds shut into a solid, the star pattern running unbroken over every edge.
