1. Tumbling blocks
Diamonds in threes that read as stacked cubes.
Free printable · Color online
Geometric pattern coloring pages
Eight all-over patterns, each filling a letter page inside a rounded frame: tumbling blocks, eight-pointed stars and crosses, overlapping circles that make four-petal flowers, pinwheels, honeycomb, scales, harlequin diamonds and plain triangles.
There is no picture to finish, so there is no wrong way to color them. Print them on letter paper or color them on screen.
Each page prints on one sheet of US letter paper. Under every page are buttons to print just that one, to color it on screen, or to save it as a picture.
2. Stars and crosses
Eight-pointed stars with pointed crosses between, as in Persian tilework.
3. Overlapping circles
Circles that overlap into four-petal flowers, with a dot in each space.
4. Pinwheels
Squares cut into triangles that turn one way, then the other.
5. Honeycomb
Hexagons, each with a smaller one inside.
6. Scales
Rows of overlapping rounded scales, large and simple.
7. Harlequin diamonds
Tall diamonds in a lattice.
8. Triangles
A plain grid of triangles: the page to invent your own design on.
About tilings
A pattern of shapes that covers a surface with no gaps and no overlaps is called a tiling, or tessellation. Only three regular polygons can tile a flat surface on their own: the triangle, the square and the hexagon. Bees build with the hexagon, and three of the pages here use those three shapes directly.
The other pages combine shapes. The star and cross pattern, an eight-pointed star with a pointed cross filling the space between four stars, is one of the oldest in Islamic tilework and was common on Persian walls by the 1200s. Tumbling blocks, three diamonds that read as a cube, is a favorite of quilters because of the illusion. The Dutch artist M. C. Escher copied tile patterns at the Alhambra in Spain in 1922 and 1936, and they shaped his later interlocking prints.
Color ideas for these pages
Tumbling blocks only look solid if you keep three rules: every top diamond light, every left diamond mid, every right diamond dark. Use three shades of one color for a whole page, or change the color from cube to cube and keep only the light, mid and dark.
On the other pages, try coloring a few shapes at random in strong colors and leaving the rest pale, or plan diagonal stripes of color across the whole sheet. The star and cross page looks most like real tilework in turquoise, cobalt and white.
Which page to start with
This set has 8 pages: 2 bold and easy, 5 medium and 1 detailed. The quickest to finish is “Harlequin diamonds,” with 44 areas to color, and the longest is “Pinwheels,” with 661. Bold and easy pages have heavy lines and large shapes that suit markers and tired eyes; detailed pages have fine lines for sharp pencils or gel pens.
How printing, saving and coloring on screen work is explained on the coloring pages home. If you like filling shapes by number, Linseed Loft Color by Number is a free paint by number game with 74 pictures.