Tassels
Draw one edge. Get an infinite pattern.
An interactive editor for Escher-style tessellations — the interlocking tilings where birds become fish. Drag a handful of points and watch the plane fill itself, with no gap anywhere.
Launch Tassels ↗ tassels.fernielabs.com
Hypothesis
The idea
Escher tilings normally demand real mathematical patience. Tassels turns that craft into something you do by dragging a few points with the mouse.
Pick a symmetry and a starting shape, then edit a single side. Pull one edge into a beak and the matching edge grows the socket that receives it. The live preview re-tiles the plane on every mouse move, so you’re never guessing — you’re watching.
Procedure
How it works
Pick a symmetry
p1, p2, p3, p4 or p6 — translation, half-turns, 3-, 4- and 6-fold rotation.
Pick a shape
Square, rhombus, hexagon or equilateral triangle.
Edit one side
Drag 1 to 9 control nodes per side; matching edges follow automatically.
Watch it re-tile
A live tiled preview updates as you drag. Export PNG or save JSON.
Observations
Feature spotlight
Morphing
Draw one shape on the left and another on the right, and Tassels fills the space between with a smooth transition over 2 to 10 tiles. Switch to 2D for four corner shapes blending in both directions — the effect Escher built by hand, now a slider.
You can’t break it
The symmetry rules are built into the shape itself, not checked afterwards. However strange the silhouette gets, every edge matches its neighbour exactly. No gaps to hunt down, no seams to line up. You’re free to just play.
Findings
Why it’s different
Symmetry built in
Every edit stays a valid tessellation, by construction.
Browser-only
Nothing to install, no plugin. Works in any modern desktop browser.
No sign-up
Your work stays yours: save to a small JSON file, export PNG whenever you like.
Test subjects
Who it’s for
For
Teachers
Make symmetry visible: wallpaper groups students can bend with their hands.
For
Designers & makers
Original seamless artwork for fabric, tile, wrapping paper, laser-cut panels and game assets.
For
Escher fans
The shortest path from “how on earth was Day and Night done?” to your own answer.
Tessellation without the arithmetic.
Launch Tassels ↗Other experiments
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