STEP PATTERNS
BUILD DAZZLING GEOMETRIC PATTERNS
WITH DOTS AND LINES. BY AIDAN MEEHAN
Step patterns are the easiest form of creating
Celtic art. Learning how they work gives you a deeper
understanding of how ancient crafters created
their designs. I’ve seen them applied on clay bowls,
engraved on silver bracelets, quilted, silk-screened,
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carved on wood, illuminated in manuscripts, sculpted
in stone — and they look stunning in every form.
The word step, as used here, means a type of
2-dimensional pattern formed by joining dots on a
square grid with straight lines of 3 kinds: horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. As a rule, every dot on the
grid is covered by a line. Lines are drawn along a
series of squares, either diagonally or along their
vertical and horizontal sides, alternating to form
zigzag paths.
A 1-squared step (Figure A) is the building block
of the step pattern, but a pattern needs more than
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1 cell. The 2-squared grid in Figure B holds 4 cells:
1 is a single square, while the other 3 form a step in
the shape of a shaded elbow.
With a 4-squared grid (Figure C), we meet the
first proper pattern. Think of this one as being
4 tiles together, 2 across and 2 down. Opposite
corners have the same tile, and tiles in adjacent
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corners have their shading inverted. More patterns can be made by giving 1 or 2 of the tiles a
quarter or half turn, or by inverting the shaded and
unshaded cells on a tile. The dots at each corner
of the square grid aren’t included in the remaining
figures, but the process in these more intricate
patterns remains the same.
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Because Figure C is made of 2-squared tiles, it’s
not a true, stand-alone 4-squared step pattern.
A true 4-squared pattern is a whole unit such as
those in Figure D. This pattern began with 2 elbows
filling opposite corners ( 1 shaded, 1 white) and
2 white squares in the other 2 corners. I erased
1 side of each white square and tied them with a
diagonal line. Note the symmetrical pattern that
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B
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Nine 2-squared tiles
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Four 3-squared tiles
