❃ tangle jar, deconstructed.

Greetings, tanglers! If you wandered onto this page by accident, you should probably first read the original blog post about the tangle jar so we're all on the same page.

The lists on this page contain all of the tangle patterns from Maria's CZT guide and from the 2013 edition of the tanglepatterns.com PDF (you get a free clickable digital copy with a $12+ donation). The patterns are sorted into categories, listed by the color of cardstock I originally used to write them on:

✿ PINK: Patterns that require grids, dots, or other rigid structure in order to work.

✿ YELLOW: Flowy, randomly placed, freeform patterns.

✿ GREEN: Patterns that are good for strings or borders.

I have nixed the green category because any pattern can be used as a border if you're willing to get a little creative, but I listed it here to eliminate confusion because it's in the original blog post. I thought it was interesting that nearly all of the border patterns came from the yellow list.

✿ ORANGE: This list contains around a hundred buzzwords, phrases, or specific directions to apply to the tangles you pick from the jar.


UPDATED 3.2.2013


• ❃ • ❋ • ❁ PINK ✿ • ✽ • ❀ • 

2-N-5
ambler

archer
arckles

arrowheads

asian fans

assunta

bales
bandola

basketweave

bateek

beelight

beeline

bilt

bitten

black box

boomerangs

botie
bowties

bucky
bugles

buttercup

bwiya
c-scape

cadent
camelia

canard

carres

casella
cayke

centrifuge

chard
charlie

chemystery

chillon
chordin

click clack

cockles & mussels
cool beans
copada

corner box

cornrows

cracked

crossroads
cubic

cubine
cvetic

daggerly

dancet

demi

dex
diagonals

diamond panes

diamonds & squares

DL labyrinth

DL sunray

dragonair
drip drop

dutch hourglass
dyzzee

echo

emingle
escalator

equerre

eye-wa

facade

facets
falz
fanz

fife

fishnet
fleuri

florz
flourish

flukes

flutter tile

flying geese
flwrbox

fracas
funls

gewurtz 

gingham

gneiss

gothic

hazen
heartstrings

hekzee 
hi-Cs

hibred

hopscotch

huggins

huggy bear

hugs & kisses

hurry
hypnotic
insydout
ixorus

jalousie

jonqal

juke

kathy’s dilemma

keeko
khirkee

knase

kuzek
lace curtains
lacy
lanie
lantern
leaflet

linked
llilly
lokomotive

longwood
looplopp

man-o-man
maylea
meo
me three
mi2
moving day

munchin

netting

ninja stars

n’zeppel

OoF

oskie
orlique 

palrevo
pane

patena

pegs
pillows

pina

pinch

pinwheels
plaited

postl
pouf

puf

punzel

quiltz

raddox

rain

rick’s paradox

rose

rosewood
rouche

scarabou

screen

scrumble

semaphore

shattuck
slainte
snood
sonnenband
sparkool

spinners
spokes
spoolz

squares

squill

st. john's cross

stacks
stained glass

starbarz

static

striping

sugarcane
summer sitter
sunflower

swarm

swirly dot

tagh
tesali
ticking

tink

tortuca

track lighting

trimonds

tripoli

triral
twile (stoic)

umble

unbatz

up & across
veezley

vega

versa
ving

W2
waft

warangaie

warble

warped eggs 

wigwam

wisket

woven
xenso

XYP

yabbut

yang
y-ful power

yincut

zanella
zazzy

zin 

zuan shi

• ❃ • ❋ • ❁ YELLOW ✿ • ✽ • ❀ • (which I'm leaving black, so you can actually read it)

afterglo

agua

ahh
all about V
allium

amaze
angelfish

antidots

arc flower
auraknot
aura-leah

avreal

barberpole

baton

BB

beadlines

betweed

between

black-eyed peas

blooming butter

bluebonnets

box spirals

brayd
brax

braze

bridgen

bronx cheer

btl joos

bubbles

bulb lantern

bumper

bumps

bundles
bunzo
cack
candleglow

cat-kin

celtic

chainging
chainlea

chainlette

cheers

cirquital
clothesline

co2
coaster

coffer

coil
confettus

connector

courant

crescent moon
croon

cross stitch
cruffle

cyme
d-vine

dekore
diamond drops
divadance

DL nebula
dooleedo

droplets

drupe

dust bunny

dyon

echoism
eddy

efilys

eke

embellish

ennies

enyshou

euca
eyehook

eylet & ribbon
fancy nancy
fang

fans

featherfall

feathers

fengle

fern

fescu

festune

finery
flez

floatfest

floo

florez

flutter pie

flux
fohbraid
footlites

frillee

frircle

frondous
funf
fungees

furrballs
girlande
girdy

golven

grass border
groovy

half onion
heartrope

hearty

hearty-vine
henna drum

hepmee

hollibaugh

hurakan

ibex

inapod

indy-rella

intersection

isochor
itsy twisty
IX

jambalee

japonica

jax

jeewels
jelly roll

jester

jetties
jilli

jitterz

joy

kandysnake

keenees

kinetic

knitting
knyt
krli-Q

kofeforn

la bel

laced

lava juice

lightning bolt

lilypads
linq

limpitz

loave it
loblolly

locar

looby lou

lotsadots

lotus pods
loveline

lukiline

marasu

meer
miander

mooka

moon rocks

msst

mumsy

mysteria

nekton
neuron

nipa
ojo

oke

onomato

opus

organza

pais
paizel

par-tay
paushalov
pavonia
peaks border
pea-nuckle

pendrills

pepper
phicops
pia

plaid
planateen

pokeleaf 
pokeroot
pomegranate
pop-cloud

popsicles

prestwood

printemps
puffle

punch

purk

quabog
quandary

queen's crown

quipple

ragz

raindotty

reticulated

retro

river

river stones

sampson
sand swirl

sanibelle

scallops

scena

scrawlz
scrolled feather

sedgling

sez

shard
shing

shiraz

sh'rock

slalom

snafoozle

snail

snaylz trayl

snookums

snow zags

socc

sooflowers
spaanders
sparkle

sprocket

squid
starawn

stiritup

stishes

strata
stone necklace

strircles

struzzle
sundoo

swirls

tearce

tidings

tipple
tracery
tra la la

trentwith

triangles

tri-po
trumpits
tucked in

tuftid

twing

twisted rope

twistee
unme

unyun

vache1
vanity

vermal
verve

verdigogh
via
vigne

vitrivius
voga

vortex

voxter
warts & wobbles

waves

wavy border

web

wired

wirly bird

wist

worms

yinlinx

ynix

zedbra 

zen bud 

zensplosion folds

zig zag border
zinger

• ❃ • ❋ • ❁ ORANGE ✿ • ✽ • ❀ • 

This is meant to be an artistic/creative exercise. Rick and Maria created and shared the Zentangle method so that we might have a relaxing, distracting way to refocus our minds. This idea is not necessarily in line with their method. This is something I created for myself, meant to challenge me and make me look at the patterns I already knew in new ways. When I first created it I never really thought about sharing it, but the Zentangle method (and the community that embraces it) has enriched my life so much that I feel a strong desire to give back.

This list is my intellectual property. I would be honored if you decided to give it a whirl. I only ask two things: 1) Please do not repost this list anywhere on the internet, in whole or in part (although you can post a link to this page if you want to) and 2) please do not sell it, in any form. 

String your tile, count the sections, choose your tangle patterns, then pick a couple of these out of a jar so that your selection is random. Then try to run with it, no matter what it says. Obviously, you’ll have to be very creative with some of them. Be inspired... have fun... and no cursing my name ;o)

• ❃ • ❋ • ❁ • ✿ • ✽ • ❀ • 

make freeform pattern into grid

make grid pattern into freeform

add a magnifying drop

add an inner aura

add an outer aura

add a double aura

add a triple aura

add an infinite aura

add a checkered aura

add chain links

add beads

add dangles

add pearls 

add tiny bubbles

add some drops

add some curlicues

add sparkle

add spirals

as a background pattern

as a border

as a heavy frame

as a string 

climbing up the sides

color it in

combine two tangle patterns into one

combine with your favorite pattern

double your lines

draped across the top

use dots as shading defying gravity

draw one pattern within another

draw behind

draw bubbles inside

draw inside bubbles

draw indy-rella inside

draw in a straight, narrow line

draw it puffy

draw it tiny

draw using only dots

draw using only dashes

draw using only straight lines

draw using only curved lines

draw with two pens taped together

draw without lifting your pen drawn in a spiral pattern

drawn in an arc drawn oversized

fill in paradox-style

fitted together like a puzzle

flip it sideways

flip it upside down

floating above

floating down

hugging the edges

from the corners

toward the corners

leave the corners blank

invert

use lots of white space

give it texture

give it movement

flowy

blooming out of the middle

hang pearls off the top

hanging from the top

hanging by a thread

hanging off a 'clothesline'

heavily shaded

laced up

lined up neatly

loopy

make a photo frame border

make each one incrementally bigger

make it bumpy

make it dark and heavy make it pointy

mirror-image

multiply

nested patterns

divide

draw it in color

draw it white on black make it wavy

draw as a mandala

polka-dot it

round off the corners

scattered around

skew in opposite directions

split into half

split into sections

stretch it out

stripe it

tie two sides together

twisted

using only variations of the same pattern

warp the grid

with barbed edges

with beaded edges

with frayed edges

with inverted shading

with lacy edges

with scalloped edges

wrapped around a pillar

wrapped around an egg

wrapped around a sphere

with a string of concentric circles

with a string of diamonds draw a scribbly string

draw a loopy string

draw a string with only two sections

with an Y-shaped string

with an X-shaped string

with an 8-shaped string

close your eyes to draw the string

have someone else draw your string

trace your fingers as a string

trace a nearby object as a string