Sampler of a few Official Tangle Patterns.
Not all of the Zentangle® tangles created by originators Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas are posted online.
This makes complete sense when you think about it because income from teaching about Zentangle® is one aspect of their business. Thus, learning the official “102 Tangles” (now up to 136) and how to teach them is part of the certification seminar. The CZTs (Certified Zentangle Teachers) then have additional patterns to teach in their workshops that are not available online. And that’s a very good reason for you to find a local CZT® and take a class.
However, every “official” tangle pattern that does have online drawing instructions is posted here on TanglePatterns and is linked in my list below.
Being the organizer/list-maker that I am, and a good part of the reason TanglePatterns was born in May 2010, I was curious to know about the rest of the original patterns. By delving through the Zentangle® books and other sources, I gathered the following list of “official” tangles created by Rick and Maria. Tangles created by Maria’s daughter, Molly Hollibaugh, are also included in this list as she is part of the official.
Originally there were 102 tangles, however new tangle patterns have been named over time and these are included here. This list will be updated as new official tangles are published.
You are more than welcome to link to this or any other page, but please do not republish my content on another website (yes, it’s happening and I regret having to point this out). A great deal of time and effort goes into creating everything on this site so I’d really appreciate it if my copyrights are respected. Thanks!
- Ahh
- Amaze – I have it on good authority this is the same as Stiritup
- Ambler
- Assunta
- Avreal
- Bales
- BB
- Beelight
- Beeline
- Betweed – includes video instruction
- Braze
- Bronx Cheer
- Bucky
- Bumper
- Cadent
- Centipede
- Chainging
- Chartz
- Chillon
- Cirquital
- Cogwheel
- Courant
- Crescent Moon
- Cubine
- Cyme
- Dex
- Dribbetz
- Drupe
- Dyon
- Echoism
- Eke
- Emingle
- Ennies
- Enyshou
- Evoke
- Eye-Wa
- Façade
- Fengle
- Fescu
- Festune
- Fife
- Finery
- Floo
- Florz
- Flukes
- Flux
- Fracas
- Frondous
- Gneiss
- Gust
- Hazen
- Hibred
- Hollibaugh
- Huggins
- Hurry
- Ibex
- Indy-Rella
- Isochor
- Ixorus
- Jetties
- Jonqal
- Juke
- Kathy’s Dilemma
- Keeko
- Knase
- Knightsbridge
- Kule
- Lace
- Locar
- Man-o-Man
- Marasu
- Meer
- Mooka – includes video instruction
- Msst
- Munchin
- Mysteria
- Nekton
- Nipa
- Nzeppel
- Onamato
- OoF
- Opus
- Orlique
- Paradox
- Patena
- Pea-nuckle (new 5/15/12)
- Pendrills
- Pepper
- Pinch
- Pokeleaf
- Pokeroot
- Printemps
- Punzel
- Purk – includes video instruction
- Quabog
- Quipple
- Raddox
- Rain
- Sampson
- Scarabou
- Scena
- Scoodle
- Sedgling
- Sez
- Shattuck
- Snail
- Springkle (new 4/8/12)
- Squid
- Squill
- Static
- Stiritup – also called Amaze
- Stoic
- Striping
- Strircles
- Swarm
- Tagh
- Tidal
- Tidings
- Tipple
- Tortuca
- Tripoli
- Twing
- Umble
- Vega
- Verdigogh
- Vermal
- Vitruvius
- W2 (Warp & Weft)
- Wadical
- Warble
- Xircus
- XYP
- Y-Not
- Yincut
- Ynix
- Zander
And remember …
As Sandy Bartholomew reminds us in her new revised AlphaTangle: A Truly Tangled Alphabet
TIP: Zentangle is a noun, not a verb.
Don’t say “I Zentangled my bathroom floor.”
Say “I tangled my bathroom floor.”
Other things to say:
“I need to create a Zentangle, right now!”
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I was busy tangling.”
Copyright Issues You Should Know
With so many new people joining the ranks of the Zentangle Zealots, the inevitable enthusiasm is beginning to raise questions about the fair use of tangle patterns in art for sale, as well as create some outright copyright infringement issues. It’s time to address this important topic so we’re all on the same page. Please read this page. There’s also a discussion here on TanglePatterns.
Thanks for all the organizing you do. I am new to Zentangle and I found this site great for inspiration. Thanks again.
This is great, Linda
Thanks for all your hard work!
Linda, I just spent over an hour surfing your site and have to tell you that you have done an incredible job!!! It is so well organized and really a wealth of information on everythiing related to Zentangle. Now that I have started teaching, I will be referring all of students to your wonderful site! Thanks for all the work you do here!
Thank you!
Well done Linda, I have often wondered about the whole extent of the names, thanks so much!
Thank you so much for your amazing job putting all these wonderful patterns in a system!
Thank you once again Linda. You are my hero!!! Have you thought about designing (or having a contest for) a logo that we all could use on our websites when including a link to one of your wonderful pages?
Thanks for all the great compliments, folks. Most appreciated.
Sandra Strait already caught a blooper – I left out CADENT, even though I have in my sampler. Sheesh. Thanks Sandra!! Now sorted.
CZTs – any additions/clarifications to offer?
And thanks for that lovely suggestion gwest1955 – frankly I hadn’t thought of it and it’s a capital idea. Which I shall think on while I have coffee… I had a very late night watching a(nother) Harry Potter marathon with my husband so slow getting going today.
Dear Linda, you are a corker gal !!
Thank you very much for this list. It’s always nice to know who does what these days, and that due credit is given, which you ALWAYS do on your site. Marvellous. This will keep me busy, sorting it out.
Kind regards,
Les:)
Update: just added TAGH to the list.
Hi Linda, just wanted to say how i really love your site, i am new to the Zentangle world and i recieved a kit for Christmas. Now with your list i will definitely be busy(:
Hi and welcome! You are fortunate to get a gift of the Zentangle kit because you have the best tools to get started. Don’t forget about the books too (visit the Book Reviews tab at the top of the page), they’re also full of inspiration. And yes, you will be busy! Happy tangling.
This list is wonderful. It would also be nice if some time/day the tangles that do not have instructions could be linked to examples. There are some of these that I have never seen.
Thanks Julie, quite a few of them are illustrated in Sandy Bartholomew’s AlphaTangle.
Cool – thank you that’s great to know.
I am new to Zentangles and was looking at your list. What a huge undertaking – but exteremly helpful, especially for those of us who are newbies.
I have one question, though. Why are some of the items in the list written in magenta?
Hi Jean, those are links – try clicking on them
Hi Linda~ am a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) from class #1 and the Master Class. I can see your pattern list as a great resource for CZTs who want to focus on teaching unpublished patterns in their classes. Just a note: Perfs isn’t a pattern per se, but a “Tanglenhancer” as taught by Rick and Maria. Other tanglenhancers are: aura, sparkle, shading, rounding and dewdrop which folks can learn from a CZT. Many thanks for your organizing efforts and for promoting Zentangle, especially your mention of finding a local CZT and taking a class. It’s the best way I know to learn more depth and versatility of pattern creation.
Brilliant list, Linda. (A teaser – I can’t wait ’til October when I’ll get to see the ‘unlinked’ ones!) A member of our Tuesday Tangler group turned up last week with a beautiful hand made, concertina book, with prints of all your sample squares inside it (about 1.5″ square) from Tanglepatterns – to carry around as a reference. It was awesome. We’re all delving into your site for more.
I do this same thing, with a Circa notebook.
I love zentangling. It is addictive. I love geometric designs. Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts do a fantastic job. Thanks Meda
Hi Linda, I can’t get the print friendly version of this page to work? Anyone else?? (I’ve tried with two different PCs – one running Windows XP, one running Windows 7). On all your other pages it works a treat.
I had the same problem so I’m checking into it. More later …
Thank you, Linda!! You are wonderful to do all this for us… with such a busy day job. Thanks… ?? (it’s Feb 14th here in Australia, so those are little Valentine’s ??).
I’ve just been notified that the printfriendly version is working correctly – (it was fixed a couple of weeks ago). Thanks for your patience!
Hi Linda.
How well organised you are. I have been going trough your list and found Gust in Sandy B’s book Totally tangled. She puts het initials behind it as being her pattern??
And where did you find Centepede, Cogwheel, Dribbetz, Kule, Scoodle, Stoic, Tidal, Wadical and Xircus?
Maria
Hi Maria, thanks for your compliment. All but one of these patterns are in the Beginning Zentangle booklet and Legend that come with the official kit, including their Gust. And as you point out Sandy also has her own but different pattern of the same name. Stoic was named in one of the Zentangle newsletters.
Thanks Linda,
I looked everywhere but not in my kit.
Maria
Thank you so much for the work you do, Linda. This is so helpful to me and to our students.
Oh Wow – have just discovered zentangles. Your is THE best website I have found this morning…errr today, just seen its 2pm!
I have already put quite a few of them in my notebook and made my first tile.
Thanks so much for such an informative and inspirational website – all I need in one place!
ruthie
Thanks so much Ruthie, glad to have you aboard.
I am new to tangling. Just took my first class and my head is exploding with creative ideas. I love your site. It is a one stop resource for all. Thank you for the list for beginners. There are so many patterns to choose from. It helps to have a starting point. How much time to you spend each day just keeping up with your site? I applaud all your efforts and I’ll be back!
Welcome Joyce, thanks so much! I like hearing that TanglePatterns is “a one stop resource for all”!
I have to admit it takes a LOT of time. A lot (just ask my husband). Not only keeping track of all the patterns and maintaining the site, but handling all the email correspondence and everything else involved. But comments of appreciation and support from people like you make it all SO worthwhile. Happy tangling!
i have all the zentangle books i could get my hands on . . . (plus i tangle with this website in front of me). i just wish you could purchases a little reference book with all the patterns in it so i could throw it in my bag with a few tiles and pen when i am on the go . . . something like the idea of putting each tangle in the moleskin book (which i tried) but i am discouraged because i’d rather be tangling than working on my reference book.
Hi Deb, there is a book coming out but it’s a big secret and I’m not supposed to tell, so this is just between the two of us. For several months I’ve working with Suzanne McNeill on a handy dandy little pocket guide of tangle patterns. It will be a few months before publication, so until then hang in there! And don’t forget … it’s a secret! Shhhhhhh ….
you’ve made my day, linda! your secret is safe with me! can’t wait!!!
I am very new to this form of art but I am already hooked. This a wonderful site and certainly has a lot of information. Thanks so much for sharing your designs with your viewers!
I found “Tangling” on a craft show so I thought I would try it. Well 8 months later i am addicted! I absolutely LOVE this art form. Please keep up the good work. Thanks!
Your pattern book is what I want in my purse right now! When will we be able to order or buy it and where? I will keep your secret!
I found a book at my local craft store and it looked interesting. Very similar to how I (used)to mindless doodle. I am now “tangling” with purpose, and I just love it. This is a great site–and very inspirational. Thank you so much–we can change the world “one line at a time”!
Linda, your site is absolutely the best around!! I love tangling (have being doing it FOREVER without knowing….)
Thank you for doing such a great job!!
Linda,
) Peace & Prayers to you and yours and the entire Zentangle community!
I just wanted to thank you for all your inspiration Ive gained from your site and your tangles!! I would also like to know if you could send me “how to” for Sampson and Quabog…I’ve heard of them on sites and also in SB’s books Totally Tangled and Yoga for your brain, however have not seen them. ?? Many thanks again for all you share and the spirit in which you do so!! I love your tangles!!
Linda, I am fairly new to Zentangle and I love, love love it. I love your site. You are great!!!!! Thanks for the tangle examples AND your organizational abilities. NOW, I heard this somewhere — when is your book being published????? Barbara
Hi Barbara, thanks so much for your compliments! My book is in a bit of a hiatus AND I’m also taking a long-overdue vacation now so my interaction is somewhat limited by my computer access. But, my book is still coming along and I will “talk” more about it when I can. THANKS for caring, it’s appreciated.
Linda,
You’re amazing! I began tangling only this year and could never have done it without all the help this website gives to me. Thank you so much for being such a selfless person and for all the sharing you do.
Judi
I have not been able to find an example of Sampson anywhere. It is mentioned in the Yoga for the Brain book but none of the rest of the book that I have has it.
Instructions for Sampson are not online, that is why there is no link in the list.
Thank you, again, Linda for all you time, inspiration and communication! I absolutley love to Tangle and will be looking into how to become a CZT ASAP!! I don’t know what the initial investment may be, and the closest CZT to me that I’ve found is Carole Ohl ( and I follow her too!) I’m fairly new, as I stated in my last post, but am totally addicted and endebted to ALL of you involved with Zentangle–it has truly saved me and help me through some of the toughest times Ive had to deal with! Many Thanks! I will get with you soon for all the info or you could send it if you ever find the time–haha
Peace & Prayers to you and yours, and all the Zentangle “family” Bobbi
I want to thank Linda for all her efforts
Makes it so much easier to sit and see the tangles in front of me sometimes – I cant remember them all
Looking forward to the PDF
I would like to remind everyone for a small donation Linda is taking a huge amount of time for us all organizing the tangles and giving us a place to surf and see all the new patterns. Save me time
Again Thank you Linda
This is sooo inspiring. I am new to this art form. What fun.
Linda, you rock! I have used your site since since before I became a CZT. And now that I am teaching, yours is the first (well, sometimes the second, after Rick & Maria’s) website I mention to my students (yes, even before my own). I cannot imagine what an undertaking this is and just thought it was high time I said thank you, thank you, thank you!
Linda,
Any update on the book you and Suzanne McNeill were working on. I’m dying to get my hands on it. Thank you for all of your hard work!
Hi Alison, this is what became of that book – my TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE. Thanks for asking!