Hexagonal Graph Paper
Hexagon paper made of whole hexagons with every shared edge drawn once, sized by side length or by width across flats, with pointy or flat tops. Use it for game maps, chemistry structures or quilt planning, and print it at exact size from a vector PDF.
Preview and download
Scaled-down preview; the printout is full size. Dashed lines show the margins and don’t print.
Print at 100% or Actual size, not “Fit to page”. Then check the ruler at the foot of the sheet: it should measure exactly 4 in.
- Sheet
- Letter, 8.5 × 11 in, portrait
- Pattern
- 16 × 26 hexagons
- Ruler
- 4 in, in the bottom margin
- 1 page, vector, no watermark
Paper
Hexagons
Lines and colour
Margins
From each paper edge to the pattern. Most printers can’t print the outer 0.2 in or so of a sheet.
Header and mixed pages
Pages and printing
How to make hexagon paper
- Decide how the size is given. "Spacing measures" switches between the hexagon's side and its width across flats. Game-map hexes are commonly sized across flats; quilting templates by the side.
- Enter the size. Any value from 1 mm to 6 in, in inches or millimetres. The box below it shows the other measurement as you type.
- Pick pointy or flat tops. Pointy tops make horizontal rows; flat tops make vertical columns.
- Colour, weight and page. A light line suits maps you will draw over; a darker, heavier one suits cutting templates. Then choose the page and print at 100%.
Hexagon measurements
A regular hexagon with side a is a√3 (about 1.732a) across the flats and 2a across the corners. In a honeycomb, neighbouring hexagons in a row are one width across flats apart, centre to centre, and the rows are 1.5a apart. For example, 1/4 in sides make hexagons 0.433 in across the flats and 0.5 in across the corners.
| Size given as | Side | Across flats | Across corners | Hexagons per page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 in side | 0.25 in | 0.433 in | 0.5 in | 16 × 26 (Letter) |
| 1/2 in side | 0.5 in | 0.866 in | 1 in | 8 × 13 (Letter) |
| 1 in side | 1 in | 1.732 in | 2 in | 3 × 6 (Letter) |
| 1/2 in across flats | 0.289 in | 0.5 in | 0.577 in | 14 × 22 (Letter) |
| 1 in across flats | 0.577 in | 1 in | 1.155 in | 7 × 11 (Letter) |
| 6 mm side | 6 mm | 10.4 mm | 12 mm | 17 × 29 (A4) |
| 25 mm across flats | 14.4 mm | 25 mm | 28.9 mm | 7 × 12 (A4) |
Hexagons across × rows down, pointy tops, portrait, with the starting margins (1/2 in on Letter, 10 mm on A4), as the generator lays them out.
What hexagon paper is for
- Game maps. Wargames, role-playing campaigns and board-game prototypes use hexes because all six neighbours are the same distance away, unlike the diagonal neighbours on a square grid. Battle maps for miniatures commonly use 1 in across flats; regional maps often use smaller hexes, each standing for a day's travel or a few miles.
- Chemistry. Benzene and cyclohexane rings are hexagons, and the 120° angles between edges are the angles of the zigzag carbon chains in skeletal formulas, so fused rings such as naphthalene and anthracene come out regular.
- Quilting. English paper piecing tacks fabric around hexagon papers and joins them edge to edge; a ring of six hexagons around a centre one makes the rosette of the traditional flower-garden quilt. Plan the colours on a sheet of small hexagons, then print the templates at full size.
- Design. Honeycomb patterns, hexagonal tile layouts, crochet and knitted hexagon blankets, and garden plans for planting on a staggered grid.
Hexes for game maps
To match a square battle grid, set "Spacing measures" to width across flats and enter 1 in: moving one hex is then the same 1 in as moving one square. Pointy tops on a portrait Letter sheet give 11 rows of 7; flat tops give 8 columns of 9; landscape with pointy tops gives 8 rows of 9. A heavier line weight (0.75 to 1 pt) stays visible under paint and markers.
For a larger map, print several sheets with the same settings and trim each one along its outer hexagon edges, so the margins and the leftover space around the honeycomb are cut away. With pointy tops, trimmed sheets fit together side by side directly. Above and below, they fit directly only when the sheet has an even number of rows; with an odd number, slide each lower sheet half a hexagon sideways so the rows keep alternating. Flat tops are the same turned a quarter turn: sheets stack directly, and side by side they need an even number of columns or a half-hexagon slide. The share link reproduces the sheet exactly when you need more.
Printing templates at full size
For anything you will cut out, scale matters: a template printed at 97% gives hexagons that no longer match a pre-cut paper pack or a pattern. Print at Actual size, then check the calibration ruler and one hexagon's width across flats before cutting a stack. The guide to printing at actual size has the settings for each browser and PDF reader.
Frequently asked questions
How is the size of a hexagon measured?
Three ways, and it matters which one a pattern means. The side is the length of one edge. Across flats is the width between two opposite edges, side × √3 (about 1.732 × side), and is also the distance from one hexagon's centre to the next. Across corners is twice the side. The generator takes either the side or the width across flats, and shows the other one under the size box.
What size hexes should I use for tabletop miniatures?
1 in across flats, the same spacing as a 1 in square battle grid, so each hex holds one figure on a base of about an inch. Overland and campaign maps, where a hex stands for miles rather than feet, are often drawn with smaller hexes.
Should the hexagons have pointy tops or flat tops?
Pointy tops give straight horizontal rows, each offset by half a hexagon from the one above; flat tops give straight vertical columns. Choose the one whose straight lines match the main direction of movement or reading on your map.
Can I print English paper piecing templates?
Yes. English paper piecing sizes a hexagon by its side, so a "1 in hexagon" has 1 in edges and measures 2 in across the corners and 1.732 in across the flats. Choose "Hexagon side", enter the finished size, print at Actual size on card stock, check the ruler and cut on the lines. Add your seam allowance when you cut the fabric, not to the paper.
Why doesn’t the honeycomb reach the edges of the page?
Only whole hexagons are drawn, so no half cells clutter the edges, and the honeycomb is centred in the space the margins leave. Whatever doesn't fit a whole hexagon becomes extra margin. Shared edges are drawn once, so every line is the same weight.