Challenge - Draw a Maltese Cross

Maltese Cross

Identifying this cross is simple enough. But is it equally simple to draw?

There is no mystery to the identity of this cross. It is known by various names, including Amalfi, Maltese, St. John's, Fishtail, Iron, Pattée, etc. (see Maltese Cross).

But how quickly could you draw a neat, well-proportioned cross of this form?

To be honest, we made several bodged attempts ourselves to re-create the cross for this website, before we stumbled on the solution. Here are some of our rejects:

Failed attempt 1
Failed attempt 2
Failed attempt 3
Failed attempt 4

Technically, they qualify as Maltese Crosses, having four equal-length arms, two vertical, two horizontal, thin in the centre, wide at the split ends, and yet there's something not quite 'right' about the proportions.

Get yourself a pencil and paper, have a try at drawing something better balanced, not so skinny, not so fat, then check our quick and simple method.

Read more about the Maltese Cross

Other puzzling shapes

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