A pieced quilt block built from a repeating curved unit of one quarter-circle set into a square, which can be arranged and rotated in many ways to create pinwheel, wave or scrap-look effects across a quilt top. Patterns using this curved unit can be traced to motifs found in Ancient Egyptian and Roman decorative work, and quilters in colonial America knew the shape under various names before Drunkard's Path became the dominant label in the later nineteenth century. The block became closely associated with the Women's Christian Temperance Union, whose members favored it, giving the pattern its lasting, cautionary name.
Facts
OriginA curved patchwork unit with ancient decorative precedents, taken up by American quilters under many names before Drunkard's Path became dominant in the late 1800s, popularized in part through the temperance movement. 1 Distinguishing Technique or ResultA single curved seam divides each square unit into a quarter circle and its background, and the resulting units are rotated and combined into larger secondary patterns such as pinwheels or waves. 1 Connections
Associated With
Tools Used
Rotary Cutter is used in Drunkard's Path Quilt Block.
Sources
1. Drunkard's Path Variations (Barbara Brackman)
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