Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt Pattern

By Janet Wickell

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Make a Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt

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Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt. Photo Credit: Janet Wickell

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Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt Block. Photo Credit: Janet Wickell

Use a scant 1/4" seam allowance unless instructed otherwise, placing units right sides together for sewing and matching raw edges carefully.

Cut carefully. Patches are small, and even slight variations can create issues when you assemble the quilt.

Red:

(16) 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" squares (blocks)
(32) 1-5/8" x 1-5/8" squares (half square triangles -- squares are oversize, allowing you to cut units back to the perfect dimension after assembly; use another method if desired, but make sure each completed unit measures exactly 1" x 1" before sewing it into the block

Purple:

Black:

Use tutorial linked above to pair a 1-5/8" black square with a red square of the same size. When complete, you should have two half square triangle units (HSTs) that likely measure just under 1-1/4" square. Trim the units to measure exactly 1" x 1". Refer to page 5 of the HST article if you aren't sure how to cut units so that each half of the block is equal.
Repeat with remaining 1-5/8" red and black squares to make a total of 64 identical HSTs.
Sew a 2" x 4-1/2" black strip to each side of the 1" x 4-1/2" purple strip (matching 4-1/2" edges). Press seam allowances towards the black strips.

Square up one end of the strip set and cut (4) 1" long segments from it.
Refer to the illustration, upper left. Sew the top horizontal row containing a 1" x 1" black square and two of the HSTs as shown; double-check the arrangement of units in HSTs. Press seam allowances towards the direction of the black square.
Sew two HSTs in a vertical row as shown, checking the alignment of red triangles. Press. Sew a 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" red square to the right side of the unit. Press seam allowance towards the right square.
Join the two rows you just created. Press seam allowances towards the section with large red square.
Make three more identical units.
Sew a 1" x 2" black bar between two of the "paw" units as shown (left, lower). Press seam allowances towards the black bars. Repeat to combine two more blocks and a black bar.
Sew a black/purple strip pieced unit between the two block/bar units as shown. Press seam allowances towards the black/purple unit. The block should measure 4" x 4".
Make three more Bear's Paw Quilt blocks.

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Assemble the Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt. Photo Credit: Janet Wickell

Use the 9" long strips of purple and black to make another strip set. Cut (2) 4" long segments from the strip set.
Refer to the illustration to sew quilt rows. For each row with blocks, use two Bear's Paw blocks and three pieced sashing units. Be sure to match sashing edges and block edges before sewing. Ease to fit if necessary. Press seam allowances towards sashing units.
Make two rows with Bear's Paw quilt blocks.
Make three cornerstone/sashing rows. Use three cornerstones and two sashing units for each row as shown. Press seam allowances towards the sashing units.
Sew all rows together as illustrated, matching seam intersections for a perfect fit. Press the quilt.
Add the inner border using 1-1/2" wide crosswise grain strips of the black fabric. Beginners - don't be tempted to measure your quilt along its outer edges, because it is likely skewed a bit. Borders are an opportunity to square up the quilt before the finishing steps. (Border Instructions)
Assemble outer borders from 3" wide strips of the floral fabric.