Drunkard's Path
A two-patch curved block that creates winding secondary patterns across the quilt when repeated.
Drunkard's Path is a two-piece curved block: one convex quarter-circle 'ball' and one concave corner background. When repeated and rotated in different orientations, the simple block creates an almost infinite variety of secondary patterns — winding paths, four-leaf clovers, rings, and more. The arrangement of the blocks determines the secondary design. Drunkard's Path requires curved piecing but is one of the more approachable curved patterns because the curves are gentle. Historical quilts featuring Drunkard's Path sometimes carry political symbolism, particularly in temperance movements.
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