Bear Paw Quilt Block tutorial

Bear Paw is a fun traditional quilt block. In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a 12″ block with three fabrics.

This block looks complicated, but it is only squares, rectangles and half-square triangles. It has a lot of pieces, but isn’t difficult. It can be used in a quilting project by itself, or with other blocks. (See all my quilt block tutorials for inspiration.)

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Fabric requirements

This block is made with three fabrics – a light background and two contrasting colours.

* The 2-1/2″ squares are used to make 2″ half-square triangles using the Most Popular Half-Square Triangle method. If you prefer to use a different technique, you will need to cut different fabric pieces.

How to make a bear paw quilt block

Make the half-square triangles

Mark a line from corner to corner on the back of the background fabric 2-1/2″ squares.

Match each background square to a fabric 1 or 2 square and stitch 1/4″ away from the line on either side.

Cut apart on the marked line, open and press.

Trim these pieces to 2″ square.

If you need more details on how to do this, see my full tutorial for making half-square triangles with the most popular method.

Make the bear paws

Layout a fabric 2 large square, four half-square triangles and a background fabric small square as shown in the diagram.

Join the half-square triangle pieces together, being careful of the orientation, then join one pair to the dark square and one square to the light square.

Press the seams away from the half-square triangles.

Join these two pieces together with the final seam. The final bear paw should be 5″ square.

Make one more bear paw with fabric 2 and two bear paws with fabric 1.

Final block assembly

Layout the bear paws with the background rectangles and fabric 1 square as shown in the diagram.

Join the pieces into rows.

Press the seams away from the coloured fabric.

Join the rows together.

The block should be 12-1/2″.

This block can be fun to embellish with hand embroidery.

Use this block in a quilt

An embellished version of this block was used in my 2023 BOM quilt.

You can get a full pattern for this quilt, including embroidery diagrams in my shop.

More quilt block tutorials

See many more quilt block tutorials in my quilt block directory.