Bear paw quilt block: cuts and the sewing order
Published 2026-10-15. Updated 2026-10-15.
A bear paw block is half-square triangles, squares, and rectangles. The claws are the triangles. For one traditional-scale variation that finishes at 14 inches, Elaine Huff at fabric-406 cuts the claw squares at 3 inches, trims the half-square triangles to 2.5 inches, and sews the paws before the sashing. The C&T Publishing course page describes a class and a handout and has no cut list on the page.
What to cut for the 14-inch variation
Elaine Huff is sewing a variation: a four-patch sits where a plain paw pad would sit. The finished block is 14 inches. Cut:
| Fabric | Pieces |
|---|---|
| Light | 4 rectangles at 2.5 by 6.5 inches, 8 squares at 3 inches, 12 squares at 2.5 inches |
| Medium | 8 squares at 2.5 inches |
| Dark | 8 squares at 3 inches, 1 square at 2.5 inches |
The 3-inch squares, eight light and eight dark, make 16 half-square triangles. Trim each one to 2.5 inches. That is the claw size. The 2.5-inch light squares and the 2.5-inch medium squares make four four-patches, one pad for each paw. She notes that a 4.5-inch patch can stand in for that four-patch if you want the plain pad of the older block.
Create Whimsy also counts 16 half-square triangles in a bear paw, and gives directions for a 7-inch block, a 14-inch block, and a 21-inch block. The page says a 42-inch block is possible. The cutting chart on that page is a picture, not a text table, so the cuts you can follow from text are Elaine Huff's list above. The sewing order on Create Whimsy is the same idea: make the triangles, then the rows.
Assembly order
Follow this order. Turning a claw the wrong way is the error that survives the seam ripper.
- Sew four four-patches from the 2.5-inch light squares and the 2.5-inch medium squares. Elaine Huff presses those seams with a twirl so the center lies flat.
- Make 16 half-square triangles from the 3-inch squares. Pair light with dark, sew a quarter-inch seam on both sides of a diagonal, cut on the line, and trim to 2.5 inches with the seam on the corner. The same two-at-a-time step is on the half-square triangle guide.
- Build one paw. Lay out four half-square triangles, one four-patch, and one 2.5-inch light square so the claws point the way the diagram shows. She makes mirrored sets, four of each direction. Sew each paw into two rows, nest the seams, and sew the rows.
- Lay out the four paws, the four light rectangles at 2.5 by 6.5 inches, and the dark 2.5-inch center square. Sew three rows, the way an uneven nine-patch is sewn. Press the seam allowances toward the rectangles. Sew the rows. The block is done except for a final press.
Create Whimsy makes the 16 triangles eight at a time: both diagonals marked, a quarter-inch seam on each side of both lines, then cuts through the center before the marked diagonals. Press the triangle seams toward the darker fabric, and press the block rows in opposite directions so they nest. The page's own warning is the same as the order above: check the claw direction before you sew, and line the ruler up on the diagonal when you trim.
A giant paw, and a course page that does not cut
The Polka Dot Chair turns one bear paw into a baby quilt from 10-inch precut squares. The finished top is about 58 inches square. From the print squares, The Polka Dot Chair cuts 16 to 9½ inches for the pads, pairs eight with eight solid squares to make 16 half-square triangles trimmed to 9½ inches, and cuts the center to 5 inches. Six solid squares are cut to 5 by 9½ inches, and those cuts yield 12 sashing pieces. Four solid squares are cut to 9½ inches for the corners. The page sews the triangles first, then assembles the top in rows.
That is the same block at a different scale. The claw is still a half-square triangle. The pad is a plain square instead of Elaine Huff's four-patch. If you want the four-patch pad, stay with the 14-inch cut list. If you want one paw as a whole quilt, the 10-inch precut path is the one with a free row diagram.
The C&T page is a class: color choice, rotating blocks so new motifs appear, and a double bear paw. The quilt in the class description finishes at 72 by 85.5 inches. The cut list is in the handout for registered students, not on the product page. Use the fabric-406 list if you need to cut today.
Names, and what this page will not settle
Elaine Huff lists other names for the block: Bear's Tracks, Bear's Foot, Cat's Paw, Duck's Foot in the Mud, Hand of Friendship, Illinois Turkey Track, and Tea Leaf Design. Create Whimsy adds Ruth Finley's 1929 mention and the names Batsche and Small Hand. The piecing is the same idea under those names: claws of half-square triangles around a pad.
A 4 by 4 setting of the 14-inch block, which Elaine Huff shows as a basic layout, puts stars in the intersections where four paws meet. That secondary star is the reason to keep the sashing fabric consistent from block to block. Rotate every other block if you want the claws to chase each other, which is the move the C&T class description is built around, and the cuts stay in the class handout.
Two colors, light and dark, are the older setting. Three colors, as in the cut list above, separate the pad from the claws. Scrappy claws work if the value stays dark against a light background, or the reverse. A four-patch can replace the pad, which is what the 14-inch variation already does.
Square the half-square triangles before you sew a paw. A claw trimmed off the seam will not meet the next claw. This page does not give yardage for a bed quilt, because that depends on how many blocks you set and whether you sash them.
Page: north point quilt, $8.99, coming soon.
How do I make a bear paw block?
Make the claw units from half-square triangles, join each paw, then sew the paws to the sashing rectangles and the center square as an uneven nine-patch.
What do I cut for the half-square triangles?
In Elaine Huff's 14-inch finished variation, the claw units start as 3-inch squares and are trimmed to 2.5 inches. The block uses 16 of those units.
What other names does this block have?
Elaine Huff lists Bear's Tracks, Bear's Foot, Cat's Paw, Duck's Foot in the Mud, Hand of Friendship, Illinois Turkey Track, and Tea Leaf Design. Create Whimsy adds that Ruth Finley mentioned Bear's Paw in 1929.
Can the block be larger than a 14-inch square?
Create Whimsy gives directions for a 7-inch, a 14-inch, and a 21-inch block, and mentions a 42-inch block. The Polka Dot Chair baby quilt is one giant paw from 10-inch precut squares.