Bear's Paw

About this block

This block is built from four claw units, each a set of half-square triangles plus a connecting square, arranged around a center square with sashing strips between them, the same sawtooth-triangle technique quilters had long used for pieced borders before it became its own named block. The earliest dated example traces to Ohio in 1823. It carries several regional names depending on where it was made, including "Duck's Foot in the Mud" on Long Island, and "Hand of Friendship" among Quaker communities in Pennsylvania. Oral tradition also ties this block to the Underground Railroad quilt code.