Kaleidoscope

About this block

This block takes its name directly from the optical toy, invented by chance in 1816 by Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster while he was experimenting with the polarization and refraction of light. Once the device caught on, quilters on both sides of the Atlantic began translating its mirrored, radiating patterns into fabric, moving away from the classical florals and foliage that had dominated quiltmaking before. Structurally, the block is a square built from eight wedge-shaped triangles meeting at a center point, similar in bones to an eight-pointed star, with the whole effect depending entirely on careful color and fabric placement rather than the piecing itself. It's easy to see why this one's a favorite: few blocks earn their name as honestly, since the finished piece really does play the same trick on the eye as looking through the toy itself.