Creative articles about quilting

Old Block Quilt-Along, Part 14: Mohawk Trail


Andrea from Quiltmanufaktur and author for the German BERNINA blog is your guide for this fantastic quilt-along over the next 12 months. Together, you will sew classic patchwork blocks and combine them into a sampler. The completed quilt will be traditional, yet modern! The next part has been written and we are delighted that you join this quilt project.


Hello, my dear participants, it’s great that you could join us again! Today I’m going to show you the 14th block for the Old Block Quilt-Along, called the “Mohawk Trail”.

This form of the “Mohawk Trail” block comes from Nancy Cabot and appeared in the Chicago Tribune on August 9, 1933. Nancy Cabot wrote the following about it: “‘Mohawk Trail’ takes its title from a certain technique used by the Indians, in an effort to keep under cover and to battle possible followers when traveling along a winding trail.”

The “Mohawk Trail” is a former trade route of the Mohawk, which was an important link between the various tribes on the Atlantic coast and the tribes in what is now New York State (Source: Wikipedia / Mohawk Trail).

During my research, I found it interesting that Nancy Cabot created a very similar block called “Path of Fans”.

“Path of Fans” is similar to “Mohawk Trail”, but not exactly the same. The difference is in the space between the corner pieces and the half circles, lending a new touch of elegance to the pattern (Source: Antique Geometric Quilt Designs).

We are sewing the “Mohawk Trail” patchwork block

The Mohawk Trail block is a 20″ block (20.5″ including the seam allowance) and is made up of 16 individual “Drunkards Path” blocks. The block is worked using pattern templates.

Download the patchwork templates

For cutting out, I have created two PDF documents to download:

  • The first is a coloring sheet. This allows you to try out colors and designs for this block to see what they look like.
  • On the second PDF you will find the templates.

On the PDF with the FPP templates and the pattern templates, I have put a control square with a side length of 1 inch so that you can check whether your printout of the templates is the right size. It is important to set your print options to “Actual size”.

Here are the downloads:

“Mohawk Trail” coloring sheet

“Mohawk Trail” templates

Cutting out the pattern pieces

Before you cut out the templates, here is a tip for you: make each of the templates 1/8″ bigger as shown in the following picture. Template A on the three outer sides, and templates B + D on the two outer sides. This allows you to trim the block down to the required size of 5 1/2″ once you have assembled it.

You will need to cut out the following number of pieces:

  • Template A: 16 x background fabric
  • Template B: 16 x patterned fabric
  • Template C: 16 x patterned fabric
  • Template D: 16 x patterned fabric

Sewing the “Mohawk Trail” patchwork block

Sewing the Drunkards Path

The “Mohawk Trail” block is made up of 16 individual “Drunkards Path” blocks. I will show you now how to cut out, sew and trim these.

Each individual block consists of one A, B, C and D pattern piece each. It is best to cut these out with the extra 1/8″ added on – as shown in the picture above. This allows you to trim the block to size later on.

Sew the three fan blades together. It is best to trim back the seam allowance, as shown in the following picture:

Mark the middle of the blades and of the background fabric.

First, pin the middle and then the outer points. Then distribute the width of the blades on the backing fabric.

Once the dividing seam is closed, it is time to trim the block. The finished block must be cut to a size of 5 1/2″. The main reference point for trimming is the tip of the blades. You need to place the inch ruler so that the 1/4″ point on the ruler is exactly on the tip of the blades. Once you have done that, trim the block down to 5 1/2″.

Sewing the “Mohawk Trail”

Below you can see how to arrange your 16 “Drunkards Path” blocks to make the “Mohawk Trail” block.

First, sew the blocks in each row together.

Then join the rows together.

And that’s it, you’ve completed another beautiful, very large block

Now it’s your turn. I hope you have lots of fun making this block. When you’re done, I’d be thrilled to to see your blocks here in the Community area. Of course, you can also share your block on Instagram or Facebook  as I also check there regularly 😉 If you post them using the hashtag #BERNINAOldBlockSampler, it is easy to find all the blocks for this quilt-along together in one place.

New here?

Have you only just discovered the quilt-along? No problem! You can join at any time. Registration is not required, and you can win a BERNINA 570 QE! All the posts will remain permanently available:

In the first post, which was the invitation to participate in the quilt-along, you will find the important initial information about our joint project:

Old Block Quilt-Along – who’s in?

You can find the rest of the blocks from the quilt-along that have already been published here:

Old Block Quilt-Along – overview of all the posts

I’m glad you’re taking part and I hope to see more wonderful pictures of your blocks!

See you soon for the next block,
Andrea

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  • grannyjan EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    Block 14 finished!  I was very glad that there were no “Y” seams and no FPP!  If others are still making this block  I think that perhaps it would be easier if 1/4″ extra rather than 1/8″ was allowed on the templates.  My blocks are all 5 1/2″, however they needed very little trimming.

    • ramonawirth EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

      Dear grannyjan,

      Thank you so much for your feedback, I am sure the readers will appreciate your recommendation!
      Your block looks lovely, and I absolutely adore the fabric pattern in the center.

      Kind regards, Ramona from BERNINA International

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