Pondering Drunkard's Path

I grew up enjoying an heirloom quilt that was given to my parents as a gift, made by the ladies in their church.  It was a Drunkard's Path pattern, made with two fabrics, white and sky blue (if my memory serves me).  The quilt was just gorgeous and had the perfect weight and drape after years of washings and use.

Drunkard's Path - Two quarter circle options

Here are my thoughts on getting beyond the details of the planning and getting to the doing of making one for myself.

Getting Up The Nerve

Over the last year, I've been trying to get up the nerve to make a replica of that quilt.  The curved piecing has haunted me, but there are many creative alternatives that I've seen described in various blogs, videos, and articles.  Many of them do not appeal to me because I want this to look handmade; as such, this would disqualify any options that require visible top-stitching.  The one that I'll try involves using light-weight interfacing to "face" the curved edge, making the curve a little easier to attain.  The curved edge will then be sewn down, using a blind stitch via machine (maybe this is time to try the invisible monofilament thread) or hand sewing with an applique stitch or blanket stitch.  If this doesn't work well for me, I'm going to bite the bullet and do curved piecing, the "old-fashioned" way.

Surprises In My Research

While doing my research on templates and patterns, I noticed that some of the templates and strategies documented call for starting with a circle, then cut that into quarters.  I'm perplexed by their willingness to use this method because it doesn't allow for an appropriate seam allowance on the straight edges of the quarter circles.  If I were to follow the "half-circle" strategy, once the blocks are sewn together, the quarter circle would actually be less than a quarter circle because a quarter inch on the two straight edges would disappear into the seam allowance.  If I were to sew four of these blocks together with the quarter circles meeting in a circle, I would see that the "circle" is more of a rounded diamond.  Now, the larger the circle, the smaller the issue becomes, but considering that I'm looking to work with 4 inch blocks, I don't think I'll use this method.

My plan is to create my own template to use (or find one that works the way I want).

The image above shows how differently the quarter circle appears with and without the 1/4 inch seam allowance added.

Calculating Fabric Requirements

The next thing I need is to figure out how much fabric I need.

For each block, I'll need a 4 1/2 inch square and a 3 1/2 inch square.  For a queen-size quilt, 90 x 100 inches, I'm planning to make the center 60 x 80 inches in the Drunkard's Path pattern.  The remaining border will be a different pattern.

For the 60 x 80 center section of the quilt, I'll need 300 blocks, 150 blocks with the quarter circle in white and the larger part in blue, 150 blocks with the quarter circle in blue and the larger part in white.

I have determined that I can get 300 3 1/2 inch squares from 2 1/2 yards of fabric, and 300 4 1/2 inch squares from 4 1/4 yards of fabric.  Rounding up to be safe, I'll get 7 yards of fabric, 3 1/2 yards of each color.

I'll need interfacing, if that's the method I decide to go with.  Each curved edge should be able to be "faced" with a 1 1/2 inch by 5 inch strip.  Using 20" wide interfacing, I'll need 3 1/2 yards.

For the border, I got to thinking that it would be nice to be able to use the small pieces I'll be trimming away from the 4 1/2 inch foundation block after applying the quarter circle.  If I'm careful, I should be able to get a 2 1/2 inch triangle from each piece, and I should have 150 of each color.  I'll likely use these pieces to create an interesting border; maybe flying geese?

To be sure I have enough fabric to match for the border, I'll get an extra 3 yards of fabric, but I haven't figured out what I'll do, so will need to get this decided before buying.  Or, I could just get a lot and figure it out later.  You can never have too much fabric, right?

Taking The Big Step

At this point, I think I'll do some sample blocks before buying fabric.  I'd like to have a decision on the method I'll use for the curved piecing before I commit.

I'd also like to have a plan for the border so I can be sure I have enough of the right fabric.  Will I go more white in the border or more blue or a balance?

So, now I make a few blocks from my fabric scraps and decide how to proceed.  Check back later!