SDS4904 Card Trick Vol4 Stamp2

A little bit of quilting magic…

At first glance, the Card Trick quilt block looks as though four playing cards have been fanned out and woven together. But there are no complicated curves or unusual shapes involved — the illusion is created entirely through the clever placement of triangles, squares and colour.

Card Trick was designed by Jeffrey Gutcheon in 1973, during the renewed interest in quilting that was taking place in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Gutcheon was an influential quilt designer and teacher, and his work helped introduce a new generation of quilters to more contemporary approaches to quilt design.

🃏 Did You Know?

The real “trick” isn't in the name — it's in the colour placement!

The block is constructed as a nine-patch variation using half-square and quarter-square triangle units. When the fabrics are arranged correctly, the individual pieces appear to overlap like four playing cards being dealt or fanned across a table.

Gutcheon's design has also appeared under the name Winning Hand, and Barbara Brackman's research identifies it as one of the influential designs of the modern quilting revival.

✨ A Modern Piece of Quilt Heritage

Unlike many of the 19th-century blocks in the Heritage Quilt Society collection, Card Trick gives us a glimpse into more recent quilt history.

It reminds us that quilt history didn't stop with our great-grandmothers. New blocks continued to be designed, published and embraced by quilters — and some became so popular that they are now regarded as classics.

That's what makes Card Trick such a fun addition to your collection: a little 1970s quilting history, wrapped up in one clever block.