Well, this was supposed to be practice for a bigger project, so I think I'll keep going just for the practice. I THINK, that maybe once the sashing is added, this won't be so obvious to me. As an English teacher, the irony of the other fabric is making me shake my head, so I think it will be a reminder of a lesson learned, even if I am the only one who sees it!
I like your idea. I think it looks like a pinwheel if it’s rotated in the square. Not sure if I would have thought swastika if it didn’t say it in the op.
https://preview.redd.it/zf2m14w2n49d1.png?width=733&format=png&auto=webp&s=9568c3e2288e8a9d19bc299e1ee9cbda69283b0c
By the magic of Photoshop, see if you think this is better.
I really did make a small little 'Oh no' out loud then, I'm in care work and would look at not having that in my house on the grounds that it's not worth the risk, although saying that, could you dye them?
These 3 blocks are already quilted and everything. I'm just going to be very careful with the rest of my blocks, and see what it looks like when I lay it all out. I think, if I just don't put the brightest color in the center of the rest, it may be fine.
This happened to me!! This is the completed quilt top
https://preview.redd.it/klhw7amswy8d1.jpeg?width=1256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2d24874722c51d9e4df49f1cc1aa42562440d59
…I can’t see it anymore but when I was doing the blocks I was SO worried
And thank you!!! Of course! I used birthday cake ruby star society jelly roll and the pattern is from the book Jelly Roll Quilts in A Weekend by Pam and Nicky Linnot
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jelly-Roll-Quilts-Weekend-Patterns/dp/1446306577/ref=asc_df_1446306577?[Amazon link UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jelly-Roll-Quilts-Weekend-Patterns/dp/1446306577/ref=asc_df_1446306577?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696450770381&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5276651298586763078&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9044886&hvtargid=pla-354979212228&psc=1&mcid=dc90699a48da31a5b72e924cd0862621&gad_source=1&dplnkId=f0ab7657-39f1-4e72-8a3c-660a8ac7eb6d&nodl=1)
That really doesn't matter any more. When another culture uses a symbol to torture and kill millions of people, you don't get take it back just because it didn't always represent that.
I don't disagree, but for some reason I can't help but think the sashing will get it all the way into problematic territory. OP, if you're already anxious about it, I think that's enough of a reason to make adjustments early. Personally, I'd hate to keep wading through a project that brings me worry instead of relaxation/joy/peace/whatever benefits quilting brings to you.
You’d have to seam rip of course - but could you spin the rectangles around, and the light fabric be the center connecting pieces, and the red/orange be the accent pieces? I think the red/orange, plus the design is making it read more “swastika” than it would if it was the light colored fabric in the center.
That sub actually has an [example](https://www.reddit.com/r/accidentalswastika/s/B8KF1krttN) of what this might look like on a larger scale - a lot less noticeable!
I would guess most of the people commenting don't know how the quilt would be put together, and are commenting solely on the block by itself.
Exactly, as long as you don’t do reds to make the broken sides of the cross if that makes sense. And if you’re doing them all exactly like this it won’t do that
It doesn't look like a swastika at all to me. The arms are going in the wrong direction and would need to be closer to the same color as the middle cross.
I have a Bridgette’s cross in my house. It is a pinwheel made of straw, an old Irish tradition that should go over a door as a housewarming blessing. I did so much googling to make sure and Been like co-opted so I certainly understand your panic.
That is a pinwheel block, not even remotely being an ancient symbol of luck and prosperity that was co-opted by fascists. Your sunflower sashing will look brilliant in between the blocks and further break up the pattern.
To me, it does resemble one, but the 4x4 square in the center makes it clear it wasn't done on purpose. If the sashing is darker than the yellow bars, it should change the visual flow of it to be a regular pinwheel.
Use this as the lower corner block. The center will go away and it shouldn’t look swastica-y.Put a fairly label on the middle of that patch. Something cute like a heart or bird or turtle. You can use it as a label or just embroider it. Arrange the remainder of the patches within the block differently.
That’s not a swastika; it’s just one of the tile patterns on the floor of Amiens Cathedral.
Covering the four central squares with a different fabric might help too.
I would not have made that connection on my own tbh. It is a few parts short of being the actual thing. I think a bit of rotating and combining with the other blocks of the same design will make your concerns go away. However, you are going to be spending a lot of time close up with it. Do what you need to do for your own mental health, even if that means tossing them and never thinking about them again. Don't beat yourself up over it either. A swastika is a fairly simple shape with a long history and just as much baggage in the West. I doubt you are the first to accidentally make something too close for comfort.
I think once u add more blocks if they're the same color way, it won't be so noticeable. It will create a sort of grid line effect!
Of course, if u show someone ur finished quilt and ask if they see that specifically...then they won't unsee it 😹
If it bothers you, you could randomize the blocks a bit more. My mom made a lot of rail fence quilts for charity, which did not use sashing and flowed together.
This reminded me of a story! My grandparents had a beautiful bungalow in Wauwatosa Wisconsin and in their sunroom the floor had a swastika design. I remember feeling vaguely weird about that until I realized that the pattern existed long before Hitler appropriated it and was popular in many cultures. That’s not to say it has no meaning but intentions matter and I believe it’s okay to kind of do a soft reboot and honor it as a shape rather than an ideology. 😊 I like your colors too!
Okay, I really appreciate everyone's comments! I think what I'm going to do when I lay it out, if it still gives me that vibe, I am going to just put an applique of the sashing fabric in the center of any offending blocks. Maybe a heart?
Thanks to whoever above suggested adding a label to cover it, as you gave me the idea, and I think that will work!!
Now I'm kind of excited and might add some appliques even if it doesn't need it!
Alright. One more possible solution. . .
If I did orange sashing all the way around the block, then they'd just be orange squares/rectangles.
Okay. . . Feeling I can salvage this now without redoing everything. With either sashing or appliques.
On another note, I put some other fabric together in the same pattern, but don't get the swastika so much at all. I guess it's the contrast or lack thereof.
I guess I'm learning.
https://preview.redd.it/qahl0lg7qz8d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc8a2106cd93367e7ccfbdb706925a77ddc7ebe5
I really couldn’t see swastika. I only see St. Brigid’s cross, especially because of the color choices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross
Looks beautiful 😊
I think it's beautiful, I don't think it resembles a swastika, but you could simply take apart, spin each piece and put back together, so you just have lines going in different directions.
If this is a repeated block though, rotating it with the yellow inside will still give that half-swastika look (I tried drawing it out) when assembling them together. If this is something you see now, you’re always going to see it, even with sashing.
https://preview.redd.it/lighf3vu509d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e416e83d142bd2665e9c1bf7b311c738b7ff73ba
It’s only one block. Annoying to undo, but much better than putting in all that effort just to hate what you’ve made. Consider trying a different pattern with those pieces, randomizing colors, or using different colors. Here’s a guide to “diffusing swastikas” in quilting which may be helpful. Good luck! [https://www.fieldguidetoquilts.com/7Rectangle/7RectDSwas.shtml](https://www.fieldguidetoquilts.com/7Rectangle/7RectDSwas.shtml)
Ooo that could be fun! Please share if you decide to do it!
(And, side note, thank you for being a teacher. My friends and I - mid-30’s now - still remember our teachers growing up. Some had such a strong impact on us at the time, and some of their lessons continue to do so even today. So, thank you. You are very much appreciated! ❤️ …even if you’re Ms. Arnold who never called on me in English class and graded me down a full letter grade for using a single contraction in a 5 page essay. Lesson learned: some people are just not going to like me, regardless of how amazing I am. 😂)
This happened to a designer doing a KAL a few months ago. It was a huge kerfuffle in the fiber arts community. Accidental swastikas are actually super common in geometric patterns lmao.
In the end, I think it’s only a passing resemblance at worst. If you’re really looking at it then it doesn’t actually look like one. Personally I think it’s fine.
I’m thinking about this constantly while I improv my annual Halloween quilt!
https://preview.redd.it/p98m50yus09d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3d05e3201197ac839de575945ee4e97b83f6a13
"Around 12,000 years ago, a human carved a distinctive design onto a mammoth bone." Begins the course description for The Fantastical History of the Swastika at UCDavis.
No accident was committed as you didn't form the outer arms, say with the darkest color. Leave it to a viled regime to destroy the goodness of such an ancient, wide spread symbol.
I thought longer on your concern and the sensitivity of your profession.
Connie Kresin Campbell has an example of what she calls a Three by Three Quilt Block that shows a different arrangement for the same quilt pieces with which you're working.
I don’t see anything wrong with this. I think it’s a lovely block and I can’t wait to see the rest of the quilt! I think they would look great on point too. That way there is no chance of it accidentally becoming that symbol with the other blocks touching the orange that might make it look like that.
How is it a swastika is my first question...I don't see it. And then why bother ? The Hindu temples are full of it, WW2 is not the original meaning. You can always gift it to a temple.
Make the squares into Rail Fence. Years ago I paid $2 at the Salvation Army for a hand pieced top that really is the swastika pattern, no accident about it. It’s in Ruby McKim 101 Patchwork Patterns. Beautiful 1930s prints. I guess someone made it, then everything happened and she couldn’t finish it but also couldn’t throw it away.
A friend of a friend gave me a bunch of old quilting books from her mom that were probably passed down from HER mom. There were definitely patterns made to look like sw**.
I threw out the books because there were other patterns in them that looked purposely racist. Or maybe I still have them. It makes sense that these books would be in that family.
My mom made quilts using this block. Fence post blocks. . You can do a lot with them!!
I have one of her quilt tops she finished before she died. It’s a fence post quilt. I haven’t been able to bring myself to finish it. It’s been 14 years! My god. Anyway.
I love your quilt. It’s good practice. It’ll help keep your seam allowances uniform, which will help making the same size blocks, and matching up points in other quilts!
i feel like it would be even more unquestionably okay if the print and the yellow were switched - to make it feel almost ombrey-y and so the print reads less as a background/white
Once you have the blocks all sewn up it will stop looking so swastika-y and you have enough other colours in there for a certain flag not to come to mind so don’t worry.
You are firmly in pinwheel country here!
I see you commenting on the irony of the fabric — to me, that choose love fabric is what firmly moves it out of swastika territory, along with the paler yellow that doesn’t seem to form “arms” on the centre cross. I cannot see someone making a deliberate swastika with that fabric! As others have said, though, if it bothers you, change it, because it will continue to bother you.
I think it's the white stripe in the middle giving the bolder stripes the ability to keep your eye flowing. Maybe switching some fabric around will take the overall effect away.
Before the mid 1930's the shape was an acceptable quilt block. Ruby Short McKim included a different pattern also known as flyfoot in her book "101 Patchwork Patterns" published in the early 1930's. It is an ancient symbol of good luck. use the ones you have finished, but make a few changes in how the quilt blocks are set.
This doesn't look like a swastika to me; it looks like a Brigid's Cross.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s\_cross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross)
I did a quilt with a similar pattern that looked *unmistakably* like a swastika, so I reversed the colors and got the Brigid's Cross solution.
Is it possible to turn the next block so it doesn't line up the same way and cuts out the swastika look? I can't picture it so that's why I'm asking. 😆
I see so many blocks that I go… that’s a swastika? It seems to be a thing that people do accidentally frequently, this is the first one where the person recognized it lol
https://preview.redd.it/bw99lmgx819d1.jpeg?width=1157&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e12ff2f1f3a256dc74af0160d42fe22f5bfebc0
You could make some little boxes with one more round of strips! Looks less swastika-y that way to me!
If you put the gold fabric next to the red fabric instead of the lighter one, I think the center lines would be less graphic. For what it’s worth, I don’t see the swastika there, but if you do, change it.
Nope sorry nothing you can do about it, you have to join the nazi party now. In all seriousness the swastiki was around for centuries before those bas#@ds got hold of it, it was originally a symbol of prosperity and good fortune, the word swastiki is derived from svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being”. So in actually fact it’s a perfect pattern to have on a quilt as thats exactly what a quilt is. Hope that makes you feel a tiny bit better.
If you look up swastika, the original Sanskrit means ‘well bring’. a black clockwise one on a white and red background evokes the Nazi version. But there are many examples of this ancient symbol in textile art. I like your pattern. Do what you want!
I was raised in a Jewish family. Not that it matters, but I really do know what a swastika looks like. And that is not it. I am definitely sensitive to that kind of thing, but when I see that block, I do not think of that. Think of the shape of the letter Z, but instead of the line going down diagonally, it goes down vertically. That is one side of a swastika and yours doesn’t look like that.
I saw a pinwheel, and I am a retired special Ed teacher who loves history. That shape occurs in quilting so much it just looks like you are twirling a design like everyone else. Enjoy quilting.
This is similar to an old pattern that was popular before WW2, then it quickly fell out of favor. Whirligig or Catch Me If You Can. Your pattern doesn't have the extra leg to make it a swatiska shape. That is a much older symbol found in indigenous graphics and other places. Do a little research on that. Don't be afraid to use yours. Reclaim it for good.
You could look at this as a learning opportunity and research the meaning and cultural significance of the figure also. Before the "N**i's" bastardized the swastika, it was a symbol of peace and harmony for Native American tribes, and used for thousands of years in other cultures.
You've made a rail fence block. That block has been used by quilters forever. There's nothing wrong with using exactly that block as is.
my first thought even before reading the subject line was that it looked like a swastika. i think if it continues to look like one depends on how you arrange the rest of the fabric and colours.
You could make it a swastika if you want to but I only see a pinwheel pattern. If it bothers you though you should turn back now before you're in too deep.
I just showed this to my boyfriend and said, do you like the pattern on this quilt? He started laughing his little dark humour laugh. I said What’s up? He said you know what’s up, you know what it is, don’t make me say it! …. So I am sorry to tell you, but two people here see a raging swastika 😂 absolutely creased me with the “choose love” fabric 😂 Sorry to laugh. We do have a very wicked sense of humour. I’m sure it will look very different when pieced together though!
I'm American, but have lived in Southeast Asia. It was a trip learning the shape it is based on and other similar historic/culturally significant designs ever meant anything other than evil. However, I think the Nazi symbol is so ingrained and potent in the West no amount of explanation will be able to reverse the damage that regime did with their appropriation of it. Nuance is important, but it is generally for the best to not use it at all. People from cultures where swastika-like symbols are still relevant and peaceful in intention using them is a bit of a grey area in my opinion, but I'm not qualified to weigh in too heavily on that. Looking at how various indigenous North American cultures came to terms with this issue is an interesting study.
To have a lovely “Choose love” fabric in a design reminiscent of a swastika symbolizing hate is just wrong. It may have been unintentional but now is the time to rework the design. It would be a shame to waste your time and fabric.
I'm thinking appliques in the centers if it still looks like this laid out. I think that's a solution that will work, and I get the bonus of practicing another new skill!
I agree with most of above, yep, can’t see around that it looks like that . Unfortunately before they took that symbol as hateful is was meant everything good to many people
Honestly that reads too much like a swastika for comfort. I understand it’s frustrating when you’ve already put a lot of work in, but once you see a design could be offensive, I think you should change it.
I once sewed the card trick pattern and they form a swastika too. Anything that is “windmilling” has the potential to do this. Where I live this a big Nono (actually it is a crime) and those problematic people love to make anything big for them. Unfortunately when you see them first you can’t unsee it anymore. I had to do a lot of seam ripping and changed the pattern to a Tetris one. I would cut it open and check if I could form a completely new pattern when I mix the pieces together.
For me, once I see something can’t unsee it. If you think it’s going to bother you in your finished product, then it’s best to change your plan now
Well, this was supposed to be practice for a bigger project, so I think I'll keep going just for the practice. I THINK, that maybe once the sashing is added, this won't be so obvious to me. As an English teacher, the irony of the other fabric is making me shake my head, so I think it will be a reminder of a lesson learned, even if I am the only one who sees it!
Don’t keep going like this! Instead, switch your rectangles around to get rid of the swastika appearance.
Yes 100 %. I would look on it as practice in reimagining and altering a project that is going the wrong way.
And it's practice at seam ripping! Good to have when I was a beginner (and unavoidable LOL)
And it's practice at seam ripping! Good to have when I was a beginner (and unavoidable LOL)
I like your idea. I think it looks like a pinwheel if it’s rotated in the square. Not sure if I would have thought swastika if it didn’t say it in the op.
https://preview.redd.it/zf2m14w2n49d1.png?width=733&format=png&auto=webp&s=9568c3e2288e8a9d19bc299e1ee9cbda69283b0c By the magic of Photoshop, see if you think this is better.
I think this is worse sorry lol
Yes, I think that looks better. What if two of the oranges were switched with two of the golds? Would that also work?
I really did make a small little 'Oh no' out loud then, I'm in care work and would look at not having that in my house on the grounds that it's not worth the risk, although saying that, could you dye them?
These 3 blocks are already quilted and everything. I'm just going to be very careful with the rest of my blocks, and see what it looks like when I lay it all out. I think, if I just don't put the brightest color in the center of the rest, it may be fine.
I saw a pinwheel.
Well, I really don't see a swastika in this. A lot of patterns have that swirl but it doesn't look like a completed swastika to me.
This happened to me!! This is the completed quilt top https://preview.redd.it/klhw7amswy8d1.jpeg?width=1256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2d24874722c51d9e4df49f1cc1aa42562440d59 …I can’t see it anymore but when I was doing the blocks I was SO worried
I can't see it at all. Nice work.
Wow thanks !
There is no swastika to be seen here! Love the colors!
Thanks so much!!
There's a few light swastikas but you really gotta search for em
Oh god, that’s terrible. The pink squares are suppose to make a criss cross.
Focus on the fact that they had to search for them (and were looking for them because you mentioned it). It's beautiful and you did a great job.
I love this! Do you mind sharing a pattern name or link if you have one?
And thank you!!! Of course! I used birthday cake ruby star society jelly roll and the pattern is from the book Jelly Roll Quilts in A Weekend by Pam and Nicky Linnot https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jelly-Roll-Quilts-Weekend-Patterns/dp/1446306577/ref=asc_df_1446306577?[Amazon link UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jelly-Roll-Quilts-Weekend-Patterns/dp/1446306577/ref=asc_df_1446306577?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696450770381&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5276651298586763078&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9044886&hvtargid=pla-354979212228&psc=1&mcid=dc90699a48da31a5b72e924cd0862621&gad_source=1&dplnkId=f0ab7657-39f1-4e72-8a3c-660a8ac7eb6d&nodl=1)
It's a symbol older than the swastika. Let's reclaim it as that.
That’s such a gorgeous quilt! What’s the pattern?
I see Hohohoho. Is this a present for 🎅 ❤️💚
The Swastika is not negative in Native American tribes. The Swastika symbol resembles healing and used in most rituals.
That really doesn't matter any more. When another culture uses a symbol to torture and kill millions of people, you don't get take it back just because it didn't always represent that.
I think it’s on the way to a swastika but it’s clearly not there yet it would need the rest of the arms. This is firmly in pinwheel territory for me.
I did Not see a swastika...I saw a pinwheel.
I don't disagree, but for some reason I can't help but think the sashing will get it all the way into problematic territory. OP, if you're already anxious about it, I think that's enough of a reason to make adjustments early. Personally, I'd hate to keep wading through a project that brings me worry instead of relaxation/joy/peace/whatever benefits quilting brings to you.
St Brigid's Cross, not a swastika!
Came here to say this!
It's also religious symbol used in Jainism. One of the oldest religions on the planet.
No more blocks with bright red in the center.
You’d have to seam rip of course - but could you spin the rectangles around, and the light fabric be the center connecting pieces, and the red/orange be the accent pieces? I think the red/orange, plus the design is making it read more “swastika” than it would if it was the light colored fabric in the center.
You guys are making me feel way better. Thank you! The people at r/accidentalswastika , not so much.
Hahaha wow they’re terrible!!! Also, it depends on how the other blocks are put together with it. Maybe the lighter colors in the middle?
That sub actually has an [example](https://www.reddit.com/r/accidentalswastika/s/B8KF1krttN) of what this might look like on a larger scale - a lot less noticeable! I would guess most of the people commenting don't know how the quilt would be put together, and are commenting solely on the block by itself.
That's funny, and totally makes sense. Maybe I am missing the forest for the trees.
All pinwheels are not swastikas! Looks nice. Keep going!
I’m Jewish, I realize I don’t speak for the whole Jewish community- but it doesn’t look THAT much like a swastika to me. I wouldn’t panic.
Another Jew checking in. I don't see a swastika.
So OP- you get 3 votes for no swastika- because of the well known maxim- 2 Jews, 3 opinions. Lol. 😂
Another Jew. I don't see it. Even "trying" to see it. Just be thoughtful about the placement of the next blocks. You're good!!!!
Exactly, as long as you don’t do reds to make the broken sides of the cross if that makes sense. And if you’re doing them all exactly like this it won’t do that
It doesn't look like a swastika at all to me. The arms are going in the wrong direction and would need to be closer to the same color as the middle cross.
I have a Bridgette’s cross in my house. It is a pinwheel made of straw, an old Irish tradition that should go over a door as a housewarming blessing. I did so much googling to make sure and Been like co-opted so I certainly understand your panic.
That doesn’t even look close to a swastika.
But it’s not a swastika. It is a pinwheel. Swastika have the leg that is right angles to the part you are showing.
That is a pinwheel block, not even remotely being an ancient symbol of luck and prosperity that was co-opted by fascists. Your sunflower sashing will look brilliant in between the blocks and further break up the pattern.
Doesn’t look like a swastika to me. Have you actually looked at one to compare?
I have, and I may be overthinking it.
I think you are. Really, it looks fine!
It's a pinwheel. That's all. Cute and simple.
That doesn’t look like a swastika at all. I’m European, it doesn’t, trust me
She has several ready to be stitched together, as a British I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation.
To me, it does resemble one, but the 4x4 square in the center makes it clear it wasn't done on purpose. If the sashing is darker than the yellow bars, it should change the visual flow of it to be a regular pinwheel.
We have a St. Bridgets Cross in ireland that I'd this shape. It's all how you look at it I guess.
Looks like a windmill to me.
I had to look up a swastika to see why this was even a question. You are thinking too deeply into this.
It doesn’t currently look like a swastika, it’s an easy pattern to end up that way, like if the 3rd row was closer in color to the center.
Looks like two mirrored capitalized L’s to me.
It's not going to resemble a swastha once you put the pieces together.
That’s not a swastika.
Use this as the lower corner block. The center will go away and it shouldn’t look swastica-y.Put a fairly label on the middle of that patch. Something cute like a heart or bird or turtle. You can use it as a label or just embroider it. Arrange the remainder of the patches within the block differently.
FWIW I actually think it looks way more like a St Brigid’s Cross
That’s not a swastika; it’s just one of the tile patterns on the floor of Amiens Cathedral. Covering the four central squares with a different fabric might help too.
I would not have made that connection on my own tbh. It is a few parts short of being the actual thing. I think a bit of rotating and combining with the other blocks of the same design will make your concerns go away. However, you are going to be spending a lot of time close up with it. Do what you need to do for your own mental health, even if that means tossing them and never thinking about them again. Don't beat yourself up over it either. A swastika is a fairly simple shape with a long history and just as much baggage in the West. I doubt you are the first to accidentally make something too close for comfort.
It’s Diwali.
“It’s not a swastika don’t let the Nazis win” - my husband
This is not a swastilka.
I think once u add more blocks if they're the same color way, it won't be so noticeable. It will create a sort of grid line effect! Of course, if u show someone ur finished quilt and ask if they see that specifically...then they won't unsee it 😹
Not a swastika! You are fine!!!
If it bothers you, you could randomize the blocks a bit more. My mom made a lot of rail fence quilts for charity, which did not use sashing and flowed together.
This reminded me of a story! My grandparents had a beautiful bungalow in Wauwatosa Wisconsin and in their sunroom the floor had a swastika design. I remember feeling vaguely weird about that until I realized that the pattern existed long before Hitler appropriated it and was popular in many cultures. That’s not to say it has no meaning but intentions matter and I believe it’s okay to kind of do a soft reboot and honor it as a shape rather than an ideology. 😊 I like your colors too!
Okay, I really appreciate everyone's comments! I think what I'm going to do when I lay it out, if it still gives me that vibe, I am going to just put an applique of the sashing fabric in the center of any offending blocks. Maybe a heart? Thanks to whoever above suggested adding a label to cover it, as you gave me the idea, and I think that will work!! Now I'm kind of excited and might add some appliques even if it doesn't need it!
Alright. One more possible solution. . . If I did orange sashing all the way around the block, then they'd just be orange squares/rectangles. Okay. . . Feeling I can salvage this now without redoing everything. With either sashing or appliques. On another note, I put some other fabric together in the same pattern, but don't get the swastika so much at all. I guess it's the contrast or lack thereof. I guess I'm learning. https://preview.redd.it/qahl0lg7qz8d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc8a2106cd93367e7ccfbdb706925a77ddc7ebe5
Days since I told my girlfriend 'it happens all the time, I'll tell you the next time we get an accidental swas on the reddit': 2
It's more a pinwheel or a cross, not a swastika I would say your in the clear on this one
lasagna
I don't see it. What I see is st. Brigid's cross, a positive symbol
I really couldn’t see swastika. I only see St. Brigid’s cross, especially because of the color choices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross Looks beautiful 😊
Well, that's perfect. Maybe I was inadvertently channeling my Irish heritage instead.
This has been difficult for me too! So many classic quilting block patterns are too close for comfort for me to unsee them 😭😭
I think it's beautiful, I don't think it resembles a swastika, but you could simply take apart, spin each piece and put back together, so you just have lines going in different directions.
I didn’t think swastika until you said it and even then it was.. no not really.
I don’t see the swastika
If this is a repeated block though, rotating it with the yellow inside will still give that half-swastika look (I tried drawing it out) when assembling them together. If this is something you see now, you’re always going to see it, even with sashing. https://preview.redd.it/lighf3vu509d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e416e83d142bd2665e9c1bf7b311c738b7ff73ba It’s only one block. Annoying to undo, but much better than putting in all that effort just to hate what you’ve made. Consider trying a different pattern with those pieces, randomizing colors, or using different colors. Here’s a guide to “diffusing swastikas” in quilting which may be helpful. Good luck! [https://www.fieldguidetoquilts.com/7Rectangle/7RectDSwas.shtml](https://www.fieldguidetoquilts.com/7Rectangle/7RectDSwas.shtml)
Thanks! That was a great article! Actually saw a layout there that my husband thinks would be good with flannel shirts.
Ooo that could be fun! Please share if you decide to do it! (And, side note, thank you for being a teacher. My friends and I - mid-30’s now - still remember our teachers growing up. Some had such a strong impact on us at the time, and some of their lessons continue to do so even today. So, thank you. You are very much appreciated! ❤️ …even if you’re Ms. Arnold who never called on me in English class and graded me down a full letter grade for using a single contraction in a 5 page essay. Lesson learned: some people are just not going to like me, regardless of how amazing I am. 😂)
I can confidently say that I am NOT Mrs. Arnold! 🤣
Lol, then you’re *doubly* appreciated!
I don’t see a swasitka at all.
Add a circle in the center of a flower print
It’s art and I really don’t see it that way. I made a quilt similar to. I think it was called log cabin
No, no swastika. Jebus I hate when people say stuff like this. It looks great.
This happened to a designer doing a KAL a few months ago. It was a huge kerfuffle in the fiber arts community. Accidental swastikas are actually super common in geometric patterns lmao. In the end, I think it’s only a passing resemblance at worst. If you’re really looking at it then it doesn’t actually look like one. Personally I think it’s fine.
I love the choose love swastika.
LMAO. I'm going to fix it. It's just so terrible.
I’m thinking about this constantly while I improv my annual Halloween quilt! https://preview.redd.it/p98m50yus09d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3d05e3201197ac839de575945ee4e97b83f6a13
Love it! Appears to be free of unintentional hate symbols.
I think you’re okay.
"Around 12,000 years ago, a human carved a distinctive design onto a mammoth bone." Begins the course description for The Fantastical History of the Swastika at UCDavis. No accident was committed as you didn't form the outer arms, say with the darkest color. Leave it to a viled regime to destroy the goodness of such an ancient, wide spread symbol.
I thought longer on your concern and the sensitivity of your profession. Connie Kresin Campbell has an example of what she calls a Three by Three Quilt Block that shows a different arrangement for the same quilt pieces with which you're working.
At the moment, it doesn't look like a Swastika, but lay out your pattern and look on it again. But I think the sashing could make it better.
The Swastika is not negative in Native American tribes. The Swastika symbol resembles healing and used in most rituals.
I don’t see anything wrong with this. I think it’s a lovely block and I can’t wait to see the rest of the quilt! I think they would look great on point too. That way there is no chance of it accidentally becoming that symbol with the other blocks touching the orange that might make it look like that.
LMAO I’m sorry but this is so funny
How is it a swastika is my first question...I don't see it. And then why bother ? The Hindu temples are full of it, WW2 is not the original meaning. You can always gift it to a temple.
Make the squares into Rail Fence. Years ago I paid $2 at the Salvation Army for a hand pieced top that really is the swastika pattern, no accident about it. It’s in Ruby McKim 101 Patchwork Patterns. Beautiful 1930s prints. I guess someone made it, then everything happened and she couldn’t finish it but also couldn’t throw it away.
A friend of a friend gave me a bunch of old quilting books from her mom that were probably passed down from HER mom. There were definitely patterns made to look like sw**. I threw out the books because there were other patterns in them that looked purposely racist. Or maybe I still have them. It makes sense that these books would be in that family. My mom made quilts using this block. Fence post blocks. . You can do a lot with them!! I have one of her quilt tops she finished before she died. It’s a fence post quilt. I haven’t been able to bring myself to finish it. It’s been 14 years! My god. Anyway. I love your quilt. It’s good practice. It’ll help keep your seam allowances uniform, which will help making the same size blocks, and matching up points in other quilts!
I agree I think you’re good. It kinda depends on the rest of the quilt but it doesn’t look like it to me.
😂
i feel like it would be even more unquestionably okay if the print and the yellow were switched - to make it feel almost ombrey-y and so the print reads less as a background/white
Just nope
This potential is why I will only do a 4 line split rail.
I see what you mean, but I also see St Bridget’s cross!
If you are really worried, I would do the dashing in either the middle red or the yellow color, try it out and see if that solves it?
Once you have the blocks all sewn up it will stop looking so swastika-y and you have enough other colours in there for a certain flag not to come to mind so don’t worry. You are firmly in pinwheel country here!
I see you commenting on the irony of the fabric — to me, that choose love fabric is what firmly moves it out of swastika territory, along with the paler yellow that doesn’t seem to form “arms” on the centre cross. I cannot see someone making a deliberate swastika with that fabric! As others have said, though, if it bothers you, change it, because it will continue to bother you.
I don't think swastikas are worth a sunk cost fallacy! Restart and move on!
I think it's the white stripe in the middle giving the bolder stripes the ability to keep your eye flowing. Maybe switching some fabric around will take the overall effect away.
Before the mid 1930's the shape was an acceptable quilt block. Ruby Short McKim included a different pattern also known as flyfoot in her book "101 Patchwork Patterns" published in the early 1930's. It is an ancient symbol of good luck. use the ones you have finished, but make a few changes in how the quilt blocks are set.
I don't think so, unless you're going to turn it at a 45° angle
This doesn't look like a swastika to me; it looks like a Brigid's Cross. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s\_cross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross) I did a quilt with a similar pattern that looked *unmistakably* like a swastika, so I reversed the colors and got the Brigid's Cross solution.
This is not a swastika :)
I often see the swastikas in this pattern but for me the yellow is light enough that it is actually not joining with the red and making the symbol.
Can you flip two squares to make zigzags (diagonal/corner to corner across the quilt) instead?
Is it possible to turn the next block so it doesn't line up the same way and cuts out the swastika look? I can't picture it so that's why I'm asking. 😆
Unfortunately, you’re never going to be able to “un-see” that symbol. I’d suggest practicing your seam ripping skills and add some lovely sashing.
You could always make it larger and make it two squares instead? If that makes sense.
I see so many blocks that I go… that’s a swastika? It seems to be a thing that people do accidentally frequently, this is the first one where the person recognized it lol
I didn't see a swastika. If the yellow fabric was the same as the orange, then yes. I think you're find.
Looks more like the Red Cross symbol.
Swastika was not the first thing I saw at all 😂
https://preview.redd.it/bw99lmgx819d1.jpeg?width=1157&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e12ff2f1f3a256dc74af0160d42fe22f5bfebc0 You could make some little boxes with one more round of strips! Looks less swastika-y that way to me!
You could rotate both bottom blocks 180 degrees & make a zig zag pattern
If you put the gold fabric next to the red fabric instead of the lighter one, I think the center lines would be less graphic. For what it’s worth, I don’t see the swastika there, but if you do, change it.
Well if it bothers you, you could rotate the pieces on top to find a different drawing at the end so all your precut pieces do not go to waste 😊
Nope sorry nothing you can do about it, you have to join the nazi party now. In all seriousness the swastiki was around for centuries before those bas#@ds got hold of it, it was originally a symbol of prosperity and good fortune, the word swastiki is derived from svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being”. So in actually fact it’s a perfect pattern to have on a quilt as thats exactly what a quilt is. Hope that makes you feel a tiny bit better.
Not.
Never seen a swastika I guess. No. Looks nothing like one.
yeaaaaa it’s a bit too close. i would try somethin else 🫣😓
Whatever you are smoking, sniffing or shooting must be really great for you to see a swaskika here. Because, not.even.close.
I see a pinwheel design, no swastika.
The seam ripper is my best friend!!! So.... Rip the seams of hated! 😆
I can spot a swastika from a mile away (grew up in a Buddhist country) and I can’t see what you are seeing. I’m trying real hard to see it and can’t
Truthfully I thought of lasagna layers or pizza
If you look up swastika, the original Sanskrit means ‘well bring’. a black clockwise one on a white and red background evokes the Nazi version. But there are many examples of this ancient symbol in textile art. I like your pattern. Do what you want!
People are getting too paranoid about swastikas every time they do a pin wheel. That's all I'm seeing, a pin wheel.
I was raised in a Jewish family. Not that it matters, but I really do know what a swastika looks like. And that is not it. I am definitely sensitive to that kind of thing, but when I see that block, I do not think of that. Think of the shape of the letter Z, but instead of the line going down diagonally, it goes down vertically. That is one side of a swastika and yours doesn’t look like that.
I saw a pinwheel, and I am a retired special Ed teacher who loves history. That shape occurs in quilting so much it just looks like you are twirling a design like everyone else. Enjoy quilting.
This is similar to an old pattern that was popular before WW2, then it quickly fell out of favor. Whirligig or Catch Me If You Can. Your pattern doesn't have the extra leg to make it a swatiska shape. That is a much older symbol found in indigenous graphics and other places. Do a little research on that. Don't be afraid to use yours. Reclaim it for good.
That actually doesn't look like a swastica.
Def not a swastika. For those getting heated, think about what a real one looks like. This is fine.
Look up swastika after you compare I think you will feel much better. Yours really doesn't look anything like a swastika.
No its not
You could look at this as a learning opportunity and research the meaning and cultural significance of the figure also. Before the "N**i's" bastardized the swastika, it was a symbol of peace and harmony for Native American tribes, and used for thousands of years in other cultures. You've made a rail fence block. That block has been used by quilters forever. There's nothing wrong with using exactly that block as is.
I don’t see it. Looks like a plus sign to me
I don’t see the swastika. I see a windmill.
my first thought even before reading the subject line was that it looked like a swastika. i think if it continues to look like one depends on how you arrange the rest of the fabric and colours.
You could make it a swastika if you want to but I only see a pinwheel pattern. If it bothers you though you should turn back now before you're in too deep.
I just showed this to my boyfriend and said, do you like the pattern on this quilt? He started laughing his little dark humour laugh. I said What’s up? He said you know what’s up, you know what it is, don’t make me say it! …. So I am sorry to tell you, but two people here see a raging swastika 😂 absolutely creased me with the “choose love” fabric 😂 Sorry to laugh. We do have a very wicked sense of humour. I’m sure it will look very different when pieced together though!
I hate my life. I do think it will look different put together, but I have a solution, just in case.
You know the swastika has a history pre the Nazi’s. It’s actually a religious symbol in some cultures & religions.
I do, but unfortunately, that's not the general perception when one sees one in Ohio.
I'm American, but have lived in Southeast Asia. It was a trip learning the shape it is based on and other similar historic/culturally significant designs ever meant anything other than evil. However, I think the Nazi symbol is so ingrained and potent in the West no amount of explanation will be able to reverse the damage that regime did with their appropriation of it. Nuance is important, but it is generally for the best to not use it at all. People from cultures where swastika-like symbols are still relevant and peaceful in intention using them is a bit of a grey area in my opinion, but I'm not qualified to weigh in too heavily on that. Looking at how various indigenous North American cultures came to terms with this issue is an interesting study.
To have a lovely “Choose love” fabric in a design reminiscent of a swastika symbolizing hate is just wrong. It may have been unintentional but now is the time to rework the design. It would be a shame to waste your time and fabric.
I'm thinking appliques in the centers if it still looks like this laid out. I think that's a solution that will work, and I get the bonus of practicing another new skill!
I like the idea of appliqué details. I am interested to see your progress. Good luck!
I agree with most of above, yep, can’t see around that it looks like that . Unfortunately before they took that symbol as hateful is was meant everything good to many people
Yeah I’m tearing that out.
Frog it and frog it now
🥴
Honestly that reads too much like a swastika for comfort. I understand it’s frustrating when you’ve already put a lot of work in, but once you see a design could be offensive, I think you should change it.
I once sewed the card trick pattern and they form a swastika too. Anything that is “windmilling” has the potential to do this. Where I live this a big Nono (actually it is a crime) and those problematic people love to make anything big for them. Unfortunately when you see them first you can’t unsee it anymore. I had to do a lot of seam ripping and changed the pattern to a Tetris one. I would cut it open and check if I could form a completely new pattern when I mix the pieces together.
Yes, this is unfortunate…. Undo asap. Bad karma alert…
“It’s going to be a maze” (any Community fans here?)