A block is the basic unit of a quilt top. Typically blocks are square. They can be made any size, and frequently a quilt is made using many blocks with the same design. They can be pieced together from smaller pieces (called patches) or could be applique. It is also possible that a block could be a solid piece of fabric. The smaller components of a block are called patches. They can be many different shapes - triangles, rectangles, squares, diamonds, or curves - but the idea is to sew pat... more