patch⋅work
[pach-wurk] 
| 1. | something made up of an incongruous variety of pieces or parts; hodgepodge: a patchwork of verse forms. |
| 2. | work made of pieces of cloth or leather of various colors or shapes sewed together, used esp. for covering quilts, cushions, etc. |
| 3. | resembling a patchwork, esp. in being makeshift, irregular, or improvised: a patchwork policy of dispensing foreign aid. |
| 4. | to make as patchwork: She specializes in patchworking skirts. |
| 5. | to assemble or connect in making patchwork: to patchwork neckties into bedspreads. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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patch·work (pāch'wûrk')  (click for larger image in new window) n.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Patchwork
Patch"work`\, n. Work composed of pieces sewed together, esp. pieces of various colors and figures; hence, anything put together of incongruous or ill-adapted parts; something irregularly clumsily composed; a thing putched up. --Swift.Cite This Source
patchwork
the process of joining strips, squares, triangles, hexagons, or other shaped pieces of fabric (also called patches), by either hand or machine stitching, into square blocks or other units. It is one of the primary construction techniques of quilting and is often combined with applique. In constructing the quilt top the pieced blocks may be stitched together, alternated with blocks cut from a single fabric, or separated by long strips of fabric known as sashing. The blocks may be arranged in a wide variety of settings, including rotated 90 degrees "on point." Pieced or plain border strips are often added to complete the quilt top. In the crazy quilt the patches are of irregular size and shape; like crazy blocks, string-pieced blocks, formed of strips of fabric, are sewn to a fabric or paper foundation
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