An Alternative Way to Sew Flying Geese Can Increase Accuracy and May Save Time, Too! The Flying Geese pattern is quite versatile and really very simple to sew. You see these geese used as a border, as strips between other blocks, and often just as st

By: Penny Halgren

 

An Alternative Way to Sew Flying Geese Can Increase Accuracy and May Save Time, Too!

 

The Flying Geese pattern is quite versatile and really very simple to sew.  You see these geese used as a border, as strips between other blocks, and often just as strips in an entire quilt.

If you look carefully, often you can see a flying geese patch within a block. In the Robin's Nest quilt block, half of one of the patches is a flying geese block, and the other half is a simple rectangle. (It's at the bottom of the nest, where the dark brown forms a V surrounded by the light brown. 

As with other designs, flying geese can be made from scraps or from new fabric.  Colors can be random, or in a pattern – from light to dark, repeating in some defined sequence, or simply alternating.

Sewing them together can be easy, even though you are sewing bias triangle pieces together.

Below you will find a method that I like because it increases the accuracy of the finished patch.

Step 1

For each individual Flying Goose, cut 1 rectangle and 2 triangles. 

For my example, I cut the rectangle 2 ½” wide and 4 ¼” long. 

The triangles are half-square triangles.  The straight sides are each 2 ½” long.

 

 

 

Step 2

 

Place one triangle on top of the rectangle, right sides facing together.

Line up the outside corner of the triangle with the outside corner of the rectangle, and match one straight side of the rectangle and the triangle.

 

Step 3

The key here is to be sure to line up the side and corner of the triangle, otherwise it won't line up when you fold it open.

You might also find it helpful to mark your stitching line, especially if you don't have a 1/4 inch foot on your sewing machine. You won't be able to see the plate on your machine.

Sew the triangle onto the rectangle using a ¼” seam allowancealong the long side of the triangle.  You can use the chain sewing method to stitch many Geese. 

For demonstration purposes, I am just making one lone Goose, so at this point I removed the piece from the machine. 

(You can do the same if you are unsure of the chain sewing technique of sewing blocks.)

 

Step 4

Once removed from the machine, fold the triangle back, matching the corner of the triangle with the corner of the rectangle.

One of the reaons I like the method is that if your triangle doesn't match the corner of the rectangle, you can use the rectangle as a guide to sew the patches together.

It will help increase the accuracy of your finished block.

 

Step 5

Now place the second triangle on top of the unityou just completed. 

Match the corner of the triangle with the corner of the rectangle, and one straight side of the triangle with the bottom of the rectangle. 

You will see that the triangles overlap. 

This will create a point in your finished Goose while taking a seam allowance into account.

Sew that triangle in place, and remove from your machine. 

 

 

 

Step 6

 

 

Fold back the second triangle, and you have one lone Goose.

I made two Geese so you could see how they get sewn together. 

Take a look and see that the rectangle fabric extends past the yellow triangles. This is because my 1/4 inch seam allowance isn't exactly where it should be.

As I described in the earlier step, I will leave the background fabric on, and use it to line up the other patches in my block - making the overall block more accurate.

 

Step 7

With your Geese lined up from side to side, turn down one Goose on top of the other,right sides together and points facing in opposite directions. 

This is somewhat difficult to see when they are facing each other, and will become clear once they are sewn and the two units are folded open. 

 

 

Step 8

Sew the units together along the long side of the rectangle using a ¼” seam allowance. 

Once sewn, open the two units to see your two Flying Geese.

If you are making a strip of Geese, continue to sew units on to either the top or bottom, remembering to place the triangles in opposite directions before you sew.

Each finished Goose unit will be 2” by 4¼” using the measurements in this example.

 

 

 

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Valentines' Day Special

 

In this video demonstration, you will see the above Heart quilt block sewn together. It is made with 3 flying geese patches and a simple rectangle.

Watching the video, you will see a more traditional method for sewing flying geese - simply cutting and sewing triangles together.

 

 

Happy Quilting!

Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

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