A QuiltPlan piecing guide
Flying Geese
Stitch and flip, with the point kept.
A rectangle twice as wide as it is tall: one large "goose" triangle with a small "sky" triangle each side. This is the stitch and flip way: a square sewn onto each end of a rectangle. Nothing is cut on the bias until it is sewn, so nothing stretches. The pieces are cut a little big, so the unit can be trimmed square with a quarter inch of sky above the point, which is what lets the point meet the next seam.
What you cut, for one goose
Shown for a goose that finishes 2″ × 4″. Every size is in the chart below.
| Finished goose | Goose rectangle, cut 1 | Sky squares, cut 2 | Trim the unit to | Cut exact, no trim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1″ × 2″ | 1¾″ × 2¾″ | 1¾″ | 1½″ × 2½″ | 1½″ × 2½″ / 1½″ |
| 1½″ × 3″ | 2¼″ × 3¾″ | 2¼″ | 2″ × 3½″ | 2″ × 3½″ / 2″ |
| 2″ × 4″ | 2¾″ × 4¾″ | 2¾″ | 2½″ × 4½″ | 2½″ × 4½″ / 2½″ |
| 2½″ × 5″ | 3¼″ × 5¾″ | 3¼″ | 3″ × 5½″ | 3″ × 5½″ / 3″ |
| 3″ × 6″ | 3¾″ × 6¾″ | 3¾″ | 3½″ × 6½″ | 3½″ × 6½″ / 3½″ |
| 4″ × 8″ | 4¾″ × 8¾″ | 4¾″ | 4½″ × 8½″ | 4½″ × 8½″ / 4½″ |
The pieces are cut ¾″ bigger than finished, so there is an eighth of an inch to trim off every side. The last column is the exact size (½″ over): it leaves nothing to trim, so every seam has to land just right.
Before it is sewn into anything
A 2″ × 4″ goose measures 2½″ × 4½″ before it is sewn into a block. Its point sits a quarter inch below the top edge, halfway across, and each diagonal seam runs out exactly at a bottom corner. That quarter inch is the seam that joins it to the next piece.
Making it
1 · Mark the sky squares
On the wrong side of each sky square, draw a line from corner to corner. You will turn one of them the other way in step 3, so the two lines slant opposite ways.
2 · Sew on the first square
Lay a sky square on the left end of the rectangle, right sides together, its line running from the bottom left corner up to the top edge. Sew a thread's width on the corner side of the line. Fold the sky back over to check it covers the corner, then trim a quarter inch past the stitching and press the sky out.
3 · The second square, slanting the other way
Lay the other sky square on the right end, its line running from the bottom right corner up to the top edge. Before you sew, check that the two lines cross ⅜″ below the top, in the middle. Sew, check, trim and press the same way.
4 · Trim it to 2½″ × 4½″
Lay a ruler's 45° line on one diagonal seam, with its quarter inch line through the point, and trim the side and the top. Turn the unit around, line the two cut edges up with the ruler's 2½″ and 4½″ lines, and trim the other two sides. About an eighth comes off every side. Never trim into the point: if the ruler would, move the ruler.
5 · Check it
It measures 2½″ × 4½″, the point sits a quarter inch below the top edge, halfway across, and each seam runs out exactly at a bottom corner. A unit a thread too big eases in; a point cut off does not come back.
6 · Sew it in
Sew the goose to the next piece with the goose on top, so you can see where its two seams cross on the back. Stitch right through that crossing, a quarter inch from the edge, and the point lands exactly on the seam.
Good to know
- Pressing. Toward the sky: it keeps the crossing of the seams easy to see on the back when you sew the goose in.
- Why a thread outside the line? The fold takes up a little fabric. Sewing a thread's width on the corner side lets the sky reach the corner when it is pressed out.
- The corners you trim off are two layers of fabric. Sew a second line half an inch past the first, on the corner side, cut between the two, and they become small bonus half-square triangles: trim them to 1″ less than the sky squares.
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