mumtoliam

I ordered a quilt pattern and I am a bit disappointed. Rephrase that - a lot disappointed!!! I have the blocks done and one of the borders is a flying geese border. The instructions to complete this is as follows:

Make 72 - 2"x 4" finished flying geese. Make the goose "dark" and the sky "light". Piece your completed flying geese blocks into 2 rows of 36.

OK.... I have made flying geese before, but I have had measurements for each part... I would prefer to make this with sewing triangle pieces(cutting 2 squares and then again on the diagonal) rather than rectangles and squares ruling on the diagonal, sewing and then trimming excess away, if you know what I mean, to stop fabric wastage.

My question is what sizes should each part be? What method do you use? Do you prefer? Is there a cheat sheet for flying geese - example if I want 3.5" x 6" flying geese cut fabric this size,2"x 4" flying geese cut fabric this size, etc?

Thanks for your responses

fabricluvr

i think the 'traditional method' on this site tells you what your measurements should be. great question! i've always wondered myself!

"To make a Flying Geese unit following the Traditional Piecing method, you need one SQUARE, the size of the finished width you desire it to be + 1 1/4", AND two TRIANGLES cut from squares that are the height of the finished unit you want plus 7/8". Cut the large square on the diagonal twice. This will give you four geese. Then sew a triangle to each of the top angled sides, using scant 1/4" seams. You will get four Flying geese units per large square. EXAMPLE: to get four 2" x 4" finished flying geese units, you would use a 5 1/4" geese square cut twice diagonally, and four 2 7/8" sky triangles, cut diagonally once each."

http://www.quilterscache.com/H/Howtomakegeese.html

luvmy2bts

The method I use would be to cut your rectangle 2 1/2 X 4 1/2. Then I would cut two squares 2 1/2 X 2 1/2. Each of the squares then should be marked from corner to corner. Lay one square on top of the rectangle and sew it just a smidge inside the marking towards the outside edge. Make sure you iron the square back towards the corner. Then you cut the excess with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Just cut the rectangle and the one side of the square. Then repeat for the other side.

Debbie

bearisgray

Either/both of those techniques/measurements would work.

I'm sure if you googled: flying geese quilting

you'd get even more methods.

I think Eleanor Burns has a flying geese ruler/tool that is supposed to be very good. I don't have one, so really don't know.

I would cut 2 1/2 inch strips and work from that. The sky triangles would have not have a point on one of the ends, but would have adequate seam allowance. The "top" point on the "goose" would also be missing, but there would be adequate seam allowance. If one wanted to, one could cut templates with the finished size and trace around them for a couple of pieces to get a feel for how the pieces would be sewn together.

auntluc

I'd contact the company for more specific directions and let them know there is a glitch in their pattern.... or ask for my money back. Maybe others have the same question and have contacted them also....it could be that they would send you a revised pattern including the steps needed to make the flying geese units.

appliquequiltdesigns

There is a way to make 4 Flying Geese at once with no waste. You can find the directions at http://www.appliquequiltdesigns.com/Flying-Geese.html It shows three different ways to make the Flying Geese. The one I'm referring to is the third one.

Janie

nor'easter

I'm doing mine with paper piecing. That rectangle and squares in the corners just wastes way too much time and fabric IMHO. Seems like drawing a visible line on the bias is asking for stretching problems, too. Quilter's Cache has paper piecing patterns. The link is at the bottom of the page fabricluvr posted. The 2x4 template makes a strip of four at a time.

quiltsRfun

I make another seam 1/2 inch from the first, then trim between. That way you end up with a bunch of squares that can be used in another project. I've heard of people who have made whole quilts from thes leftover squares. Kind of a nice bonus.

grannypjb

I have made a couple of flying geese quilts using Eleanor Burns template for the geese. It makes 4 at a time and is extremely easy. Worth the cost of the templates. Good luck!

2 Doods

I use the Lazy Girls flying geese ruler. It uses squares and there is no waste of fabric. You start with a big square and two smaller. You sew 1/4 inch from the center and then cut down the middle. After they are cut apart you add another small aquare to each and cut again. You end up with 4 geese for each set.
The ruler has marks for cutting-you just pick the finished size. Line it up, cut and sew. NO MATH and not really any measuring since you're lining up a "template".
So worth the money :!: And the points come out perfect every time too.