easy fool-proof sawtooth star
 

I always have trouble getting a sawtooth block with its flying geese pieces to come out a perfect 12-1/2" block. These geese make me nuts!!! So I cheat. The center is cut the standard 6-1/2" square for finished 6" center. The sawtooth points are cut at 3-1/2" squares as normally done. But I cut my corner and pieces for the flying geese bigger. To make a 12-1/2" square, the normal directions say to cut these pieces at 3-1/2" squares for the corner pieces, and 6-1/2" x 3-1/2" for the flying geese pieces.

I cut these pieces at least 1/4" wider, usually 1/2" wider to make sure I have plenty of room. You can see in the top block how uneven the edges are. But when you press it and center the square on the block, you get a perfect block with the correct 1/4" seam allowance.

P.S. As you can see, I love scrappy quilts!

Thanks for the tip. I will try this next time.

thanks for the tip never made one but I will now......thanks

Good tip. I'm going to be trying it out, you have inspired me to try flying geese again.

Good way to do it for those who wrestle with it....

Looks like a great idea. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing..Good tutorial..

Looks great

Thank you
I like your block

Great tip thank you :)

Judy in. Phx, AZ

Very nicely done! I'm in the process of making 17 Sawtooth stars for a quilt for my DH for Christmas. I don't have the option of making the geese blocks over sized because I'm using fabric left over from a quilt I make for MIL last Christmas. The fabric is from my FIL's shirts. He passed away a couple of years ago and MIL gave me his shirts when I asked. She thought I was just going to add them to my stash, which I did - but with a purpose! I based it on Bonnie Hunter's pattern "Swing Your Partner" from her Scraps and Shirttails book since they were avid square dancers!. I had planned to make a pieced back for her quilt and had cut 10" blocks, to which I would need to add some pieced blocks and some other fabric to make it big enough. I decided instead to use a backing fabric, but had those 10" blocks left. A comment DH made about her quilt when it was done lead me to decided to make him one with the left overs, of which he knew nothing.

I'm using Eleanor Burns' method and it's working OK, but just slivers left to trim. Since I have to work on it when DH won't come into the studio, I have to do it at night after he goes to bed. Fortunately, I'm a night owl and stay up a couple of hours later than he does anyway so that's my time to work on his quilt. I don't think he would recognize the shirt fabric so much but I'm supplementing with a variety of airplane prints to make it big enough and he'd definitely perk up at that! He's an airplane buff and aeronautical engineer, hence the airplane fabric.

At any rate, your blocks are beautiful. I want to make some with the nine patch center eventually for something. Thanks for sharing.

I like your idea, when ever possible I feel it is best to have a little more and trim back than not enough.

You are one smart cookie to figure that out!

Thank you for this hint. I am going to follow your advise because it seems like I never end up with enough seam allowance to have nice points after adding the sashing.

I love your scrappy blocks. Very nicely done.

Nice job, whatever floats your boat works.

Thanks! I was just about to start looking for directions for that block

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Thanks for sharing this..... well done.....

Now that is brilliant!

Thanks so much for giving us the larger measurements. I like this idea and use it as much as I can. Easier to cut down and make perfect than try and stretch an imperfect one.

LOL! I have to do this, too! I try and try to sew everything perfectly but the blocks always come out to short or too long or wonky. So, this quilter understands perfectly what your tip is all about!!!

Thanks for this tip.

Good tip, THANKS!

great work