The Flying Geese Quilt Block

The Flying Geese Quilt Block is another quick and easy frugal quilt block that is used over and over in quilts as a building block.  One of its most common uses is to combine it with rectangles to make the points for stars.

There are many shortcut methods to make this block.  However it is very quick to make with just one rectangle and a couple of squares, and is a good frugal use for leftover fabric.

The trick is the sizes of the rectangle and squares.  When it comes to a finished flying geese block, the rectangle is always exactly twice as long as it is wide.

To achieve a 2x4 inch flying geese block, cut the rectangle 4 1/2 inches wide, and the squares 2 1/2 inches wide.

The raw small squares must be a little larger then half the size of the rectangle so that they will overlap after you sew them to the rectangle.  They must overlap in order to give your the 1/4 inch seam allowance  from the point of the flying geese to the edge of the fabric.

In the picture to the side you first sew the the line on the left.  Then  press the seam down towards the bottom

Then pin on the other side, as shown; although the left small square must be turned back when you pin on the second small square.

 When you are done sewing on the 2nd small square and you press it back, the seams will overlap, giving you the 1/4 inch seam allowance, as pictured on the block at the top of the page.

You are going to have to do some trimming with this patch.  You are going to have two extra layers to remove from sewing on the squares.  Be sure and layer them.  I cut them with my scissors.  I usually do the first layer at about 1/4 inch, and the second a little wider to reduce bulk.

Some people would have you keep all the layers in case your sewing isn't perfect and when you turn back the squares they don't align perfectly with the fabric underneath.

If you mark carefully,  you will not have a problem.  It is very easy to use your iron to mark the sewing line.  Just fold the small squares in half diagonally, and press.

My personal opinion is that leaving the extra layers causes uneven bulk which affects the appearance of the quilt.

When sewing the flying geese block to another piece of fabric, always sew with the geese on top so you can see the points and not cut them off.

Here is a picture of the center of a quilt I made with lots of flying geese and some quarter square triangles. As you can see, it is very scrappy, frugal, colorful quilt.

   See the Quilt Gallery for pictures of quilts illustrating how these simple and frugal blocks can be turned into sensational quilts.