1. ­54 Quiltmaker • March/April ’16
by Diane Harris
T
here are several ways to make
Flying Geese. Which method
you choose depends partly on
personal preference, but also has to
do with how many you need, how
large or small they are, whether the
fabrics are all the same or scrappy,
and how they fit together in the
project.
Flying Geese are twice as wide as
they are tall. Common sizes are
1"x 2", 11⁄2"x 3", 2"x 4" and 3"x 6".
Here you’ll find four methods to
make Flying Geese and suggestions
for when each method would be
most useful.
For our examples, we used Flying
Geese to finish at 2"x 4". The charts
on page 56 give the cutting dimen-
sions for common sizes of Flying
Geese, but it’s helpful to know how
to do the math yourself in case you
ever need Flying Geese in odd sizes.
1. Fast Flying Geese
This method works well if you need
just four Flying Geese and they’re
all the same, or if you need mul-
tiples or scrappy Geese. To make the
Geese scrappy, use different fabrics
for the B’s.
If you start with two fabrics, this
method results in four identical
Flying Geese. You’ll need 1 A square
(geese) from fabric #1 and 4 B
squares (sky) from fabric #2.
Get Your Geese in a Row
Four Ways to Make
This Common Unit
You can determine the cutting
dimensions by starting with the fin-
ished size of the Flying Geese. We’re
using 2"x 4".
Take the finished width of the Fly-
ing Geese unit and add 11⁄4": 4" plus
11⁄4" = 51⁄4". Cut one square (geese
fabric) 51⁄4"x 51⁄4". Take the finished
height of the Flying Geese unit and
add 7⁄8": 2" plus 7⁄8" = 27⁄8". Cut 4
squares (sky fabric) 27⁄8"x 27⁄8".
Draw a diagonal line across each B
patch. Align 2 B patches on opposite
corners of A, right sides together,
with the lines running from corner
to corner as shown. Stitch ¼" out
from both sides of the line.
Cut apart on the marked line.
Several of the quilts in
this issue include the
traditional units widely
known as Flying Geese.
Flying Geese show up in
lots of quilt designs, so
knowing how to make
them quickly and accu-
rately is a valuable skill.

2. Quiltmaker #168 • quiltmaker.com 55
With the B patches on top, open out
the B’s and press the units. On the
remaining corner of each of these
units, align B patches as shown.
Sew ¼" out from both sides of the
line. Cut on the marked lines, open
the B’s and press.
2. Foundation Piecing
Using paper foundations works well
when many geese are lined up in a
row. It’s a very precise method and
works well for small Flying Geese.
Make paper copies of the founda-
tions.
Note: the photo shows the founda-
tion for 1 Flying Geese. Foundations
can have multiple Flying Geese
depending on how many you’re
making.
Shorten the stitch length on your
machine to 1.5 mm. Foundation
piece the Flying Geese in numerical
order, pressing and trimming after
adding each patch.
Remove the foundation paper gently
after the Flying Geese are sewn into
the project.
3. Stitch and Flip
This is another method that works
well for small units. As with any
stitch-and-flip, there is some waste,
but most quilters feel the conve-
nience of this method is worth it.
Figuring the cutting dimensions
for the one triangle and two squares
needed is simple. The rectangle is
cut to the size of the finished Flying
Geese unit plus ½". The squares are
cut to the height of the finished Fly-
ing Geese unit plus ½".
For example, if you’re making Fly-
ing Geese to finish at 2"x 4", the
unfinished size would be 2½"x 4½".
Cut one rectangle 2½"x 4½" for the
“geese.” Cut two squares 2½"x 2½"
for the “sky.”
Draw a diagonal line on the wrong
side of each square. Lay one square
at the end of the rectangle, right
sides together, as shown.
Sew on the marked line. Trim the
seam allowance to ¼", flip the patch
open and press gently.

3. ­56 Quiltmaker • March/April ’16
Repeat with the other square on the
other end of the rectangle, taking
care to place the diagonal line in the
opposite position as shown.
There are options when it comes to
trimming these units. You can trim
away both layers of fabric. You can
choose to trim away only the sky
fabric, leaving the base/goose fabric
in place for stability. Or you may
choose not to trim either layer away
and just press the patches open.
This leaves some extra bulk in the
unit but for some projects that’s
acceptable, especially if the units are
very small.
4. Cutting Triangular Patches
Using three triangular patches was
the standard method before any of
the others became popular. Hav-
ing the straight of grain positioned
properly is critical to success with
this technique. The cutting di-
mensions are based on two simple
formulas (although the techniques
are different, the formulas are the
same as for the Fast Flying Geese
method).
For the large triangle, take the fin-
ished width of the Flying Geese and
add 11⁄4". For Flying Geese that finish
2"x 4", you would add 11⁄4" to 4" for a
total of 51⁄4". Cut a square 51⁄4"x 51⁄4"
and then cut it in half diagonally in
both directions. The resulting 4 tri-
angles are the “geese” fabrics (one is
needed for each Flying Geese unit).
For the small triangles, take the
finished height of the Flying Geese
and add 7⁄8". For 2"x 4" Flying Geese,
you would add 7⁄8" to 2" for a total
of 27⁄8". Cut one square 27⁄8"x 27⁄8"
and then cut it in half diagonally.
The resulting triangles are the “sky”
fabrics.
Join a small triangle to one side of
the large triangle as shown; press
gently.
Repeat to add the second triangle in
the same way.
May your geese always fly straight
and true!
Fast Flying Geese:
each set makes 4
Finished
Size
1 large
square
4 small
squares
1"x 2" 31⁄4"x 31⁄4" 17⁄8"x 17⁄8"
1½"x 3" 41⁄4"x 41⁄4" 23⁄8"x 23⁄8"
2"x 4" 51⁄4"x 51⁄4" 27⁄8"x 27⁄8"
3"x 6" 71⁄4"x 71⁄4" 37⁄8"x 37⁄8"
4"x 8" 91⁄4"x 91⁄4" 47⁄8"x 47⁄8"
Stitch and Flip:
each set makes 1
Finished
Size
1 rectangle 2 squares
1"x 2" 11⁄2"x 21⁄2" 11⁄2"x 11⁄2"
1½"x 3" 2"x 31⁄2" 2"x 2"
2"x 4" 21⁄2"x 41⁄2" 21⁄2"x 21⁄2"
3"x 6" 31⁄2"x 61⁄2" 31⁄2"x 31⁄2"
4"x 8" 41⁄2"x 81⁄2" 41⁄2"x 41⁄2"
Triangular Patches:
each set makes 1
Finished
Size
1 square 1 square
1"x 2" 31⁄4"x 31⁄4" 17⁄8"x 17⁄8"
1½"x 3" 41⁄4"x 41⁄4" 23⁄8"x 23⁄8"
2"x 4" 51⁄4"x 51⁄4" 27⁄8"x 27⁄8"
3"x 6" 71⁄4"x 71⁄4" 37⁄8"x 37⁄8"
4"x 8" 91⁄4"x 91⁄4" 47⁄8"x 47⁄8"
Download printer-friendly
foundations at
quiltmaker.com/
articles/FlyingGeeseSizes
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