Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tuesday Tool: The Dreaded Flying Geese

It's no secret that I don't care for Flying Geese blocks.  It's not that I don't like the way they look, or that they are hard to make, or that they take a little extra care to make them perfect.

It's that, not matter what technique, ruler, or method I use -- the "wings" never come out even across the top.  

Today, I want to share with you a method of making Flying Geese that requires no math, no measuring, and makes four geese at a time.

The Lazy Girl's "Flying Geese X 4 No Math Ruler" doesn't make sewing Flying Geese blocks easier.  It just makes it faster.

The Flying Geese X 4 ruler is marked for twelve sizes of geese.  Simply select the size geese you need, and cut one square on the corresponding solid line:



This will make the "body" part of the geese.

Next, cut three squares on the corresponding dotted line:
 

These are the "wings."

For the "Easy Street" mystery, I wanted "scrappy" geese, so I cut the two larger squares from different fabrics, and used six different blue fabrics for the wings.

Place the smaller squares on opposite corners of the large square and draw a line diagonally from corner to corner.  Then sew a scant 1/4" on either side of the line:


Cut on the line and press toward the small triangles (the "wings" of your geese):


Again, because I wanted "scrappy" geese, I made two sets at once.  That way, I will get eight different geese.


Next, place a third smaller square at the "empty" corner of the geese "body," matching up the raw edges.


Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the smaller square and sew a scant 1/4" seam on either side of the line.  It is important to begin your stitching line exactly where the small squares meet -- this will improve the chances of your geese's "wings" being even:


Cut on the line and press toward the smaller triangle:


Remember, each large square makes four geese units, so count accordingly!

It will be easier to sew your geese together if they are trimmed to the exact size.  Eleanor Burn's small Flying Geese template is the right size to trim the geese for Easy Street.


Even taking all these photos, I had my 64 geese in less than one hour!


Did you know a group of geese is called a gaggle?

Tomorrow is WIP Wednesday, and I have another Designer Mystery BOM block to share, along with some of the setting blocks.  


From the desk of your auntmartisignature

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this tool... I'm going to have to try it as Flying Geese tend to be trouble for me too.

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  2. So, do you dislike them a little less now?? are they more even and more "perfect"? sounds easy enough (if you have the tools of course)

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  3. All of your geese look perfect!
    I wish I had known about this ruler before all my parts were cut! LOL.
    So, so much easier than what I have been doing!
    O well!
    Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Love the photos with your tutorial, but you need to cut 4 not 3 small squares for each large square.

    ReplyDelete

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