No waste flying geese tutorial

 

No waste flying geese tutorial

These are so cute, dontcha think? I’ve been playing with lots of flying geese this week in Project 48. I’m calling it, they are my favourite blocks… Feeling inspired by Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s 15 Minutes of Play, I made up fabric slabs to use as my ‘geese’ and used the no waste method to construct them. I really love the freedom of improvisation, it really is my favourite…

I’ve  already made up at least a quarter of a new quilt; I finished up 8 sets (including the fabric slabs) in about four hours this afternoon. If you used the one fabric for the geese, imagine how quickly a whole quilt would come together… Too many ideas, not enough hours to make all the quilts!

Flying geese can be made in several ways – but the no waste flying geese tutorial makes four geese units at a time quickly and easily, with no fabric waste. You don’t need any special gadgets to make them up either, so that’s another bonus!

Warning these geese are addictive!

No waste flying geese tutorial

My geese are large (perfect for showing off the fabric slabs), but you can use the calculations to make any size. Just remember, flying geese are always twice as long as they are high and the calculations are based on the finished size.

How to calculate your no waste flying geese
How to calculate your no waste flying geese with instructions
Fabric slabs - made from scraps and trimmed back to size
Fabric slabs – made from scraps and trimmed back to size

Fabric and cutting guide (makes four flying geese units)

[1] 7 1/4″ square (I used a handful of scraps to make fabric slabs and then trimmed to size)
[4] 3 7/8″ squares (I used a black and white printed fabric)

Instructions

No waste flying geese tutorial
Step one – because the fabric is so dark, I pressed the diagonal guide

Step one

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the small squares. Lay these down on opposite corners of the large square, overlapping them in the middle. Sew down a 1/4″ on either side of the diagonal lines. Slice through the middle, using the drawn lines as a guide.

Step two

Press the units, pressing the seams towards the triangles.

IMG_2255
Step three

Step three

Lay a square down in middle of the unit (on the corner of the original square), overlapping them in the middle. Sew down a 1/4″ on either side of the diagonal lines. Slice through the middle, using the drawn lines as a guide. Repeat to complete all four geese units.

Step four

Press the units, pressing the seams towards the triangles.

Step five
Step five

Step five: Snip the little corners off to trim up the block.

No waste flying geese tutorial
Told you they were addictive!

 

I would love for you to share your geese on instagram using the hashtag #raspberrygeese or on the Raspberry Spool Facebook group – and then maybe we can go to the FGAA meeting together…

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7 thoughts on “No waste flying geese tutorial

  1. Love your fabric slabs and geese!

    1. Thanks Sue – I can’t get enough of them 🙂

  2. The fabric slabs with the black & white fabric look fantastic! Do you have a tutorial for making your fabric slabs?

    1. Not yet – but keep your eye out as there will be one coming soon!

  3. This is a fantastic idea! I have a lot of scraps that I stitch together and I’m going to have to give this a go. Thanks for sharing a great idea.

  4. […] of Raspberry Spool has a new take on No Waste Flying Geese.  I have to give this one a try.  It’ll help me get through those big bins of scraps I need […]

  5. […] during March. It is definitely dangerous working in a quilt shop! These prints will go into the no waste flying geese quilt I have been making. I really love black and white prints and will usually pick some up when I pop […]

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