How to Sew the Perfect Flying Geese the Flip and Stitch Method
I received a question via e-mail asking me how to keep flying geese from shrinking and losing their points. I was able to provide a quick outline of some things to watch for when making flying geese. I also decided to make a blog post detailing the best tips I have when making these quilt blocks.
Accurate cutting is the foundation for accurate piecing. If your cutting is off so will your sewing. Part of accurate cutting is ironing all your fabric before cutting. If your fabric is wrinkled before you cut, it will be inaccurate when you finally iron.
The most important step when making a quilt block is accurate cutting. Below is a link to a very detailed look at how to cut accurately. Take a moment and make sure you are cutting your quilt blocks accurately.
Let’s start by making a 4 1/2” x 2 1/2” flying geese unit using the stitch and flip method. In my personal experience with quilting, I have found that this is the most common method found in patterns for making a flying geese block.
Step 1:
You will need to cut out:
1- 4 1/2” x 2 1/2” rectangle
2 – 2 1/2” squares
Step 2:
Once you have done this you will need to draw a line on the wrong side of your 2 1/2” squares. This line should be drawn from one corner to the opposite corner. You can use a pencil or a Frixion heat erasable pen.
Quilters Note:
If you have diagonal seam tape, seam so easy guide, or another similar seam guide tool you will not need to draw the lines on the back of your squares.
Step 3:
With right sides of your fabric together pin your 2 1/2” square to the right side of your rectangle. Check you don’t have the opposing fabric peeking through on either side.
Step 4:
Sew directly on your drawn line.
Step 5:
Take your sewn unit to the ironing board. This is where I find that most people including myself make mistakes. You either don’t press it open enough or you over-press the block and it stretches.
Finger-press the block to the side and then press it again with your iron.
Quilty Theory:
My suspicion is that if you don’t trim away your excess fabric first but instead press your fabric to the side. The extra fabric helps keep your iron from distorting the fabric while pressing but also lets you see if it is fully pressed open. Just a theory.
Now that you have pressed the fabric to the side you can now see if any sewing mistakes were made. You shouldn’t see the opposing fabric peeking through on either side.
Do-Over
If you find that your sewn square doesn’t match your rectangle you will need to unpick your stitches and resew the block.
If this is the case make sure that you have sewn directly on your drawn line. Sewing to the left or right of the line will distort the block in one way or another.
Sometimes instead of reaching for my seam ripper, I will resew the square making sure to slow down and get it just right. Then I will unpick the incorrect stitch line.
Usually, this reveals if I wavered to the left or right of my stitch line. Doing this will help show you what your tendency is when sewing the stitch and flip method. Which is also helpful.
Step 6:
Now that you have pressed and checked that no sewing mistake was made, you can lay your unit on the cutting mat and cut the excess fabric by trimming 1/4” away from your sewn line.
Step 7:
With right sides of the fabric together lay the next 2 1/2” square on the left side of your rectangle and pin. Check the orientation of your drawn line.
Do as you did previously in steps 3-5.
Quilter’s Note:
If your sewing machine tends to eat your fabric you are starving your machine. Feed it!
On a serious note if your sewing machine tends to pull fabric under your needle plate when starting on the point like the above picture shows. You should try using a leader.
Leader – small scrap of fabric that is sewn first before sewing your intended fabric.
If all has gone well, you now have a perfect 4 1/2” x 2 1/2” flying geese block. Congratulations!
If your flying geese still isn’t quite right just know that it takes practice. Each stitch you sew will get better and better over time. Enjoy the process and just know that you will get there.
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