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flying geese

Video 11: Perfect Points on Flying Geese

Preserve flying-geese points by keeping a quarter-inch overlap at the top when opening and joining the units.

By ThatPainter Team 2 min read
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To keep flying-geese points from being cut off when you join the units, preserve a quarter-inch overlap at the top of each unit. In this 1:59 lesson, American Patchwork & Quilting Editors demonstrate the geometry using two squares and one rectangle: mark each square’s diagonal as the sewing line, stitch on it, and let the opened squares overlap rather than meet exactly.

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What the lesson demonstrates

American Patchwork & Quilting Editors published “Video 11: Perfect Points on Flying Geese” on October 13, 2016. Its focus is joining flying-geese units without clipping their points. The illustrated construction uses two squares and one rectangle; it is a focused lesson, not a comparison of rulers or alternate methods. Watch the lesson.

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How to make the overlap

  1. Mark the sewing lines. Draw a diagonal line on each square. The marked diagonal is the stitching line.
  2. Sew the first square. Place it on one side of the rectangle and stitch directly along its marked diagonal.
  3. Open and press. Press the first square open so you can see where its edge lands at the top.
  4. Position and sew the second square. Place it on the other side of the rectangle and stitch along its diagonal.
  5. Check the top overlap. When the pieces are opened, the square corners should overlap by a quarter inch at the top. Do not align them so they meet precisely at the point: the overlap provides the seam allowance that helps preserve the point when units are joined.

The instructor also describes allowing a quarter inch on either side of the point at the bottom when adjoining units are sewn. The practical aim is to keep the point intersection intact within the joining seam allowance, rather than stitching across and removing it.

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Trim bulk only if you want to

After opening the piece, the instructor trims the seam allowance behind it to reduce bulk. She presents this as her preference, not a required step. You can leave that allowance in place if you prefer; the point-preserving overlap is the key part of the demonstrated method.

Keep the points visible while joining units

As supplementary assembly advice, a separate quilting tutorial recommends keeping the point crossover visible so you can aim the joining seam through it. It also recommends pressing the joining seams away from the flying-geese points when practical, rather than folding bulky seams back over them. See the supplementary tutorial.

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Materials for practice

The demonstrated construction calls for two fabric squares and a rectangle. Scraps or quilting cotton are suitable materials to practice the technique. A washable marking implement can be useful for drawing the diagonal sewing lines; the lesson does not specify or endorse a particular tool.

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