Flying Geese
Flying geese is another versatile patchwork pattern where right angled triangles are pieced together to resemble a group of geese in flight. To make one ‘goose’ three triangles are required which when sewn together form a rectangle whose width is twice the size of its height.
Within the rectangle or goose there is a central triangle which is commonly of a light shade, whose width is the same as that of the whole rectangle and forms its base and whose point should meet at the centre point of the opposite side of the rectangle. On either side of the main triangle two darker triangles are pieced which complete the rectangle shape.
Simple Border Patterns
By making several geese a number of designs can be created. A simple pattern can be made by piecing the geese together to form a strip or row. These strips can then be sewn together lengthwise or separated by sashing to form a border around each strip. Alternatively, a strip formed by geese can make an interesting frame or border for the quilt top.
Flying Geese Patchwork Blocks
The flying geese can also be used to form a number of patchwork block patterns. There are a great number of these patterns to be considered including; ‘Jacobs Ladder’, where strips of geese form a cross within the block, ‘Dutchman’s Puzzle’, a four patch block where each patch contains two geese and the ‘Flying Geese’, which uses four rows each of three geese to form a block around a central square.