Quilt math · Calculator
Flying geese size chart
What to cut for flying geese of any size, three ways: no-waste four at a time, stitch and flip, and triangles.
The short answer
For a 4″ × 2″ finished goose, no-waste four at a time: one 5¼″ square and four 2⅞″ squares make four geese. Stitch and flip: a 4½″ × 2½″ rectangle and two 2½″ squares for each.
Work out yours
Free · no accountFinished 4″ × 2″, before sewing in 4½″ × 2½″
For 8 geese
And four 2⅞″ sky squares to each. Cut 2 goose squares and 8 sky squares.
And two 2½″ sky squares sewn across its corners. Cut 8 rectangles and 16 sky squares.
Cut twice for four geese; 2⅞″ sky squares cut once. Cut 2 goose squares and 8 sky squares.
Designing a quilt? Quarter Inch finds the flying geese in your blocks and borders and lets you choose how they’re cut, with the yardage for each way.
Start designing freeSame sums as the app: @quarterinch/cutting GEESE · triangles, stitch and flip, no-waste
Flying geese size chart
Finished sizes are width × height, the goose’s long side first. No-waste: one big square and four small ones make four geese. Stitch and flip (“Flip”): a rectangle and two squares for each goose. The triangles method uses the same squares as no-waste: the big one cut twice, the small ones cut once.
| Finished | No-waste: big | 4 small | Flip: rectangle | 2 squares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ × 1″ | 3¼″ | 1⅞″ | 2½″ × 1½″ | 1½″ |
| 3″ × 1½″ | 4¼″ | 2⅜″ | 3½″ × 2″ | 2″ |
| 4″ × 2″ | 5¼″ | 2⅞″ | 4½″ × 2½″ | 2½″ |
| 5″ × 2½″ | 6¼″ | 3⅜″ | 5½″ × 3″ | 3″ |
| 6″ × 3″ | 7¼″ | 3⅞″ | 6½″ × 3½″ | 3½″ |
| 7″ × 3½″ | 8¼″ | 4⅜″ | 7½″ × 4″ | 4″ |
| 8″ × 4″ | 9¼″ | 4⅞″ | 8½″ × 4½″ | 4½″ |
| 9″ × 4½″ | 10¼″ | 5⅜″ | 9½″ × 5″ | 5″ |
| 10″ × 5″ | 11¼″ | 5⅞″ | 10½″ × 5½″ | 5½″ |
| 11″ × 5½″ | 12¼″ | 6⅜″ | 11½″ × 6″ | 6″ |
| 12″ × 6″ | 13¼″ | 6⅞″ | 12½″ × 6½″ | 6½″ |
How it’s worked out
A flying goose is a rectangle twice as wide as it is tall: one big triangle, the goose, with a small triangle of sky each side. The goose is a quarter-square triangle, its long side along the bottom of the unit. Each sky triangle is a half-square triangle, its short sides on the outside. So their squares follow those rules: the goose’s width and 1¼″, the sky’s height and ⅞″.
| The finished goose | 4″ × 2″ |
|---|---|
| Before it’s sewn in | 4½″ × 2½″ |
| The goose square: its width and 1¼″ | 5¼″ |
| The sky squares: its height and ⅞″ | 4 × 2⅞″ |
| They make | 4 geese |
No-waste, four at a time
- Draw a diagonal on the back of each small square.
- Lay two small squares on opposite corners of the big square, right sides together, the lines running corner to corner. They overlap in the middle.
- Sew ¼″ each side of the line. Cut on the line and press the small triangles out.
- On each piece, lay one more small square in the corner, the line between the two small triangles. Sew ¼″ each side, cut and press: two geese each.
Stitch and flip
Cut a rectangle the goose’s finished size and ½″ each way (4½″ × 2½″ for 4″ × 2″), and two squares its height and ½″ (2½″). Lay a square on one end, sew corner to corner, trim ¼″ beyond the seam and press. Repeat at the other end, the seams crossing ¼″ below the top edge. It’s the easiest to sew straight, but half of each sky square is trimmed away, so it uses the most fabric.
Save the corners. Sew a second line ½″ outside the first before you trim, then cut between them: the offcuts become small half-square triangles for another project.
Geese in a block
A 12″ Sawtooth Star has four geese, each 6″ × 3″ finished. Cut as triangles, Quarter Inch’s cutting chart gives: 1 square 7¼″ of Background (cut twice on the diagonals) and 4 squares 3⅞″ of Dark (cut once on the diagonal).
What changes the answer
- Trimming. For perfect points, cut every square a little larger, sew, then trim each goose to 4½″ × 2½″, keeping ¼″ above the goose’s point.
- Which way the print runs. Stitch and flip keeps the goose’s grain and print straight. Cut as triangles, the goose’s print turns with the cut.
- Other shapes. A goose that isn’t twice as wide as it is tall has corners that aren’t 45°: that’s a half-rectangle triangle’s math. See half-rectangle triangles.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
What is the formula for no-waste flying geese?
One big square the goose’s finished width and 1¼″, and four small squares its finished height and ⅞″. They make four geese.
What size to cut for 4″ × 2″ flying geese?
No-waste: a 5¼″ square and four 2⅞″ squares. Stitch and flip: a 4½″ × 2½″ rectangle and two 2½″ squares.
Which flying geese method is most accurate?
Stitch and flip is the easiest to sew straight, because nothing is cut on the bias. No-waste uses the least fabric. Either can be cut a little large and trimmed.
Why is a goose twice as wide as it is tall?
So its sides are at 45°: the goose is a quarter of a square and each sky triangle half of one, and the units fit a block’s grid.