Category Archives: Flying Geese & Half Square Triangles

It’s December! Time for Christmas Tree Quilts

I love Christmas & I love Christmas Tree Quilts! Over the years I have made several and decided to share some with you. Studio 180 Design tools gives you several ways to easily make Christmas Trees.

I Believe

I made this 7 years ago for my Granddaughter Samantha. I Believe uses the V Block tool. Below is the supply list:

Deck the Halls

I made Deck the Halls for Northcott Fabrics in 2019. It is made with Tucker Trimmer I & Wing Clipper I. Below is the supply list:

Split Rects Christmas Tree

The Split Rects Christmas Tree wall hanging is made with the Split Rects tool. The supply list is below:

Wing Clipper Wall Hanging

The Wing Clipper wall hanging is made with 4 Flying Geese using the Wing Clipper I. The supply list is below:

Kermits Christmas Tree

This Skinny Christmas Tree was made using all 10 sizes the Wing Clipper I makes. Supply List is below:

Happy Holidays everyone!

Deck the Halls

I love Christmas Tree Quilts. I’m always looking for quilt blocks that look like Christmas Trees.

With this block and the Deck the Halls fabric that Northcott gave me to make this quilt, I have a winner.

What can be easier than Half Square Triangles made with Studio 180 Design’s Tucker Trimmer I & Flying Geese made with the Wing Clipper I!

I love designing with EQ8. Having the option of auditioning the actual fabric I will be using is awesome!

Perfect for cuddling up under in front of a warm fire. You can make this quilt using your Studio 180 Design Tucker Trimmer I & Wing Clipper I tool instructions and these fabric requirements:

#northcottfabrics #studio180designtools #Aurifilthread #quiltersdreambatting

BlockBuster 4 – Capital T Variation

This is a great block.  04 Capital T Variation requires the use of your Wing Clipper I, & Tucker Trimmer I.  You’ll be making flying geese, combination units and quarter square triangles.  The supply list shows 3 block options. I chose the first 3 color combination because I’m using some Kim Diehl fabric with a cream background for all my BlockBuster’s so I can make them into a cohesive quilt when I’m done.  You have 3 size choices.  I chose to make mine 12″ blocks with 4″ finished units.

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All the instructions you need to make the units required for this block are with your Wing Clipper & Tucker Trimmer.  In both there are size charts that tell you what size to cut your starter squares depending on the finished or cut size of your units.  When making your block you will want to pay close attention to your color placement.

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Remember when making your flying geese, your large square  becomes the body and small squares become the small triangles in your geese.  I have cut my starter squares to make 4 geese with a blue body and gold wings, and 4 geese with a gold body and blue wings.

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On the backs of my small squares draw 2 diagonal lines using your Magic Wand.

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Position two small squares on your large squares right sides together as shown above paying attention to your fabric choices.  Nudge your small squares in toward the center just a thread or two (about a 1/16″).  This will give more to trim off later.

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Stitch using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

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After stitching, cut apart.

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Press toward the small triangles. Remember “what you are pressing toward – always goes on top”!

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Position one small squares on the corners of the previously pieced units, nudging the squares away from the edges as before.

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Stitch using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. Cut apart.

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Press toward the small triangles.

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Position your flying geese unit pointed toward you (left handers see your Wing Clipper instructions).  Align the diagonal lines on your tool with the seams in your unit.  As you can see I’m am making a 2″x4″ finished flying geese, so the cut size is 2.5″x 4.5″.  Trim the two sides as shown.

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Rotate your unit and reposition the Wing Clipper to align the previously trimmed edges and the X at the top with the intersection of the seams and trim again.

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Repeat with all your flying geese units.  I now have two sets of 2.5″ x 4.5″ flying geese.

Combination Units:  after checking my size chart I know my starter squares for 4″ finished units are 5.5″.  I cut one gold, one blue and two background squares, all 5.5″.

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Combination Units start by making half square triangles.

I grabed my Magic Wand and drew two diagonal lines on the back of one of my gold 5.5″ square.  Position the gold square on the blue with right sides together and align the edges.  Stitch on both lines using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. and cut apart.

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Press toward the dark triangle.  Grab your Magic Wand again and draw two diagonal ines on the back of both Half Square triangles.

 

Position each half square triangle on a 5.5″ background square, right sides together centering it.  Stitch using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. Cut apart as shown above.

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You now have 4 combination units.  Note: this process creates units that are “mirror images”.

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Position the Tucker Trimmer over the unit, carefully aligning both diagonal lines with the stitched seams as shown and trim.

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Rotate the unit and line up the Tucker Trimmer again.  This time be sure to position both diagonal lines and the outline of the square to the exact measurement desired and trim again.

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Four beautifully trimmed combination units for the corners of our block.

Quarter Square Triangles:  Check your size chart.  These are 5.5″ starter squares.

On the back of my gold square I have again used my Magic wand to draw to diagonal stitching lines.

Position the gold square over the blue square, right sides together, aligning the edges.  Stitch using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance and cut apart.

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Press toward the dark triangles. Using your Magic Wand Draw 2 diagonal lines on the back of one half square triangle.

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Position the two half square triangles right sides together, making sure the colors are opposite each other (my gold is against the blue and vice versa) carefully nesting the seams as shown above.

Stitch using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. Cut apart and press swirling the centers as shown above.

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Position the Tucker Trimmer over the unit carefully aligning both diagonal lines over the seams lines of the unit.  Trim two sides as shown.

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Rotate the unit and line up both diagonal lines again along with the outline of the unit to the exact measurement desired and trim. Only one quarter square triangle is needed for this block center.

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Layout your units as shown above being careful of color placement.  Notice the body of my geese follow the colors in the quarter square triangle.  And the colors in the combination units are the same as the wings on the geese.

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Stitch your geese together in pairs as shown above.

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Stitch 3 units into a row as shown above.

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This shows how I pressed the block.  The outside rows were press toward the combination units, while the center row was press toward the quarter square triangle.  This allows the rows to nest nicely.

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The finished 12″ Capital T Variation block! I love It!

A Goose of a Different Feather

I was going through some magazines from last year and saw a quilt made by Catherine Hughes that had a block in it that contained different kind of Flying Geese units, the background of the geese were half square triangles.  I decided to Tuckerize it, which meant  I would use my favorite Studio 180 Design Tools.

I decided to make a 10″ finished size block containing a 5 1/2″ center square. The Studio 180 Design method of making flying geese using the Wing Clipper 1 uses one large square and four small squares.  For this project the small squares would be half square triangles instead of just squares.  The cut size of the flying geese would be 3″ by 5 1/2″.  To determine what my large square and small squares should be I checked the chart that comes with the Wing Clipper 1. I cut the large square 6 1/2″. The cut size of the small squares should be 3 1/2″.  Now I went to the chart that comes with my Tucker Trimmer I.  For half square triangles that finish 3″ the cut size is 3 1/2″ which meant my starter squares should be 4″. Whew that was a mouthful!  For 3 blocks I cut 6 red – 4″ squares and 6 black – 4″squares.

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On the back of the red squares use your Magic Wand and draw diagonal lines on either side.

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Place 1 red square on each black square.

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Sew on the lines.

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Cut apart between the sewn lines.

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Press toward the dark.

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Square up to 3 1/2″ using your Tucker Trimmer I.

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Using your Magic Wand draw diagonal lines on the wrong side of the half square triangles.

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Place a 6 1/2″ square right side up and position 2 half square triangles wrong sides together as shown nudging the half squares triangles in from the corners about a 1/16″.

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Sew on the drawn lines and cut apart.

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Press toward the small triangles.  Position another half square triangle as shown again nudging away from the corner 1/16′.

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Sew on the lines and cut apart.

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Press toward the small triangle.

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First trim.

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Rotate unit, second trim.

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Block layout. Cut 3″ squares for the block corners.

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Repeat process to make 3 blocks.  Cut one 15 1/2″ square and cut diagonally twice to make the side triangles.  Sew the side triangles to blocks as shown.

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I cut 4 – 1 1/2″ red strips for the inner border and 4 – 2 1/2″ black strips for the outer border.