The One-at-a-Time Flying Geese Calculator

What’s the Math for One-at-a-Time Flying Geese?

Making Flying Geese one-at-a-time (sometimes called the “stitch and flip” method) is a breeze, though you do end up with a bit more waste in the construction process!

To make your geese, you’ll need two smaller squares (which will become the smaller corner triangles of the Flying Geese unit) and one larger rectangle (which will become the larger “middle” triangle of the Flying Geese unit).

Before you start, you’re going to need to know two things:

  • The Finished size of your Flying Geese (the height and width once it is all sewn together)

  • Whether you want to be exact or have a little extra fabric to trim down to size

The “Exact” Flying Geese Formula

To calculate the size of your squares, the formulas are:

Small “Corner” Squares = Finished Height + ½"

And for the rectangle:

Rectangle Height: Finished Height + ½"

Rectangle Width: Finished Width + ½"

The “Oversized” Flying Geese Formula

And if you want a little extra space for trimming, it’s easy! To calculate the size of your squares, the formulas are:

Small “Corner” Squares = Finished Height + ¾"

And for the rectangle:

Rectangle Height: Finished Height + ¾"

Rectangle Width: Finished Width + ¾"

How to Make One-at-a-Time Flying Geese Step-by-Step

"But, how do I make “Stitch and Flip” Flying Geese One-at-a-Time?" you ask? To start, you are going to need two (4) small squares of fabric (measuring the “Starting Small Square Size in the calculator above) and one (1) rectangle of fabric (Measuring the “Starting Rectangle” Size in the calculator above).

Step 1: Draw a diagonal line on the back of the two small fabric squares. 

Step 2: place one small square in the corner of the rectangle, and sew along the drawn diagonal line

Step 3: cut ¼" away from the diagonal line

Step 4: press your seam

Step 5: place the other small square in the other corner of the rectangle (it will overlap the other seam you just sewed, the illustration doesn’t accurately show the seam allowance here) and sew along the drawn line

Step 6: cut ¼" away from the diagonal line

Step 7: and press

What About Other Ways to make Flying Geese?

If you’re looking to make Flying Geese units four at a time (also known as the “no waste” method), you can find the calculator and further info here: