Techniques

The blocks in this booklet are traditionally pieced by cutting and sewing together individual squares, rectangles and triangles. An alternative approach is to try the following handy methods, which mean you can sew before cutting, so as to avoid stitching on bias edges. If you choose to use these, be sure not to sub-cut the pieces into triangles as indicated by blue lines on the charts in the various blocks.

Making Flying Geese units

The combination of these three triangles sewn together appears in many patchwork blocks. The name probably comes from the image they create of the head of a bird and its wings stretched out in flight.

Fabric for these blocks will characteristically be one large square and four smaller squares. The large square will end up as the main large triangle in the unit and the small squares will be the smaller triangles either side.

There are lots of ways to stitch this combination of triangles, but this is one I frequently use.

1 On the back of each of the four small squares draw a diagonal line corner to corner with a fine sharp pencil.

2 Place one square RS together with the larger square in one corner and the second square in the opposite corner. The drawn lines will match together. Stitch ¼in away from either side of the drawn lines.

3 Cut along the drawn line and press. You now have two identical units.

4 Place the remaining squares on each unit RS together and stitch ¼in away from the drawn line.

5 Cut along the line and press. You will have four Flying Geese units.

Making Half-square Triangle units

This is an accurate way of making squares from two triangles, without having to cut the triangles first and then stitching on cut bias edges. Its precise results are especially useful when working with small pieces.

1 Using a light and a dark square of the given sizes, draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the back of the light square, using a fine sharp pencil.

2 Place the two squares RS together and stitch ¼in away from the line along either side.

3 Cut