Half square triangles and flying geese from squares
Both units are sewn from squares before any triangle is cut, so no stretchy bias edge is handled. The cost is that the square has to be bigger than the unit by a fixed amount, and the amount depends on the method.
For half square triangles made two at a time, two squares are sewn a quarter inch either side of one diagonal and cut apart. The square is the finished size plus seven eighths of an inch. Eight at a time, the squares are sewn either side of both diagonals and cut four ways; the square is twice that. The sewn unit is the finished size plus half an inch.
Flying geese four at a time, the no-waste method, use one large square of the goose fabric, the finished width plus an inch and a quarter, and four small sky squares, the finished height plus seven eighths. Stitch and flip uses a rectangle and two squares, each the finished size plus half an inch, and cuts the corners away.
These sizes are exact: they assume a seam of exactly a quarter inch. Many quilters prefer to cut a little bigger and trim every unit to size. One source adds a quarter inch to the half square triangle square; another gives no-waste geese as the width plus an inch and a half and the height plus an inch. Charts rarely say which kind of size they list, which is why two charts for the same unit can disagree. The calculators offer both and say which is which.
Chart: square to cut for half square triangles, by finished size and method
Each cell is the exact starting square for the finished size in its row, two at a time or eight at a time. Add a quarter inch if you like to trim.
| Method | ||
|---|---|---|
| Finished size of the unit | Two at a time | Eight at a time |
| 1 in | 1.875 in | 3.750 in |
| 1.5 in | 2.375 in | 4.750 in |
| 2 in | 2.875 in | 5.750 in |
| 2.5 in | 3.375 in | 6.750 in |
| 3 in | 3.875 in | 7.750 in |
| 3.5 in | 4.375 in | 8.750 in |
| 4 in | 4.875 in | 9.750 in |
| 4.5 in | 5.375 in | 10.750 in |
| 5 in | 5.875 in | 11.750 in |
| 6 in | 6.875 in | 13.750 in |
| 8 in | 8.875 in | 17.750 in |
Chart: goose fabric to cut for flying geese, by finished width and method
Each cell is the side of the large square for the two no-waste methods, or the width of the rectangle for stitch and flip, for the finished width in its row. The rectangle's height is the sky square in the next chart.
| Method | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Finished width of the unit | No-waste, four at a time | No-waste with room to trim | Stitch and flip, one at a time |
| 2 in | 3.250 in | 3.500 in | 2.500 in |
| 3 in | 4.250 in | 4.500 in | 3.500 in |
| 4 in | 5.250 in | 5.500 in | 4.500 in |
| 5 in | 6.250 in | 6.500 in | 5.500 in |
| 6 in | 7.250 in | 7.500 in | 6.500 in |
| 7 in | 8.250 in | 8.500 in | 7.500 in |
| 8 in | 9.250 in | 9.500 in | 8.500 in |
| 10 in | 11.250 in | 11.500 in | 10.500 in |
| 12 in | 13.250 in | 13.500 in | 12.500 in |
Chart: sky squares to cut for flying geese, by finished width and method
Each cell is the side of the small sky squares for the finished width in its row. The finished height of the unit is half its width.
| Method | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Finished width of the unit | No-waste, four at a time | No-waste with room to trim | Stitch and flip, one at a time |
| 2 in | 1.875 in | 2.000 in | 1.500 in |
| 3 in | 2.375 in | 2.500 in | 2.000 in |
| 4 in | 2.875 in | 3.000 in | 2.500 in |
| 5 in | 3.375 in | 3.500 in | 3.000 in |
| 6 in | 3.875 in | 4.000 in | 3.500 in |
| 7 in | 4.375 in | 4.500 in | 4.000 in |
| 8 in | 4.875 in | 5.000 in | 4.500 in |
| 10 in | 5.875 in | 6.000 in | 5.500 in |
| 12 in | 6.875 in | 7.000 in | 6.500 in |
Used by
- Half square triangle calculatorCutting sizes and counts for half square triangles.
- Flying geese calculatorCutting sizes and counts for flying geese units.