2024 Block of the Week – Block 3

Hi! Glad you’re back for the 3rd installment of the Block of the Week. The block this week is fun and another one with traditional roots. I will also share tips on making flying geese units that measure up! There will be tips on making multiples as well. If you are just joining up, here are the links to block 1 and block 2. So let’s get started with this week’s block!

Block of the Week

Here is block 3:

This block is called Double Sawtooth Star. Click here for instructions to make this block: 2024 BOW Block 3.

Here’s a little history on this block. The Sawtooth Star pattern dates back to 1884. It was first published in a magazine called Farm and Fireside. The name is thought to be derived from the look of the teeth of a saw. Women often looked to everyday items around the house or barn to name a block. In addition, the sawtooth design itself dates back as far as 1823 when it began to appear on quilts as borders. Sort of like on a few of my quilts, Home & Hearth and Picket Fence Blooms.

As with many traditional blocks, the Sawtooth Star is known by lots of other names. In the 19th century, especially in the west, women would often make a block and give it a name of their choosing. Here are some of the other names: Evening Star, Morning Star, Variable Star and North Star.

It’s a fairly easy block that is made up of a large center square, four flying geese units and four smaller squares. The Double Sawtooth Star adds in an extra set of larger geese framing the center star to make it “double”. Most times it has larger plain squares on the outer corners, but to give it more “pizazz” I added 4-patch corners.

Once again, this block gives you the opportunity to play with color. You can make this one scrappy simply by using a different color print square for each side of all the geese used in the block and for each square in the 4-patch corner units.

Tip of the week

Now it’s time for the tip of the week. This week, it’s all about flying geese units since those make up a lot of this block.

• Traditional Geese

First, lets talk about the method where you piece one geese unit at time, which you will use if you are doing the scrappy version of the block. I bet most of you are familiar with this method but it never hurts to review!

Making flying geese includes working with bias seams, so take care in piecing these. If you have to rip out a bias seam, there is a greater chance that you can distort the fabric and have to cut out new pieces. This geese method is also an example of the stitch & flip technique that is used in other blocks units like snowball blocks. Here’s the steps:

In this example I am using 2 squares 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ and a 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ rectangle (photo below on left).

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the two squares (center photo above). When you lay one of the squares face down on the rectangle, pin to keep the square from shifting (photo above right). Once you sew along the line, the next steps are very important.

In the left photo below, I am folding over the square after stitching along the drawn line to make sure its edge matches up with the edge of the rectangle. The center photo shows that when I measure the unit, it still measures 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″, the dimensions of the rectangle. I can then trim off the excess fabric in the seam allowance (last photo) and press open that side. That is a key in stitch & flip units, always fold over and measure the unit after stitching before trimming off any excess fabric. That side needs to be pressed open before adding and stitching the other square on the second side.

Repeat the above steps on the other side, and you will have a flying geese unit.

• Multiple Geese

This is also know as the “no-waste method”. It makes 4 flying geese units at once and has the added benefit of wasting no fabric. There will be no excess seam allowance to trim off like in the traditional method above. Each grouping of fabric will make 4 flying geese units at once. This is a good method to use if you have a lot of flying geese units that make up a quilt project. 

Step 1: It’s important to get the fabric pieces cut to the right size to begin. You will need 1 large square (base) and 4 smaller squares (wings).

For this example, I want geese units for my quilt that measure 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ (this measurement includes the seam allowance). The finished size will be 2 x 4″. When you hear someone say “finished size” it means the size of the unit after it’s sewn into the block or quilt. So here are the calculations to cut the pieces needed:

The large square needs to measure 1 1/4″ larger than the finished width of the geese unit. My finished width is 4″ so:

                4″ + 1 1/4″ = 5 1/4″

The 4 small squares need to measure 7/8″ larger than the finished height of the geese unit. My finished height is 2″ so:

                 2″ + 7/8″ = 2 7/8″

Step 2: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all 4 of the small squares. Then lay a small square face down on the upper left corner of the large square as shown:

Step 3: Place another square face down on the bottom right corner. The drawn lines should match up and the squares will overlap in the center. Once positioned, be sure to pin the squares in place so they don’t shift while stitching. Sew 1/4″ on each side of the drawn line.

Step 4: Cut the unit apart on the drawn line and press open:

Step 5: Place another square face down on one of the units from above. The corner of the square should line up with the edge of the unit and the opposite corner will overlap as shown. Sew 1/4″ on each side of the drawn line and cut the unit apart on the drawn line. Repeat this step with the remaining square and other unit.

Step 6: Once you press open all the units, you will have 4 flying geese! 

Finally, measure the geese unit and trim if necessary. My geese unit measures 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ like it should. Be careful when trimming the top because you do not want to cut off points when you piece your geese into a block or quilt. There should be 1/4″ from the top of the point to the edge of the geese unit.

So that’s it for the tips of the week. I did not write the block pattern for multiple geese method, but it you want your geese for each part of the block to be the same color, you can use the method using the formula above.

Come back next week for block 4 in this sew along. In the meantime, leave a comment or ask questions and you will be entered into the drawing for this stack of fat quarters:

The drawing will be the week after the end of this sew along series. Until next week,

Happy Quilting!
Deanne