- Background (muslin)
- Medium (goldenrod)
- Dark (indigo)
Block No. 96 · other
Fox and Geese Quilt Block
Part of: Flying Geese Quilt BlocksHalf Square Triangle Quilt BlocksAnimal Quilt BlocksBird Quilt Blocks
This Fox and Geese is a frame block: four flying geese line each side of a plain background center, with large triangle corners standing guard. The geese all travel one way along the top and bottom and the other way down the sides, as if circling the fox in the middle.
Version note: Frame version from Quilter's Cache, with the same layout and proportions as Bobbin In Quilts and Fabric 406. Goose direction varies by source; this follows Quilter's Cache. The other common Fox and Geese is nearly identical to Old Maid's Puzzle, so it is not repeated here. Layout confidence: medium.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Grid
- 8 × 8
- Pieces
- 57
Chart
Cutting for a 12" block
8 × 8 grid. All cuts fall on 1/8" ruler marks. Unfinished block: 12 1/2".
| Fabric | Shape | Cut | Size | Then | Pieces used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 1 | 6 1/2" square | Use as cut | 1 |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 2 | 3 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 4 |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 16 | 2 3/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 32 |
| Medium | Quarter-square triangle | 4 | 4 1/4" square | Cut twice diagonally (4 triangles each) | 16 |
| Dark | Half-square triangle | 2 | 3 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 4 |
Method
Piecing steps
Step 1: Cut every patch listed in the cutting chart for your size. Plain areas are cut as the larger squares and rectangles shown; do not subdivide them. Columns count from the left and rows from the top, starting at 1, in grid cells.
Step 2: Make the half-square triangles: cut each HST parent square once diagonally, sew contrasting triangles along the long edge, press toward the darker fabric and square up (4 at 3 1/2"). Keep each fabric pair and size in its own stack.
Step 3: Make the flying geese: sew a sky triangle to each short side of a goose triangle (cut from the quarter-square parent), pressing toward the sky. Make 8 trimmed to 3 1/2" wide by 2" high, 8 trimmed to 2" wide by 3 1/2" high.
Step 4: Make sixteen flying geese with medium goose triangles and background sky. Trim the side geese to 3 1/2" by 2" and the top and bottom geese to 2" by 3 1/2".
Step 5: Sew the geese into four strips of four, all pointing the same way, and check the direction against the diagram before joining them to the center.
Step 6: Make section 1: sew the large dark/background HST at column 1, row 1 (dark in the upper-left), the medium goose at column 1, row 3, pointing down, the medium goose at column 1, row 4, pointing down, the medium goose at column 1, row 5, pointing down, the medium goose at column 1, row 6, pointing down and the large background/dark HST at column 1, row 7 (background in the upper-right) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 3 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 7: Make section 2: sew the medium goose at column 3, row 1, pointing right, the medium goose at column 4, row 1, pointing right, the medium goose at column 5, row 1, pointing right and the medium goose at column 6, row 1, pointing right side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 6 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high.
Step 8: Make section 3: sew the medium goose at column 3, row 7, pointing right, the medium goose at column 4, row 7, pointing right, the medium goose at column 5, row 7, pointing right and the medium goose at column 6, row 7, pointing right side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 6 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high.
Step 9: Make section 4: sew section 2, the background square at column 3, row 3 and section 3 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 6 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 10: Make section 5: sew the large dark/background HST at column 7, row 1 (dark in the upper-right), the medium goose at column 7, row 3, pointing down, the medium goose at column 7, row 4, pointing down, the medium goose at column 7, row 5, pointing down, the medium goose at column 7, row 6, pointing down and the large background/dark HST at column 7, row 7 (background in the upper-left) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 3 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 11: Complete the block: sew section 1, section 4 and section 5 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 12 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 12: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.