Flying geese block hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Flying geese block: preview of the stitched design

A flying geese quilt block of the kind called the wild goose chase is seamed in back stitch: a cross of geese, three to an arm, flies out from a square in the middle, with a square in each corner. The twelve geese are triangles filled with teal satin stitch laid from foot to tip, the middle square is divided into four orange satin stitch facets, and each corner square holds a flower of eight orange satin stitch petals round a small teal disc of satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a sixth of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.2 in	5.6 × 5.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5 × 5 in	12.7 × 12.7 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseGeese and centers of the flowers in the corners
DMC 922 Light CopperMiddle square and flowers in the corners
DMC 336 Navy BlueSeams

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Satin stitch 2 strandsGeese, middle square, flowers in the corners, centers of the flowers in the corners
Back stitch 2 strandsSeams

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.