Test block and DIY Flying Geese ruler/ template (picture heavy)

Making test blocks when designing quilts can be very important.  Sometimes an idea looks good on paper but doesn't work well in real life.  I made this simple test block yesterday from leftovers of my challenge quilt.  Making the flying geese units were the hardest part.  I used the 4 at a time method and oversized them just a tad so they could be squared up for perfection.  Here's quick tutorial(not over-sized) I made for a small quilt class I taught a couple of years ago.  Keep in mind I wrote the tutorial when the only people visiting my blog were family and members of the quilt class.   For this class I had made each of the girls a flying geese square up ruler/template from plexiglass.  They are simple to make if you know the dimensions of the unfinished FG(flying geese) unit.  The block above calls for a 

2.5 x 4.5 FG unit. 

 Here's how I made the template.

When purchasing your plexiglass from your home improvement store of choice make sure the plexiglass is about the same thickness as your standard quilt ruler which is usually between 1/16" to 1/8" thick.  At Home Depot the Score and Snap plexiglass is sometimes called Acrylic or polymethyl methacrylate it sometimes has a blue removable coating and comes in a variety of sizes.  Of course not all Score and Snap has this blue coating.  But I've found if it's Score and Snap it'll have some type of removable coating.  It usually states somewhere on it that it can be scored and snapped.   You can buy a special scoring tool but really it's not needed.  A box cutter works just fine.

 My piece of plexi is leftover from another project and is small.  If your working with a larger piece the steps are almost the same you'll just have bigger pieces leftover for more FG templates!  

So the first thing we need to do is place the plexi with the blue removable side up, measure over 4 1/2 inches.  Using the box knife, just like you would a rotary cutter, score a line, keeping your lefthand(not shown it's holding the camera, I forgot I own tripod) on the ruler. Score the same line 5 to 10 times.  I always make 10 scores pressing firmly but not hard.

 Line up the scored mark with the edge the table.  Hold firmly with the left hand, make a fist and whap the overhanging piece hard and fast.  With a the bigger sheets there's no need for the hard and fast.  Just press down firmly with the left and push down on the over hanging piece, it'll snap clean if you scored properly.

 Place the plexi coating side up and score a line 10 times at 2 1/2"

 Again if you've a large overhang just apply firm pressure on the left and the overhanging piece.  For my small piece I've found they don't break so cleanly with firm slow pressure.  So I'll be using the backside of my box cutter to whap it fast and hard.

 Peel off the protective coating. Look at those edges!  Just as clean and crisp as a store bought template!

 Using a sharpie and ruler on the long edge of the template draw a line 1/4" away from the edge.

 Now turn your template and make a dot on the previous drawn line in the center position 2 1/4" (2.25) 

 From the dot, draw a diagonal line to the corner

 repeat on the other side

 The completed FG ruler/template

 Remember to write the size of the FG on the template.  You could even write the measurements for the squares needed to make the 4 fast geese.  

 Now I've got one heck of a mess to clean.

~ Lea Anne ~

Oh my star's freebie from Thought and Found

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