Midnight Medallion Quilt Along, Week 3 – Tips for Fast & Efficient No-Waste Flying Geese
Welcome to Week 3 of the Midnight Medallion Quilt Along (QAL)! This week we're tackling one of the biggest components of the Midnight Medallion quilt: nearly 200 flying geese units (see pattern pages 6 and 7). These units will be used in both next week’s Sawtooth Stars and in the border blocks in the following week of the QAL.
We’ll be using the no-waste method in the Midnight Medallion quilt, which yields four flying geese at once. In this blog post I will be sharing additional speed tips to make this week significantly easier.
If you’re following along, grab your Midnight Medallion quilt pattern and flip to pages 6 and 7. Haven’t snagged your free copy yet? Don’t worry—you can download it here.
This is the third blog post of the Midnight Medallion QAL series, with a new post dropping every Monday (starting March 3, 2026). Each week’s post will feature tips for completing that week’s tasks or fun bonus projects that build on the skills being explored. Even if you’re not following the Midnight Medallion pattern, these insights can be applied to future quilt projects. Sign up for the weekly QAL newsletter* here to stay up-to-date on tasks, tips, and bonus content. The newsletter will only run for the six weeks of the QAL, so you won’t miss a thing.
For a comprehensive overview of what the QAL entails—including the schedule, tools, supplies, and more—check out previous Midnight Medallion QAL blog post here. Remember, you’re welcome to join at any time and work at your own pace. If you’d prefer, you can save the posts and follow along at a later date.
All weekly tips, tricks, and resources will be centralized here for easy reference, so don’t forget to bookmark it!
*By signing up for the Midnight Medallion QAL updates, you also agree to sign up to be on The Weekend Quilter email newsletter list. We will not sell your email or spam you.
SUPPLIES AND TOOLS
For this week’s task you’ll need the following:
• Basic sewing machine – the Brother Innovis BQ3100 from the Quilt Club Series was used in this tutorial
• Rotary cutter
• Quilting ruler – preferably a medium sized rectangle, i.e. 6in x 12in
• Cutting mat
• Fabrics, quilting cotton required for flying geese units (refer to pages 6 and 7 of Midnight Medallion quilt pattern)
• Coordinating thread, 50wt cotton for piecing
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Pins
• Fabric scissors
• Seam ripper
• Iron and ironing board or wool pressing mat
As previously mentioned, we’re going to be making lots flying geese units this week. They may seem never ending but trust me, you’re doing half the work for the next two weeks. But reassured the tips I’m going to share with you below are going to help speed things up this week:
1. Flip All Your Squares Wrong-Side Up Before Marking
Before marking any diagonal lines, go through your cut squares and flip them so the wrong side is facing up.
Why?
Because it saves you from flipping them individually later — which adds up quickly when you’re marking nearly 700 squares.
This tip applies most to print fabrics; solids matter less since either side works.
2. Lay Out Squares in a Diamond Orientation for Faster Marking
Arrange a bunch of small squares so each one sits like a diamond and wrong side facing up (you could try a small batch of 5-6 square to get a hang of marking several squares at a time). Place a long rectangular ruler across the batch, sliding it left to right (or right to left if left-handed), and mark the diagonal line without repositioning each square individually. This turns marking into a smooth, assembly-line process.
If you want additional visual support in interpreting this, this is how it looks like in an old Insta’ post of mine. 
3. Speed Cutting Your Flying Geese Sections
Once your flying geese sets and sections geese are sewn (referring to Flying Geese Units, step 2 and step 4) and ready to be cut:
1. Place the first flying geese sets (or sections) on your cutting mat. Align its seams with a vertical cutting guideline on the cutting mat.
2. Then stack 3 to 6 flying geese sets (or sections) on top. Using the marked guideline on the previous flying geese set (or section) and guideline on the cutting mat as a guide, and spacing them about 1in apart.
3. With a sharp rotary blade, cut on the marked diagonal line. Stand while cutting so you can apply strong, even pressure. A fresh blade should slice through 5–6 layers cleanly — making this step dramatically faster than cutting units one at a time.
If you want additional visual support in interpreting this, it looks a little similar to how this task is performed in this old Insta’ post of mine.
Flying geese may seem overwhelming in quantity, but with efficient set-up and cutting methods, you can fly through them (pun intended!). By preparing all squares the same direction and batching your marking and trimming, Week 3 will feel so much more manageable.
Seeing your work brings us so much joy! Be sure to share your works-in-progress on social media by tagging Wendy @The.WeekendQuilter and @BrotherSews and using the #MidnightMedallionQuilt #BrotherSews hashtags.
Till next time, happy sewing!