All six 3×3 center blocks are solved.
Keep FL and FR as working positions. Completed groups are stored in U and D.
1. Choose a midge as the reference
The midge is the middle piece of a three-piece edge. Find a midge, read its two colors, then locate both wings with that same pair of colors. A finished edge has three matching stickers on each of its two sides.
Wings matching each other with a reversed midge form a checkerboard, not a finished edge. Always include the midge in your check.
2. Bring the pieces into the working band
Use outer moves to put the target midge at FR. Put a matching wing at FL in the upper or lower horizontal slice where a wide turn can carry it to FR. Arrange the colors to match the midge on the front side as well as the right side.
To turn the whole FR group over, use:
R U R' F R' F' R
This flips the group as a unit; it does not flip a single wing independently. The example below isolates that movement so you can see how the wing positions and midge orientation change.
3. Add a wing, protect the match, and return the slice
Use Uw or Uw′ to bring the selected upper-band wing alongside the midge. To work on the lower-band wing, reorient the cube so that band becomes your upper working band, then set up FL and FR again.
After making a useful match, move the group out of the active slice using outer moves, bring an unpaired group into the working slot, and undo the wide turn to restore centers. A two-piece match is worth preserving, but do not count it as a finished edge yet.
Bring the partial pair back into a working position with its matching pieces outside the next active slice, then add its remaining wing. Check all three pieces on both faces before storing the full group.
4. Store eight complete groups
Move finished groups into U and D with outer turns. Keep bringing unpaired groups into the middle working band. If a storage slot already contains a finished group, choose another slot so you do not replace useful work with an unpaired group unnecessarily.
Restoring slices after each operation makes it easier to track the centers. Once four completed edges are above and four below, restore all center blocks and leave the four unpaired groups in the middle band.
5. Switch methods for the last four
With little storage space left, join–store–restore becomes awkward. The next lesson uses slice–flip–slice-back to exchange selected wings while returning center rows. Do not disturb a stored full edge merely to free a temporary slot.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Use one move at a time first. This prepared case teaches a specific action; use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognize when it applies to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
Study the FR flip before using it in pairing: it reverses the whole front-right group and preserves center colors. This is an orientation drill, not a complete pairing operation.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 7
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 7 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
Drag to inspect other faces. Arrow keys rotate the view when the cube is focused.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 5×5, yellow up and blue front. Apply the setup below from left to right. This creates the example’s starting position. Keep this separate from the ongoing scramble you are solving through the course.
R' F R F' R U' R'Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s color scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colors.
Compare the starting position and the result
Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.
Explain it to yourself
Check your understanding
Now use your own cube
Your turn
Choose one midge and find its two same-color wings. Join each wing, store the full three-piece group, and restore slices. Continue until eight groups are complete.
Open a 5×5 Digital Cube for practiceOpens in a new tab so you can keep this lesson beside your practice. Check the lesson goal yourself; the Digital Cube does not grade it.
If you get stuck
I counted twelve edges but some have mixed stickers.
Only count three-piece groups matching on both faces. A wing–midge pair still needs its third piece.
The correct wings surround a reversed midge.
That checkerboard is not complete. Use the next lesson’s slice–flip–slice-back approach; if only one edge remains, check the last-edge parity lesson.
Before moving on
Check your result
Your cube at this stage
Eight complete edge groups
Four completed groups are stored above and four below. The four vertical edge groups in the middle are still unpaired; all centers are restored.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Check every item when you can do it yourself.