Jelly Roll? What's That?
No, not this
(but these are in the oven as I write…)
Intrigued by those gorgeous rolls of fabric but not really sure what you’re supposed to do with them? Hint: despite their yummy appearance, they are not to be eaten! No, a jelly roll in the quilting world is a collection of 40 strips of co-ordinating fabric. Each strip measures 2-1/2” wide running the width of the fabric (so, roughly 45” long). Every single strip could be a different fabric, but more likely than not, there are four or five of each pattern in a roll.
Jelly rolls (or quilt strips) are a terrific starting point for the beginner quilter, but quilters of all skill levels love them because their project options are virtually endless. From a Jelly Roll Race quilt (seriously, you can have this quilt top completed in an afternoon) to more complex designs, the beauty of the jelly roll rests on three basic things:
Unrolling the jelly roll is like opening a Christmas gift from a dear friend - its contents are guaranteed to be a lovely surprise!
Because the strips are already precision cut, you are starting off on the right foot. There’s far less chance of making costly mistakes and wasting your gorgeous fabric.
And speaking of waste, a jelly roll is a super efficient way to use up the remnants of fabric from other sewing projects. I salvage whatever I can from my leftovers and keep them, all cut and ready to go, in my stash drawer. I organize by feature colour so that, when I want to play around with a new jelly roll for my store inventory, everything is at my fingertips. Some of the jelly rolls I make are intentional creations where I buy specific fabrics. But the really fun ones come from mixing and matching what I already have on hand.
The infamous stash drawer.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be working on a quilt top to show how a jelly roll can be used. I haven’t settled on a pattern yet, but I think I’ve pulled together my fabrics. What do you think?
Oops! There’s my oven timer! Stay tuned for updates and, in the meantime, I sure wish you were here to share in these beauties…