Originally Posted by Mollie Cornwell
Thanks, Omak
I am trying to get the hang of this jelly roll and all the lingo, (cut on the straight or diagonal?) and what you just posted has helped the most. I want to try one of these but I want to get it right, also. (the firse time)
A diagonal cut goes at a 45 degree angle from one edge of a strip to the other edge. It is used primarily (by myself) when joining binding strips because it allows the joints to be spread out, rather than right on top of each other when putting the binding on a quilt.
The straight cut is a 90 degree cut across the strip from edge to edge. It takes less fabric to make the joins when done this way, diagonal cuts not being an issue in this quilt/technique.
a straight cut is less work and more efficient use of fabric while doing quilt piecing.
If you just follow the original instructions, you will find this quilt almost mindless (unless you celebrate all the different colors and textures from the strips as they meet) ... if you are really concerned about the process, rather than jumping to a king sized quilt, stay with the first version. A 50" x 64" quilt + a three inch border all the way around is a very handy size for a lap robe - - quite generous for a baby quilt.
There is a lot of room to experiment with different sizes of this quilt if you don't mind spend a little time doing some math.
I don't remember, but it seems to me that someone even did the formula for a quilt made with 20 strips cut at 1.5" wide ...
I think it only took me about three hours to do my first one following the original posting. You will do fine! <wave>