HELP! Jelly roll race quilt too square
 

Hi everyone. I am new here and just made my first jelly roll race quilt. I LOVE the color scheme, but mine turned out way too square for a lap quilt (in my opinion). What can I do? I thought of getting another pack of the Key Lime Jelly Roll material, but I am not sure the measurements for adding another 5 or 6 rows. I don't think if I just do the typical jelly roll race procedure but only using 6 rows that the measurements would work out???

Another option I thought of would be to add a piano border to the top and bottom only (not the sides). But not 100% sure I would like that.

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(I know my mitres go in opposite directions, but I think it adds a little visual interest.)

Maggie

Maybe find a fabric a shade lighter than the lightest blue or green and add a border, then bind in a darker shade. Piano keys may detract from the colour and movement you currently have going. Pretty top you have there!

When I made one, I thought it was too square too, I like 48 - 54 x 72 throws. But I "faked" it and added more rows to the ends. The way the colors blend, it was easy to do and not noticeable at all. With your blues and greens, it should be easy to blend.

It appears that the width of your quilt is about 50" wide - a full strip minus one diagonal square, plus some additional. There is no reason you couldn't buy more of the same fabric and add more to one end. You'd need 6-7 strips for each 5 that you want to add. To get the randomness, you'd want to start in a random location, cut the strips to the right width (with a little extra to allow for errors), and mix them up when sewing together.

So I should just maybe "fake" the jelly roll race part and randomly sew strips on the end? I think I could do that.

Should I see if I can get more of the same fabric or get coordinating fabric? I don't want it to look like it was just an add on

Maggie

I had the same concern that it just wasn't quite big enough. It wasn't too square - it just wasn't big enough. My throws are usually 50+' x 72". My jelly roll was too old and I couldn't find anything that I liked to go with it. So it ended up unfinished and sent to a group of folks that make donation quilts. I see what people do on here and that are so creative and I get envious that I don't think like them.

I ended up feeling the same way with my first "race" quilt. I sat on it for awhile, then ended up chopping it up on the bias in an irregular sort of way and making squares that I inset with solid sashing & borders. Ended up a totally different quilt but I liked it! (The seams deliberately don't line up within the squares, I cut them "off kilter" on purpose...not sure I'd do that part the same way again but I had fun with it at the time. This was one of my first quilts so I was just playing with no plans at that point.)

This isn't the best picture of it, but sort of gives you the idea of what I ended up with. The cornerstones and pieced border are coordinating fabrics I found and added in; not from the original race quilt. And look how ruffly all my borders and sashes are! I think I do better now, LOL.

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What if you cut what you have to a more rectangle size. Then add a dark thin border of a solid and then the piano key border. You could use the piece you cut off as part of that border. You could take out any parts that have the wedge seam or leave them in and put them in the rest of the border.

I know this will not solve your problem for this quilt, but I think that you must have taken much more than 1/4" seams when sewing the strips together. I counted 32 rows in the quilt, and that is what you should have when you are done. Each strip should finish at 2". 2" x 32 strips = 64". Double check your seams for the next one! :oP
Otherwise, I think the idea of adding more strips to the top and/or bottom would solve your problem. Hope you can find the same fabric or close. It's a very pretty combination.

Your quilt looks great!! I think you could just add more rows until you get it the size you want. I think you can make it look quite good!

Dina

With the strips, you probably don't have any duplicate fabrics in the quilt, so there's no reason they can't be coordinating. You can test out the size you need to add by safety pinnning a rectangle to the end of the quilt, and adjusting the size of that by folding the fabric.

I agree with just adding a few rows to the ends, and I wanted to tell you I love your fabric! The colors are gorgeous. AND I really love the "visual interest" of the multi-directional seams! I like that look much better than when the seams are all going in the same direction. Beautiful quilt!

Http://Jellyrollfabrics.net has many samples of finished jelly roll quilts to give you ideas. I think you could just add on to the ends. But you are right not your standard jelly roll procedure.

Yes, this is what you could do. But don't just add strips. First, start with the "end" of the strip, so you get a seam somewhere in that row. Then each row you add, be sure there is a diagonal seam somewhere in that strip. At least most of the strips should have a diagonal seam. With coordinating fabrics, you'd never know the difference. Add a few at the top and a few at the bottom, too.

maggiew your quilt is very pretty. Be sure to get the jelly roll from the same place if you add on to this. I agree with others and think you could just add on to this and also add some border. jellyrollfabric.net has a sale on at this time, in case you are using some of the same fabric line.. I just ordered some earlier this week to go with the rolls I ordered back in Sept. (I'm not affiliated with this company). I decide to et duplicates of what I ordered earlier so will have enough when I decide what I m going to make with them.

I made mine longer by just adding about 6 more rows. Since it was batik it was easy to "match" (actually "not match" since nothing else matched either). Just start like you did originally by cutting that first strip in two so that the color breaks in the row. But I found it easier to piece the long strip and then cut it to the length you need for each row and then sew it together row by row.

I agree with Tartan.
I have a friend who wanted her flag quilt just a little larger and she added piano keys to give a fringe effect, it came out really cute

I've never made a jelly roll race, but I really like yours!! The blues on one side and the green onteh other look so pretty!

I would just keep it simple and add some more strips till you got the length you wanted. I added a piano keyboard to this charity quilt because I didn't want it to be square.

Get another jelly roll and go around the exterior and around and around....

just lengthen top and bottom.

I cut mine about 1/3 of the way across the quilt and added a plain strip of fabric in a coordinating color to get it longer.

I liked it so much I did another one in baby size and appliqued flowers on the plain strip.

Yes. I did make my seams a little bigger than 1/4". I also sewed some of the seams apparently the wrong way because some of the mitres came up in opposite directions. I'm not really happy with it, but it was my first, so it is ok. I love the fabric so much that it kind of makes up for it.

I bought a crazy quilt pattern that I love and some expensive Downton Abbey Fabric. I read the directions and was a little confused, so I decided to do a test quilt out of some other material, just in case! I should have down that with my jelly roll race quilt before I used fabric I loved. But the directions looked so easy that I didn't think I could mess it! Guess I was wrong.

But really, I think I am going to try and just add some more strips on the end. I think I have figured out how many strips to use so I could do the jelly roll race method.

40" x 13 strips = 520"

520/52 width = 10 rows added


So, if I get 13 new strips of material, it should add 10 new rows to the bottom of my quilt. That would be about 15 more inches. So in total it would be 52" wide by 65" long.

Maggie

Determine the width of your finished strips, and add enough rows to reach the finished size you are looking for.

Slice it into 2.5 strips and sew them back together reversing every other one. If you do this, please post a picture.

I am so glad you have a plan to get the quilt the way you want!! I agree that it will work and will look great. Your fabric is beautiful, and the final quilt will be too. You have to be proud of it!!

Dina