Help with nightmare sewing of jelly roll strips
 

Ok...I have spent more time on trying to sew jelly roll strips together today to make an easy lap quilt: however, I am ready to tear my hair out! When I sew the strips together on the diagonal I end up with one strip having a shorter edge than the other. Give me a block to piece and I am happy....what am I doing wrong? I have watch multiple You Tube videos that make it look so easy. ...but for me it's not.
thanks!

Okay!! I hope I can help you. When you sew the strips together, be sure your needle is in the center of the foot. Cross the strips into an L so that they are right side together and the selvages are extended beyond the edge of the other strip.
Make sure your needle goes in right where the strips cross. Sew across to the other side where the strips cross. Make sure you sew like you are cutting off the corner of the L. If you sew right from the corner -- you will not be happy. I place a strip of electrical tape down the front of my machine from the needle so that I can run the other side of the sewing along the tape to keep it in line. The most important is that the needle start where the strips meet on one side and end where the strips meet on the other side. I hope you can understand what I am explaining. Good luck!! Ann

I use the same method as krafty, use it for sewing binding together too. Made a photo of it for someone else, hope this helps

the best way I have to remember how to make the L is to remember these familiar sayings
Bottoms Up
Top Down
:) cause the other way sounds funny...

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Thank- you both! A picture is worth a thousand words. I am on my way to try this method out!

1) make sure that the 2 strips you are joining are the same width before you start. If you have a jelly roll, they may not all be the same!
2) Refer to the excellent photo in CarolynMT's post. Don't try to join the end, move in a half inch or so.
3) MARK the 45 degree line where you are going to sew.
4) Use the 1" marking lines on your cutting mat to make sure that when you lay the 2 strips together, they are exactly 90 degrees to each other.
5) PIN!
6) When you sew, the needle should enter exactly in the corner where the 2 strips meet and exit exactly in the opposite corner.

I have to look each time I sew strips together for the binding. I like the saying.

It works! Thank-you thank- you. I won't win any races but the strips are even!

The way I heard to remember not to sew the wrong way was to not sew into the crotch. Lol, I know it's a little crass, but it helps me remember. Hope this helps someone else too. Gina

One more thing is that any time you are going to stitch on a bias, start sewing onto a small scrap of fabric first. Then chain piece onto your real fabric. Your feed dogs sometimes start feeding everything through kind of wacky if you don't start your stitching on something else. All those pieces you trim off of another block that are at least an inch square can be used. You can keep using the same scrap over and over again. Just toss the scrap in the trash when you're done.

:D Crass...but memorable!