How do you handle jelly rolls, etc
 

Because of some health issues I have had to use some precuts.
-- When you get jelly rolls or honey buns, do you open them even if you aren't ready to use them or do you store them all wrapped up?
-- How do you store either the wrapped or unwrapped strips?
-- When you cut your own strips (DD can help me with cutting) do you straight cut the edges or use a pinking blade?
-- I have similar questions about the squares -- do you try to find containers the correct size and store them flat or ?????

Thanks much.

I wouldn't pink the edges on anything used for piecing and am annoyed when a jelly roll comes that way.

I seldom buy pre-cuts, but when I do I leave the jelly rolls rolled up until I'm ready to use them, and I just stack others on the open shelves in my quilting room.

I store mine wrapped up in a fabric drawer where my pre-cuts are. It is just easier to keep them all together that way. When I use a few of the strips I just roll it back up and keep it that way.

Are you kidding? I have to unwrap the whole thing and look at all the beautiful fabrics! Then reroll the jelly roll somehow. Just did 2 different jelly rolls. Will post pictures after I get the borders on. Boy were they an easy way to sew a quilt together.

I keep them on a precut's shelf in my sewing room. For me the joy of them is having an entire line at my disposal when I am making a quilt. If I separated them, I would be tempted to use only some and not all of them.

What I do:

1) leave jelly rolls rolled. It's easier to store.
2) You can store them "naked" or put them in a zip lock bag
3) cut my own - I use an accuquilt studio die to cut 2.5 inch strips no pinking. I got the accuquilt because of health issues - fibro, neuropathy, arthritis. It's pricey, but worth it to me,
4) squares - store as bought or cut, put in a zip lock bag if you think you need to. When I cut my own, I tie them together with a strip of selvage. I don't roll them, but you could.

Hope this is helpful!

I keep my jelly rolls rolled up in a drawer until I'm ready to use them. What I like about storing the jelly rolls rolled up is that it's easy to see the relative values of the individual strips that way without getting distracted by the patterns on the individual strips, helps me with my design process.

Fat quarters get folded to fit the drawer they go in and are stored on end with the fold side up so I can see immediately what I've got when I open the drawer without having to pull out stacks of fabric.

I store my other precuts (both store bought and ones I make from scraps) flat in a drawer. I store my homemade precuts and leftovers from store-bought packages of precuts by value, so I have stacks of lights, med. and darks in the various sizes that I like to use. It makes it quick and easy to pull together a scrappy quilt since they're stored by size and value.

All my "precuts" and fat quarters are stored in one small 4 drawer unit, that way I can keep the dust off and don't have to worry about fading from sunlight. I can pull out the individual drawers and take them right over to my sewing machine or design wall when I'm ready to play with them. :)

Rob
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I keep my jelly rolls wrapped up and on a shelf. Two wire baskets hold charm squares. I crocheted some square baskets the size of a folded FQ. The FQ's stand on end so I can see them. All the baskets share a shelf.

I use a scarf holder to keep my stips wrinkle free. They are inexpensive and the flocked covered ones keep the strips from falling out. One will hold a lot of jelly roll strips.

The ones I bought are round and cost a $1 at Fred's Discount store. Looks like a daisy. I've seen them rectangle and square with many more compartments. Mine are so full I think I may have to invest in heavy duty ones before the hanger fall out.

I pretty much store mine like Rob does.

LOL.....kid at Christmas, sewingitalltogether? LOL

Thanks. So far I have unrolled 2 trying to get them back into a roll was a challenge. Looking at storage on Amazon, I saw this long, narrow plastic box for 2.5" strips (it is the size of WOF folded). Has anyone tried them? I was thinking they might work for the ones I cut.

Tesspug, I wish I could crochet, but I am thinking that I could make a fabric box that is similar.

Cathvv -- I am saving my pennies for the electric Accuquilt -- maybe I will ask for it come Christmas.

I have some drawers in my closet that I think I will clean out and put the precuts in -- my organized self likes that. Our Dollar Tree has some plastic baskets -- maybe they will fit in the drawers to keep the charms organized.

Thanks for the ideas -- looking forward to hearing other ideas as well.

VERY annoying when they come pinked! Where is your measurement? Just inside the pinking? On the outside? Splitting the difference? I bought two of the Northcott precuts, and not only were they pinked, they weren't a consistent 2 1/2 inches. If I have to recut them, it doesn't save me any time.

I received this storage box as a gift. I cut all my own strips with my Accucut (straight not pinked edges). I can't make those cute rolls, so having the box let me lay the strips flat and keep them flat and ready to use. The box is pricey, however, and I'm not sure I'd buy it if I didn't get it as a gift. Before, I got it, I just loosely folded it in thirds and stored them in a plasic shoe box. If they were stored for a while, I had to re iron some of them.

I leave them packaged until I may use them.

When I cut my own strips I use my Accquilt and it cuts straight edges.

I love Iris scrap booking totes for quilting projects. Easy to see what is inside, stack beautifully and often on sale at Michaels. I sometimes will buy the jelly roll and charm pack and or layer cake and co-ordinating fabrics. I put the co-ordinates all in one tote. If I have a pattern in mind I will put it in there too.

Having said, I discovered that the small square containers for green salad mix from the grocery store are the perfect sixe for charm (5" squares), I put orphan ones in on, it will take me a long time to fill it up.

If I do not use all the strips in a jelly roll, they go into a bin, generally folded in 1/4 and stacked. If there are left over co-ordinates, they all go together.

I store the very few jelly rolls I have in a basket on display in my sewing room. I store my 2.5" and 2" squares in divided silverware trays from the thrift store. They fit perfectly in the sections and I can sort by color per section.

I bought one of those 10 drawer roller stands at JAF when it was on clearance and I keep all my other sized squares in there, one or two sizes per drawer. Being a scrappy quilter, I cut my scraps into the closest size square I can.

Same here. One thing I learned the hard way: always measure the precuts. They do not always measure true. Found that out in a woven pattern where I mixed precuts with home cuts. The precuts turned out to be oversized.

I like the Iris or Art Bin scrapbooking storage containers. See through, sturdy, stackable, very portable ( the Art Bin brand have nice handles), and they snap shut. I like the ones that are marketed for 12x12 scrapbook paper storage, because they're really 14" square so the hold a lot of whatever I have cut (strips, charms, candies) and I can keep an entire project together in one. I don't have many yet ( I've used other storage methods from shoeboxes to baskets, but when one of those spills, Look out! I nearly lose my Christianity.

No, I don't like pinked edges.

So far I've not bought pre-cuts, but if I do, I will have to open them immediately and pet them and drool. Then I would store them together with their label for reference in one of the Art Bins I mentioned .

I don't unwrap Jelly Rolls until I'm ready to use them. I store some of them in tall clear cannisters, in which I can stack 3 jelly rolls. Once they've been unwrapped I store them in Strip boxes that I bought from either Keepsake Quilting or Nancy's Notions. Can't remember which. I also have art bin boxes that have dividers that I store Charm Squares and Fat Quarters in. [ATTACH=CONFIG]557349[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]557353[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]557354[/ATTACH]
In December we will be going down to Florida for the winter. I take only precuts because in our little house down there I don't have a large table to lay out yardage for cutting. So I just grab these boxes, stack them in the trunk of the car and a box of notions and off we go.

zozee reminded me of the Art Bin containers. I do love them too, and I use them for squares 10" and over. I also use them for orphan blocks and sample blocks.
I forgot to mention that I keep FQs in CD storage racks that spin and hold lots of them. I have posted photos before in the organizing thread.

And, I agree, I do not like pinked edges either.

Well, I found out this week my 12 yr old mini me granddaughter loves jelly rolls & the jelly roll race quilts, my supply of jelly rolls is quickly disappearing so I don't have to worry about storing them-LOL
Maire

LOL -- good way to avoid storing them.

I have read some really great ideas -- now to put some of them to work. Thanks.

I buy to use immediately as I don't have a large stash of precuts. In fact I have none. I see a pattern which I like and uses precuts so buy them and use. They are not my favourite things.

In my quilting room where the LA set up my DH has made for me,

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using a 1914 Singer model 66 is,
he built two shelves about 6" wide and 3' long where I store my charm packs and jelly rolls.
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(I got carried away buying when I was working)

I really like the strip boxes although they're a bit pricey so I only have three. They're about 22 inches long so you still have to fold the strips in half, but that's ok. (Easier to store). You can get at least two 40 strip jelly rolls in each box, and the boxes have sliding tabs to keep the strips in place.

I agree with the measure your precuts. I had an older jelly roll I tried to mix with a new jelly roll. They were both Kaffe Fasset fabric. They were about 1/3 inch different in width. I found this our the hard way when I was trying to put things together. I had some ripping to do and I rearranged my planned design to save on unsewing.

Only used one jelly roll in my quilting life and that came in a kit with other fabrics. If I were to cut my own I would do straight cuts.

I store mine until I am ready to use them..They stay clean and are easy to store...

I've only had 3 jelly rolls in 4 years of quilting. I don't keep them very long. The last one I bought a couple of weeks ago and it's already sewn up into this:

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I have to unwrap and look at all the fabrics, but I only unwrap enough to see the different patterns. Then I wrap it back up and secure it with the ribbon that came on it originally or a strip of scrap fabric. I store them in a plastic tub.

Love your quilt! Did you just sew a 2 1/2" square to the end of each strip? Is this a jelly roll race quilt and the squares came out spaced randomly ordid you plan where you wanted the squares to end up and piece a strip at a time?