Jelly Roll fabric
 

Hi, I have never been game to sew a jelly roll quilt, but would love to try. My question is do I have to purchase jelly roll pre cut fabric, or is it possible to use up all my bits as long as I have cut them to the correct size. Any help would be appreciated.

Idle Di

I bought a jelly roll last week where the strips are 4 1/2 inches wide. Although typically jelly rolls are 2 1/2" wide, they can be any width. I've made my own also when it suits me. It's your quilt, make it anyway you like. I look forward to see it as you progress.

Cut your own and put it up on a board to see how the pieces go together. You can use the 45 degree cut on the straight cut at the sides. Have fun with it.

I make quilts from strips I cut myself. You can use them for fence rail,basket weave, paino key borders. Many ways to use strips whatever width.

I think the reason to use (or buy) a jelly roll is to have one or two strips of a designer's new line of fabric without having to buy yardage of it. If you don't care that they won't coordinate then simply make your own. I have plenty of times for scrappy JRQs

I would cut my own, I don't buy pre-cuts.

Oh thank you everyone for the help. I will have a go, as I have found that I have a lot of bits, that are too small for dresses, but too large to throw out.

Idle Di

MaryMo, where did you find a jellyroll that is 4/12 inches wide?

The secret to the jelly roll quilt is to have as many different fabrics as possible. The precuts usually have 2 or 3 of each color in the line. The main complaint that our group had was the repeat colors sometimes ended up next to each other in the next row. You can't really audition this quilt, as you sew til the end, then cut apart and sew to the end again! So if you have 40 plus strips of ALL DIFFERENT prints/colors, that won't be an issue. I have seen them done with bias cut ends and I like that, but also a 2 1/2" square of a consistent color (black or white, etc.) between each strip is stunning! It requires a bit of prep work to make that happen, but most "races" start after all the strips are sewn together anyway. Good luck, they are fun and really beautiful when finished!

I agree with Linda, the jelly rolls have too many of the same. I love the look of shorter and longer pieces.
Here is one that I made, using up my scraps. (just disregard the stars :o) )