Jelly Roll or not??
 

I was just killing some time and figured I'd practice with a jelly roll I bought. Only thing is I bought it on line and it didn't come in a "roll" form. I think I only got half a roll!! But, I'm not sure since I've never done this before. Does anyone know how big your quilt top should be if you sew up a jelly roll?

I can certainly still work with what I made, but I'm just wondering if I bought what I thought I was buying. :)

It kind of depends on what pattern you pick and how many strips came in your jelly roll. Also, the more seams you have in your top, the smaller it will be. I made a zigzag quilt with 2 jelly rolls (40 strips of fabric in each roll) that measures 68" x 68". A typical jelly roll race quilt measures about 50" x 64". If you think you need more fabric, you can always expand and supplement with a neutral-colored jelly roll, or strips of complimentary fabric from your stash. :)

I won a "jelly roll" at a retreat, but it only had 22 strips in it. I managed to find coordinating fabrics. (after reading that most jelly rolls were 40+ strips I was surprised that mine wasn't called a mini roll or something)

I'm new to quilting.. could you explain what a jelly roll is used for?

A jelly roll is a bundle of precut 2.5" strips of fabric cut WOF. It normally is one or two strips from each fabric in a particular line. since the number of fabrics in a line can vary, the number of strips in the bundle can also vary. Usually it's between 20 & 42, so you need to be careful when you buy to understand how many strips are in the bundle. Most commercial patterns that you see are figuring on around 40, but the pattern should specify the number of strips, not just 'a jelly roll'

depends on how many strips were in your jelly roll- they vary- some contain 20 strips, some 40 or more- a jelly roll strip is 2 1/2" x width of fabric (generally about 42" long) so if you have 20 strips and you sew them together you will have a piece of pieced fabric that measures about 40" x 42" (or a bit less if you cut off the salvages on the ends of each strip) if you have a 40 strip jelly roll and sew them all together side by side it will measure about 80" x 42"...different collections have different amounts of fabrics - usually a jelly roll bundle will tell you how many strips are included....the only (common denomenator ) is the length.

Here's some good info from Jenny: http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/what-can-a-precut-make/

And some more inspiration: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...mg.GXwI6W61x-A

A few years ago, jelly rolls were mostly 40 strips. Now, some are 40 strips, but more are 20 strips. Price hasn't changed or gone down, though. I guess that's because the price of cotton went up so much.

Jelly roll quilts intrigue me - but I'm building my own jelly rolls. When I buy fabric I cut strips of 1 1/2", 2 1/2 " and 2 7/8". At least mine will have been prewashed. There are so many really nice patterns. I just want to do everything. Wonder if I will live long enough!!

Sounds like I bought a 20 piecer! :) Thought it was too good of a bargain when I bought it. ;)
Thank you all!!

For "half a roll" try this one.
http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/04/welcome-spring.html

14 2.5 strips= 1yd of fabric..........

Our Big Lot Stores here in Florida sells 20 strips jelly rolls for about $7.50 so I bought 2-3 rolls of each. 40 strips makes a nice lap-twin size. theres lots of utube free lessons on jelly rolls too. so check out your Big Lot Stores. Walmart here are also having a big inventory fabric clearance, great price, so checkout your Walmart too.

The big advantage of jelly rolls is the variety of colors! I do not mind cutting 1 1/2' strips but the thought of chosing 40 coordinating colors make my head hurt! I used a JR for Keepsake quilting and I know that I never could have found the variety of fabric /colors that came in it! also no duplicates!!! they seem expensive but in the long run is probably less expensive then buying 1/4yds of 40 fabrics when you olny need 2 1/2" strips.

Same here...I could live to be a 100 yrs and still not make everything I want too...sigh..

I also ordered some once and got a surprise. I received a "junior" jelly roll. When I re-checked my order online it did show the junior for what I was ordering and I just hadn't noticed it. It seems a regular roll is around 40 strips and a junior is around 20 strips.

Jelly rolls are usually 2.5 inch strips of assorted fabrics that have 40 strips of fabric. I have bought several jelly rolls that have repeats of some fabrics in them, I now ask if there are 40 different fabrics. I personally will not make any jelly roll race quilts as I have books that are just fabulous using jelly rolls with a background fabric. I especially like Kim Brackett. I figure 20 strips is a half jelly roll.

This has been a great discussion.
Sparkys Mom - Thanks for he link to the Moda jelly roll quilt. I really like it!
Alien quilter - Thanks for the great links you supplied to Missouri Quilt and the Google link.

I use the 20 strip jelly rolls for baby quilts. The 40 strip I use for adults. Works out great. I forgot to take a photo of the baby one I just made or I would post it. The niece loved it.