Jelly Roll Question
 

There were some really good comments on the "Perfect Jelly Roll" thread (http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...l-t192100.html) about how hard it was to see what's actually in the jelly roll. And while if you're shopping in person, you can sort of peek to see what fabrics are in there, short of unpackaging or unrolling it, you still don't really have a good idea of what you're working with.

And if you're buying online, it's probably even harder, because you can't "peek".

Here are three pictures of "jelly roll"/ strip bundles. The pictures are all from the manufacturers' websites (Moda, Robert Kaufman, and Timeless Treasures). You really can't see very well what is in there.

The fourth picture is a stack of bolts destined to be cut into strips.

My question is whether seeing a picture of the bolts would be helpful. The width of the bolts (when viewed on edge) is roughly the size of the strips, and if you were shopping in person chances are that you also would be stacking up the bolts to see how well the fabrics play with each other.

What do you think?

Showing the stack of bolts with the Jelly Roll is a great idea. Gives a much better idea of what you are getting. I would buy a Jelly Roll of that stack.

Yes, Yes! Bolts view is good.:)

The bolts view is best. BTW, I'd love to have a jelly roll with those fabrics.

Seeing the stacked bolts gives a much better view than the 1/4" x 2-1/2" shown in the other pictures. And especially better than just the edge of the fabrics plus the outer strip shown in the top picture! Plus that is actually 1/2 the WOF so it is truly a clear picture of what you would be getting.

Also a pinked edge while at least theoretically reducing fraying, does not give a straight edge for matching up to the next piece. Definitely like the straight cut better too.

And yes that would be a great selection for a jelly roll!!

I think that is tremendously helpful and a great idea!

Ever time I bought a jelly roll, I was able to see a grid of the individual fabrics. They are small squares but they give a good idea of how the fabrics work together. I do like how it looks on these particular fabrics. Not sure how the stack of fabrics would look when you make the picture smaller. Not sure how larger patterns would show in a narrow stripe?

I would definitely prefer a picture of the bolts, however I will also buy using the 3rd image. I do have one of these, but can't make myself buy a "roll" because I don't know what's in it.

Larger patterns won't show well in a narrow stripe, but then, at 2.5" the width of the finished strip (taking seams into account) will be about as much as what you see when looking at the edge of a bolt. A full bolt is about 2" across when squeezed by the bolts on either side of it.