Jelly Roll Quilt Question
 

Okay .... I'm making my first Jelly Roll Quilt and have a couple of questions for those who have experience with this type of quilt:
1. Do you pre-wash your jelly rolls?
2. Do you trim off the salvaged and/or trim so all are the same size?
3. How close to the pinked edge do you sew? I'm using a 1/4" foot with guide and not sure if I should sew on the outside edge of the pinking edge or sorta squish the fabric under the guide and sew closer to the inside edge of the fabric.

Thanks in advance!

they should really all be the same size if cut correctly. good thing to check though.
no trimming should be necessary.
i place the cut edge of the pinking next to my 1/4 foot with no problem. no pushing toward or away from the foot edge!

I prewash everything. I use lingerie bags. I have about 1/2 dozen and put pre-cuts or small pieces into the lingerie bags. I saw a tip the other day on another board where a gal who uses a lot of pre-cuts has lingerie bags and she bastes 4-5 strips to the lingerie bag (interior) by turning the bag inside out. This keeps the strips together without getting tangled up in the wash. It only takes a few minutes to do compared to having to untangle any at all. That is where I would use old thread from estate sales. Then turns it back outside in, zips shut, into the washer and dryer. Takes care of any preshrinkage (I always wash in hot water) then throw in dryer.

I don't pre-wash strips (though I do pre-wash everything else) - I just make sure to use a few color catchers in the wash and that I've got good quilting coverage and so far (knock on wood) that hasn't bitten me in the rear as far as shrinkage or bleeding goes. Although I received a "no-name" batik jelly roll as a gift recently and I don't trust this fabric one bit; this one I probably WILL pre-wash (by hand, in the sink), because I think it's going to be a bleeder. Or else just use it in a quilt with only black fabric around it!

The only jelly roll/strips I've used in the past (safely got by w/o prewashing) were Hoffman batiks, Moda jelly rolls, Kuaffman Kona rolls, and Connecting Threads strip sets. All of those I trust not to shrink or bleed excessively. The Hoffman batiks bleed a little bit, but so far I only see it on my color catchers, not on the quilt.

Be careful to check the widths of you fabric strips because there have been posts on the inaccuracy of the jelly roll strips.

I. Don't prewash and I use the "high" peak as the edge of the fabric

I agree, width with some jelly rolls can be a problem, that should be checked at least around the center of the strip. I prewash in the kitchen sink with hot water, then put them on a couple of tea towels to dry. I don't wring them out. Keeps them flat and makes it easier to press them. I also use the high edge of the pinking to piece them.

I would not wash jelly rolls unless you have an allergy to the chemicals in the fabrics. (I do wash everything else.)

There are lots of patterns to make with jelly rolls, and for some of them the width of the strip really does matter. However, if you're making the 1600 quilt (jelly roll race), then you don't have to worry about the seam being measured from inside or outside of pinked edge, as long as you're consistent. Do cut off the selvages, but don't worry if the strips are not exactly the same length. They probably won't be.

No I rarely wash yardage and NEVER wash my precuts

Yes I do trim the selvages off but do not trim them to the same length. I also check the width of the pieces and the "straightness" of them - ie open the strip out and make sure that you do not have a V shape

If they are pinked, I check the width. Most of the ones that I have purchased that were pinked, were 2.5" wide including the pinked edge . so I would probably sew my seam 1/4" from the outside edge.