Newbies-Please don't make the same mistake.....
 

that I did. While making a stash, I purchased several jelly rolls because it was suggested that they are great for beginners and lots of patterns. This part is very true.Since I started with nothing, I decided to make use of my hobby lobby coupons and buy some jelly rolls from there to practice with. I had also purchased Moda, Robert Kaufmann and such (from LQS) so when I figured out what I was doing I had quality JR to use. Tonight I have been working on a jelly roll tutorial found on you tube. After I started sewing, I realized that not all the strips were 2 1/2" wide. Some were 2' a couple less. I was very upset and disappointed. But I'm going to take this as a challenge to see if I can still make this work.

I totally understand wanting to use those 40% and the rarely 50% off coupons but don't use them on "no name" pre cuts. If I can't figure out how to make this work, I will have lost money. I know things can get expensive but what I have learned so far is don't scrimp on fabric, thread and cutting items(rotary, scissors, ect).

I hope I can save somebody some money and frustration.

Not all is lost for you. If you can't make them work for the pattern you planned on, you can use them on a scrappy string quilt or two. Jenny at MSQC has many tuts on different patterns for different size strips. But yes, not all jelly rolls are the same size. You do need to measure them before buying.

Sort into 2" and 21/2" sets and look very carefully for them. If you have plenty of each no problems. You can cut the 21/2"down to 2" not what you wanted to hear.
I think I would begin with fat quarters . I have found that jelly rolls from good and poor manufacturers contain faults of all kinds. Personally not my favourite. But do a search for quiltville . Full of scrappy quilts which you could use your scrappy for.

I've seen a similar post where people have complained about pre-cuts not being uniform. We don't use a lot of pre-cuts in the UK. Partly lack of choice and mainly, I would say - cost. We pay around $50 for a Moda jelly roll and I've yet to meet a discount coupon!

there have been many discussions here about the lack of uniformity in precuts. it is not just the no-names that might not be evenly/correctly cut. so the caveat should be... measure all of them before purchase. if you are unhappy with your purchase, refer the problem to the place they were purchased or to the manufacturer. the other members have given good pattern advice if you choose to keep your purchase.