Please can I get some help
 

I am new to quilting and recently purchased a Bargello quilt pattern. In the instructions it says I need to cut 24 strips of 2 inch of each colour. I in error used a jelly roll - where my strips are 21/2 inch width - will this be a problem in my pattern or should I then cut off the 1/2 inch from each stip. I hate to do that as it will waste so much of my fabric. Thanks for any help - I will be so grateful.
:thumbup:

If you use the jellyroll, your quilt will be bigger. Since I never made a bargello, that's the only help I'm able to give you. No doubt someone will come up with an answer more useful than mine!

That should not be a problem. Your quilt will just be bigger.

Thanks for the replies - I can now start putting it together - Thanks again.

If you cut strips down you could do a mini scrappy table runner. If you cut all the rows. Ie right angles to stripes same with as pattern says your quilt will end up same width but longer due to jelly roll size.

You could add 1/2" to each row cutting which would make it bigger in both directions.

Hope this makes sense . Recap as jelly roll stripes 1/2" wider need to make each opposite cut also 1/2" wider to keep pattern as seen .
If you just join jelly roll then cut opposite stripes size in pattern the whole pattern will be wider than pattern in one direction and same size in the other.
If you cut stripes down to 2" and follow pattern cuts in opposite direction as pattern then you will finish at the size of the pattern.

I believe you will end up with a longer quilt. After you sew the strips together the next step will be cutting the specified width of each Bargello strip so the only thing you have changed is the length of each Bargello strip. If you had say for example 10 colours to sew together your strata which in your case is the 2 1/2 " strips sewn together, would measure 20 1/2" by width of fabric and the original pattern using 2" strips the strata would be 15 1/2" by width of fabric. Therefore your overall design will be elongated. If your making a lap quilt that is say 60 " long your quilt is now going to be approximately an additional 20" longer.

Thats what I thought and if that is the case that will be fine - Longer will be no problem. Thanks to you all for helping me - why I have to try something so difficult - is typical of me!!!

You can use your strips. The curve/design will be slightly different as well as overall bigger, but it is a free form style anyway and will work just fine! I love bargellos!

You are not alone there! My very 1st sewing project I got to pick for myself, I made a plaid wool skirt (had to match the plaid-NOT EASY) and a wool lined vest. I thought my teacher and my mom were going to strangle me! You will have fun and learn alot. This board is very helpful, so ask away if you get stuck.

Bargello is a bit of a difficult first project, but you have been given good advise....so just go for it.
You will have a wonderful quilt to show for it.

You will do fine with 2 1/2 strips instead of two inch. It will be larger and your pattern may be elongated.

I made my first Bargello last fall and got hooked. If you read the instructions carefully, you will do fine. You just need to be very organized so that you don't get your strips out of order as you sew.

Dina

I asked for advice from the quilters on this board when I first started my Bargello. Here is a link to that thread. It has some good information in it. If you search (top right hand of page, by the magnifying glass) "Making a Bargello" or something like that, you will find other helpful threads.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...t-t235168.html

Hope this helps. :)

Dina

personally i would cut them down to 2" you won't have any further problems if u do. Have done several bargello and they can be tricky. post when finished

I have done many Bargellos. I would trim them to the size that the pattern calls for. The pattern is going to change with the difference of the width of your strips. Your quilt is going to be .5" long times the number of strips in the Bargello. That can be a lot of extra length.

Isnt a problem yur quilt will just be bigger

I have made several bargellos and I used jelly rolls. It does make it longer, but if you buy a 2nd jelly roll of the same design, you can just add more to the width. I was also wondering why you chose to do a Bargello as a first project. They are not hard to do, but they can get discouraging when you have to start shifting the tubes and making your wavy design. I found it much easier to start on a basic project till I learned all the terminology. And if you are doing a bargello where all the seams match rather than staggered, it can get frustrating. Just make sure you press your seams as you go, much easier than waiting till the end.

The bargello pattern will change in appearance slightly. I think I would leave out some of the strips so that it wouldn't be too long for the width (or too wide for the length). 1/2 inch times each strip will add a lot.

Jian, I have to commend you on tackling a Bargello so early on in your quilting experience. We all look forward to your finished project!! Good luck and welcome to your new addiction!

New quilters often don't know what they don't know.

When my mom started quilting, I'd already been quilting for about 8 years and considered myself an advanced quilter. Mom got a copy of EQ7 for Christmas and happily designed a quilt for my nephew that had several complicated mariner's compass blocks - they were 8 inch blocks! I gently nudged her away from that design and towards a simpler design. She had no idea how difficult the piecing would be; she just knew she liked that circular design.

Having said that, I'm all for attempting patterns that are more difficult than your current skill set. That's how we learn and grow! :)

Lot's of truth in those statements!!

For a beginner, I think cutting the pieces to the sizes called for in the pattern would make it a lot easier to follow the rest of the directions.

Adapting is possible - just sort of tricky for a beginning beginner.

You could cut them down, but I'd just go with the results being a bigger quilt. As a new quilter I admire your decision to tackle a Bargello, but you'll be fine. Just take it slow and be sure to post the beautiful results.

I just don't understand why everyone thinks a bargello is so hard. Sew them together, cut them up and sew together again. Nothing complicated. Sew easy and sew beautiful.
When I was 16 years old, I saw a crocheted doily that I thought was just lovely. I had never crocheted before, but asked the owner if she had a pattern for it. She gave me the pattern. It said, "Not for beginners." Well I wanted to make that doily, so I did. The first 5 or 6 rounds were really tight; I could hardly get my hook into the stitches, but I carried on and things got better. I finished it and I still have it.
Where there is a will, there is a way.

As I said in my post a ways back, they are not hard at all, but require accuracy in cutting and seaming, something the novice quilter doesn't always consider. And not everyone is as adventurous as you or I may be. I, too, have done many projects not intended for a beginner, but the poster asked for help, so help she is getting. I applaud her for the courage to try something that may be beyond her ability. You never know what you miss unless you try.

I wish I had done a bargello when I was new and didn't know to be afraid, now I am afraid to try one! And I do love them!

Having done a couple of bargello's, I think you will be disappointed if you use a 2.5" width instead of 2--the pattern will look stretched! Depending on the size you are making, you could increase the "block" (cut for each different size) by 1/2" and the pattern would stay the same--this is one way to make a larger size quilt with the same pattern. I'm wondering about your jelly roll plan though as bargellos work because of color placement being gradiants and usually your strip sets requires one of each of 15-20 fabrics. And even then you may be unsewing some colors depending on curves/twists.

Bargellos are not really hard as long as you follow the grid of the pattern. It does require paying close attention to fabric placement, lots of "unsewing"and resewing (depends on how much the pattern twists or curves), careful pressing of ALL seams and being sure that you "nest" seams in each narrow row.
To keep track of the fabric placement on the grid I suggest you make a chart with each fabric marked (either # or letters ,whichever your pattern uses) and mark off each row as you add it (with a highlighter or cover with a note card,etc). When finished, the huge # of small rows in both direction makes the top act like an accordion and little hard to get borders on right. When I got to that point (on 2nd one--wrestled the first one!) I pinned the bargello top to the mattress and THEN measured it for borders, which allowed me to get correct measurement.

Anyone wanting a bargello that is free pattern and you make in 4 quarters and then combine (like a Trip Around the World quilt) check out Jinny Beyer's website for Navaho Sunrise or Sunset.

Good luck--they are stunning quilts that look much harder than they are--and no points!