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Hello, jelly roll enthusiasts! This is week 1 of the Five Little Ghosts quilt-along.
You didn’t know about the quilt-along? Here’s the scoop ...
Five Little Ghosts appears in my book, Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts.
It’s a fast and easy sew. The quilt-along happens over multiple weeks, but you could completed the runner project in a weekend.
If you’d like to make something bigger, I designed a
throw-size quilt with the same block. The directions for supersizing the
Five Little Ghosts pattern are available free in my store (although you’ll need a copy of Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts whether you sew the runner or the throw).
No
registration is required to participate. Prizes (see bottom of this post) will be randomly awarded at the end of the quilt-along, on October 31. The only thing you need to do to enter is sew a single
bootiful ghost!
The Schedule
Fabric Pull (Week 0): Blog post and YouTube video
Cutting (Week 1): [you’re here!] and YouTube video
Sewing Ghost Blocks (Weeks 2 and 3): Blog post and YouTube video
Assembling the Top (Week 4): Oct. 10, 2025
Halloween Parade of Blocks and Tops: Oct. 17-Oct. 31, 2025
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s talk about cutting our projects ...
Sticky Lint Rollers
If you are opening a new jelly roll, I recommend you use a sticky lint roller to roll both sides of your jelly roll before unwinding the strips. Doing so cleans up a lot of the loose threads from the pinked edges. I keep my lint roller close at hand because little bits will continue to fall off, and I like to clean up my cutting mat and ironing board as I work on my project.
Directionality of the Jelly Roll Prints
You should read through the entire project before cutting anything. That read-through will show you that the ghosts are made in columns. In other words, your jelly roll strips will appear vertically in the finished block. If you are using prints with directionality, the design could appear on its side. If that would bug you, swap those strips out for different options now.
Starch
The other thing to think about is starch. In general, I do not starch my projects. If I am working with a lot of bias edges in the quilt top, however, I will starch everything—foreground and background fabrics—in advance of cutting anything. Also, if I am sewing with something other than quilting cotton—like a linen or chambray—I will starch my fabric.
What about starching regular quilting cotton? I did an experiment: I made two little ghost blocks, one with starched fabric and one with unstarched fabric. I realized that starching the fat quarters I was using for my Five Little Ghosts and Friends project caused shrinkage. I lost about a quarter-inch along the crossgrain, or weft, threads—also called the width of fabric. I didn’t experience any shrinkage along the length of fabric.
The other thing I noticed is that my snowballed corners came out nicer with the starched fabric. Sometimes my snowballed corners with the unstarched fabric were a little wonky—not unusable but not perfect, either. Perhaps that happened because I was sewing on the bias, or maybe I distorted the sewn pieces while pressing them. Even though the starched fabric was nicer to work with, I don’t think the benefits outweigh the time it takes to starch everything before sewing.
Cutting Your Project
Cutting the runner-size Five Little Ghosts project is pretty straightforward; just follow the instructions in the book. Cutting for the expansion pack is complicated somewhat by the fact that the entire width and length of a fat quarter is necessary. You'll need to measure your fat quarters first and cut with care, especially if you like to stack your fabric and cut through multiple layers at once. I recommend having an extra fat quarter or two on hand in case of a cutting error. (It happens to the best of us!)
Prizes
What’s a quilt-along without a little motivation to get things going? Everyone who completes at least one ghost block is eligible to enter giveaways for the following prizes.
1. $50 Gift Card to Camberville Threads (1 winner)
I love Camberville Thread’s carefully curated selection of fabric, notions, and EPP supplies. I have no doubt you will, too! One winner will receive a $50 gift card to the shop.
2. An ebook from C&T Publishing (2 winners)
C&T has released some super fun (and eagerly anticipated) new titles recently, including Rashida Coleman Hale’s Zakka Sewn and Lindlee Smith’s Lone Star Legacy Quilts. Two winners will pick the ebook they would like to receive.
3. Pattern bundle from Megan Collins Quilt Design, Down to the Letter Quilt Co., and From Bolt to Beauty (1 winner)
One winner can pick his or her choice of one pattern from three different designers: Megan Collins, Janie Brady, and Michelle Cain. It’s just what you need to get started with your next project!
Follow Me On ...
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The pageant rules are simple:
- Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
- Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
- Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.
