What I am about to say is potentially controversial: National Sew a Jelly Roll Day isn’t just for precut lovers.
In case you aren’t familiar with this holiday, here’s the scoop: Several years ago, Moda declared the third Saturday of September as National Jelly Roll Day (also referred to as Operation Jelly Roll). This year, it will happen on September 19. At face value, this event is a brilliant scheme for the fabric company to sell more jelly rolls. For those of us who have stashed more jelly rolls than we’ll ever admit to, however, it’s an opportunity to prioritize a precut project or two and put our jelly rolls to good use.
Here’s the thing for those of you who like jelly roll patterns but don’t see yourself buying jelly rolls: You don’t need one to participate in National Sew a Jelly Roll Day. You can cut your own jelly roll from stash!
If this option intrigues you, here are some things to consider ...
The Simple Math of Cutting Jelly Roll Strips
A jelly roll strip is 2.5" by the width of fabric—so, 2.5" x 40" or so after you remove the selvages. A jelly roll contains 40 of those strips. If you’re someone who stashes half-yard or full-yard cuts, you will need to cut 40 strips 2.5" x the width of fabric to assemble your own jelly roll.
I stash more fat quarters than I do yardage, and fat quarters are about 18" x 20". If I cut 2 strips 2.5" x 20" from a fat quarter, I have the equivalent, inch for inch, of a jelly roll strip. Depending on the pattern at hand and how it cuts jelly roll strips, however, I may need a third cut from my fat quarters to substitute for full jelly roll strips. (If you can’t be bothered to review the math to see whether this is will apply to the pattern you are working with, start by cutting 2 strips from each fat quarter and keep the rest nearby in case you need additional strips 2.5" x 20".)
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| Pixelated Herringbone from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts |
How to Start Curating Your Jelly Roll
An easy place to start is with a few fabrics—in yardage or as fat quarters—from the same collection. This way, you’re starting with a few prints that were designed to coordinate. Then, build from there. Let that handful of fabrics dictate your palette, and add to it other prints, solids, and blenders. Pay attention to genre. In other words, if your original cuts have a juvenile feel to them, any additions should have the same sense of youthfulness. If your original cuts are pretty florals, search for other feminine prints that could work well with your original fabric pull.
Keep in mind, if you’re looking to curate a full 40-strip jelly roll, you don’t need to find 40 different coordinating strips. Including duplicates—even many of them—will almost always work well.
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| Myriad from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts |
A Quick, Modern Jelly Roll Pattern
An easy modern pattern to bust through a jelly roll you bought or curated yourself is my own Still Pretty Simple Jelly Roll Quilt. Plus, it’s one of my Almost Free for Charity patterns, which means I will donate part of the proceeds from each $3 pattern to an organization that supports the Down syndrome community. (I talk about my own kiddo with DS in this post.)
So, are you game to bust open a lovely roll of strips—or curate your own—and get going? Here are a few things to know about the Still Pretty Simple Jelly Roll Quilt:
* This pattern requires just 32 jelly roll strips and 1.75 yards of background fabric to make a 56.5" x 64.5" throw-size project.
* The 16 elongated log cabin blocks you’ll make can be configured in a bunch of different ways. I’ve arranged mine to be a large arrows, but other suggestions are illustrated here.
* For this particular pattern, you can use strips cut from fat quarters to sew this design. You’ll need 32 pairs of strips 2.5" x 20"—that is, 64 in total—to sew this pattern.
A Sale for National Sew a Jelly Roll Day
If you have multiple jelly rolls stashed away, I can relate to your plight. To help you get going on some precut-busting patterns, my best-selling jelly roll pattern and my jelly roll book are on sale through September 21.
Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt (PDF version)
This column-based pattern comes in five different sizes and features two different design options. It’s a great geometric quilt pattern to have at the ready and looks equally stunning in modern fabrics, juvenile prints, or more traditional designs. The PDF is usually $13. Through September 21, you can get it for $10. Get your copy here.
Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts
This 112-page book features 14 different jelly roll patterns, everything from quick runner projects to big bed-size quilts. The book was originally $27.99. Through September 21, you can get a signed copy for $22.50. Get your copy here.
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