Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Jelly Roll Race Quilt

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Well I did it. I have been wanting to try the great Jelly Roll Race Quilt Challenge for a while.  I have searched many websites and the idea was more or less the same on all of them.


Open a jelly roll and start sewing.  




Sorry for this blurry picture.  I almost had forgotten to take a picture of the jelly roll and had started to untie it.  Then I had to take it quickly as I was determined to finish the quilt top by dinner time and it was already pushing 3pm.


This is a bright jelly roll.  Not really my style of fabric but it was cheap.....on clearance at Walmart for $4.00.  Perfect for trying this challenge without spending a lot of money in case I didn't like how it turned out.


Taking the jelly roll apart, I stacked the different fabrics in piles and arranged them in the order I found most appealing.




Now for those of you who have not heard of the 1600 Jelly Roll Quilt, you start sewing the jelly roll strips end to end in the order you placed them.  Once done, you will have a very long strip of fabric approximately 1600 inches long....a BIG pile like this!




Next cut 20 inches off of the beginning of the long strip of fabric.  It makes no difference which end.  This is an important step as it will stagger your seams.

Now find the two ends of the strip and put right sides together.  Start at one end and sew the whole length...when you get to the end, cut the loop.  You will now have a very long strip that is 2 jellyroll strips wide.  This step took me approximately 45 minutes!

A little side note....you can press the seams open but it isn't really necessary as they won't be in the way.


Now, find the two ends of the long strip again and put right sides together and begin sewing again.  Don't forget when you get to the end loop, cut it.  You will now have a strip that is a 4 jellyroll strips wide.  

Again, find the two ends of this long strip and put the right sides together and sew away!  Once you cut the loop at the end, you will have an 8 jellyroll strips wide strip.  


Next, join the two ends of the long strip, put right sides together, sew and cut the loop at the end.  Your strip will be 16 jellyroll strips wide.  


One more time people!  Find the two ends of the long strip, put right sides together, sew all the way down, cut the loop.  You will end up with a 32 jellyroll strips wide quilt top!


It worked!  I ended up with a quilt top approximately 50" x 64".  I am going to use this as the 'center' of my quilt.  I still wish to add a border but need to find the perfect matching fabric for that...or maybe I will go with a bright solid.  I haven't decided yet.


This challenge was fun and I will definitely make another one.  Dinner was about 30 minutes later than usual so not too bad.  It took a little over 2 and a half hours.  The task that took the most time was refilling the bobbin!  Next time I will make sure I have four filled bobbins ready to pop in and out.  


Sir Humphrey seems to like it too!  


There was a contest held a while back...sorry I don't have the link to share....it was just something I ran across while researching about the 1600 Jelly Roll Quilts and the quilt that was made the quickest was by a lady who finished hers in 35 minutes!  Now that machine must have been a humming!

There is another variation here if you would prefer to make a rag jelly roll quilt.  I like the looks of that one as well so will give it a try this winter with some cozy wintery fabric.  

Have you tried the Jelly Roll Quilt Challenge yet?  Such a fun and fast way to make a quilt for that special someone.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

19 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Love handmade quilts. Have never heard of a jelly roll quilt before. Great tutorial.

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    1. Thanks Kimmie! I hope you are having a great day.

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  2. Oh how cute! I've a jelly roll here and have wondered what to make...this is adorable! Do you want it to fit a twin bed? You could do 3 borders of different sizes to extended it. Oh my gosh, so cute! I've a solid striped qquilt to work on today..it must be a quilting fever!

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    1. Thanks Katie. Not planning on it fitting a twin size bed but I think that is what it will probably end up close to that size! LOL Great idea on the 3 borders. Will have to think about that. :o)

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  3. Interesting, cute, and quick. I'll have to try that sometime. Thanks for walking us through it.

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    1. Thanks Kristi, glad to hear you might try it.

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  4. Now I know what to do with those 5 jelly rolls stacked neatly on my shelf!

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    1. Ha, ha. Thought of you right away when I saw this idea. I KNEW you would try it! I want to see one when it is done!

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  5. You are awesome with the sewing machine girl!!! I bet that you are like me with the instant gratification stuff.
    I happen to have a pretty rainbow jelly roll... but I an no good at sewing. I will send it to you and you can make mine. :)

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    1. Ha, ha. Sure send it to me and I will send the final product but I KNOW you could do this Leslie!

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  6. Very cute! I made a pink one for granddaughter for Christmas - 2012. Easy peasy

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  7. Very nice fabric! What's it called?

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  8. I've never heard of that. That's amazing!
    And wow 35 minutes - that is seriously quick. Love the way your quilt turned out.

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  9. Hi, I found you thru the friday farmgirls bloghop...

    What an adorable quilt top! And for $5? Fabulous :-) Thanks for the tutorial!

    Blessings,
    Lori

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  10. I have this jelly roll too and made a couple of mug rugs out of them, one using the greens and yellows and the other using a combination of the pinks, oranges, etc. I just need to but the binding on and my granddaughter and I can have coffee (milk) and a muffin together at the breakfast bar! I have been told that they are also great for mouse pads.

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  11. This looks like fun, I bet my mamma in law would love this. (of course she have already done it) She is always ahead of me on such things. Great job! Thank you for sharing at Freedom Fridays!

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  12. Oh, that is so pretty. And, you make it look easy! If I can pull myself away from my crochet hook I will have to give it a try.

    Beautiful!

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  13. Wow! That fabric is so obnoxious that it's actually cool....if that makes sense.

    I never heard of or bought a jelly roll quilt pack. But when I sew, I do have a practice of cutting my scraps into strips and tossing them in a scrap basket. Theoretically, if you did this as you sew...and accumulate a good number of strips....you could use the jelly roll technique without buying an actual precut pack.

    Great idea! I'm going to save this idea for next time my scrap bin gets full!

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! I love reading all of them. Have a wonderful day.

Debbie

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