Jelly Roll Quilt Tutorial

Jelly Roll Quilt - The Ribbon Retreat Blog

Hi everyone! I’m Terra from mama says sew, and I am here today to share this scrap quilt with you. It is a quick pieced quilt to put together, because it uses a jelly roll for the rectangles.

It is the perfect way to showcase all the fabrics of your favorite fabric line. I used Sunnyside by Kate Spain for Moda for this quilt, and the gorgeous prints really have me in the mood for summer now!

My favorite part of this quilt is the binding. I made my own bias tape by piecing together a charm pack from the same line. It took a lot longer than just using purchased bias tape, but I love how you get all the fabrics in the line going around the edge of the quilt too.

Want to make your own? First, gather your supplies! You will need:

1 Jelly Roll (make sure it is 2.5 inches wide)
2 1/4 yard fabric for backing
2 1/4 yard fabric for border
1 5in charm pack (or several fat quarters) for binding
batting for quilt center

Okay, keep in mind I am not an expert at quilting. If you want to learn more about quilting, there are lots of great websites that will help you improve your skills. That said, this is a simple quilt that is great even for the beginner quilter.

These instructions will give you a 42 inch by 76 inch quilt.

For this quilt, use 1/4 inch seam allowances. It is important that you measure and cut precisely, and use the correct seam allowance. If you’re off, it throws the whole quilt off. Also, make sure to press your seams open. Yes, all of them. I sometimes took the picture before pressing. Don’t use that as an excuse not to press!

Cutting

From your jelly roll, cut 165 strips that are 6.5 inches long. Since your jelly roll was already 2.5 inches wide, this will give you 165 rectangles that measure 2.5 by 6.5 inches.
From your border fabric, cut two pieces 5 inches by 30 inches, and two more pieces 6 inches by 76 inches.
Cut your backing piece and your batting to 42 inches by 76 inches (each piece should be the same size. If you prefer, you can wait until your top piece is done, and use that as a guide).

And now it’s time to sew!

First, make your quilt blocks. Sew three strips together along the long edge. Repeat until you have 55 blocks.

Sew your blocks together into rows of five blocks, alternating which direction the strips are going. You also need to alternate which way the starting block faces on each row. For example, in the first row below, the first block is horizontal, and in the second row, the first block is vertical. You should have 11 rows of five blocks each.

Sew each row together until you have this (only with more rows).

Now it’s time to add the border. First, sew on the top and bottom pieces (the 5 by 30 inch pieces) to the short ends of the quilt. Then sew the side pieces (the 6 by 76 inch pieces) to the sides of the quilt. This is your quilt top.

Make your quilt “sandwich”. Layer the top of the quilt, the batting, and the backing of the quilt. The quilt top and quilt backing should both be right sides facing out.

Pin it really well so that everything stays where you want it. Quilt your quilt however you’d like. I tried stippling for the first time, and it was actually pretty fun! Here’s the tutorial I used.

Now for the binding!

First, take one of your fabric charms and cut it in half diagonally from corner to corner.

Line the cut edge up with a straight line on your cutting mat and cut a 2 inch wide strip. Repeat for the other side.

You should have two pieces that are cut on the bias and look like this:

Line them up right sides together and sew together along the red line. Notice the corners extend a little past the edge of the fabric.

Repeat with the other fabric charms, joining your different pieces until you get a nice long strip. Then make it into double fold bias tape (I used this nifty little tool), like this:

Unfold your bias tape and match it right sides together with the back of your quilt. Make sure the raw edge of the bias tape is lined up with the raw edge of your quilt. Stitch the bias tape around the entire edge of the quilt along the first fold of the bias tape (red line). Then just flip the bias tape over to cover the raw edges and sew it to the right side of the quilt. I like to do it this way so that the top is nice and neat. I used this tutorial to help with the corners.

Enjoy your new quilt!

Hip, Hip, HOORAY for Jelly Rolls! I love pre-cuts and Jelly Rolls are some of my fav! Layer Cakes, Charm Packs and Candy Squares are some of the incredible pre-cuts you can find. The benefit of sewing with these wonderful time savers is that they are made of an entire fabric line and are all cut for you so it saves you ooooodles of time! The Ribbon Retreat also sells another entirely too cute pre-cut called Little Fatties, cutest name ever…right?!?, which is a bundle of Fat Quarters cut out of our gorgeous fabric lines. All of these pre-cuts are way too fun and a sewer’s best friend!

Thank you Terra for sharing this gorgeous and bright Jelly Roll quilt with us. Every time I glance at this quilt I get Summer fever bad! To see more of Terra’s fun and FABulous creations, visit her at mama says sew to find Clothing, Accessories, and Home Decor tutorials galore!

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