JELLY ROLL QUILT PATTERN

Jelly roll?  Another technical quilting term!  these rather lovely collections of fabric are also known as noddles and strip rolls.  Jelly roll patterns can be simple or really complex – this is one of the simple jelly roll patterns!  It is an ideal beginner quilt project and makes a glorious blaze of colour.

They are rolled strips 2.1/2″ wide by 42″ long and they all come from the same range of which fabric manufacturer, so you know that all the colours and patterns will go together.  They usually provide about 3.1/2 yards of quilt fabric, but they do vary.

Fabric requirements

one jelly roll, 3/4 yard of fabric for the corners and infills, 3/4 yard for the border and about 2.3/4″ yards of backing fabric.  Wadding 62″ by 70″.  The quilt measures 58″ by 70″.

Making the jelly roll quilt blocks

 

With right sides together and using a 1/42 seam, sew two strips together along the lengths.  Then attach a third strip.  Continue until you have fourteen panels, each made up of three strips of fabric.

 

 

 

Press the seam allowance on these panels.  It makes life easier if you press all the seams in the same direction.  Cut across the panels at 6.1/2″ intervals to make squares.  You should get six squares from each panel and you will need eighty three squares altogether.

The infill and corner triangles for the jelly roll quilt

For the infill triangles at the end of each row you will need twelve 6.7/8″ squares cut along one diagonal.  For the corners you will need one 7.1/4″ square cut along both diagonals.

 

 

Sewing the jelly roll quilt blocks together

The rows of this jelly roll quilt are sewn together along the diagonal.  Take one of the corner triangles and place top left.  This is row one.  Row two consists of one stripey square and two infill triangles.  The long edge of the infill triangle faces outwards to make a straight edge going in each direction.  These will form the outer edge of the jelly roll quilt top.

Sew the two triangles and square together to make row two and then sew the corner triangle of row one across the top of the square.

 

 

Row three consists of three squares with an infill triangle at each end.  Make sure that the strips in the middle square face in the opposite direction from the square in row two above it, and that the stripes alternated direction in each square in the row.

Row four is made using five squares with an infill triangle at each end.

 

Before sewing the rows together, pin at each seam.  That way you are sure that your seam allowances go the right way and that the seam from each row match the seams in the row above.

To sew row three to row two, match the right hand square of row three with the infill triangle of row two above it.  The middle of the three squares will then be matched to the square of row two above it and the lefthand square of row will be matched with the lefthand infill triangle of row two above it.  That sounds more complicated than it actually is!

 

Row five is made with seven squares and an infill triangle at each end.

Row six uses nine squares with an infill triangle at each end.

Row seven uses eleven squares with an infill triangle at the left hand end but a corner triangle at the right hand end.

You have completed the top edge of the jelly roll quilt top and will now start to add to the right hand edge of the quilt top.

Row eight is made with eleven squares with an infill triangle at each end.

Row nine uses eleven squares with an infill triangle at the right hand end of the row but a corner triangle at the left hand end.  This means that the left hand side of the jelly roll quilt is now complete.

Row ten is made with nine squares and an infill triangle at each end.

Row eleven uses seven squares with an infill triangle at each end.

Row twelve is made with five squares and an infill triangle at each end.

Row thirteen uses three squares with an infill triangle at each end.

Row fourteen has just one square with an infill triangle at each end and row fifteen is the final corner triangle.

At this stage the jelly roll quilt measures about 50″ by 66″.  You could stop there, add wadding and backing, quilt it and bind it without a border.  You can see this in the right hand photo.

First border for the jelly roll quilt

But for this jelly roll quilt I wanted to make a order so I added a 2.1/2″ strip of light coloured fabric 50.1/2″ long to the top and bottom of the quilt.  Sew two strips 70.1/2″ long to the sides.  Do measure your own quilt before cutting the border strips.

Again at this stage you could finish off the quilt, but I decided that I wanted to stick with the length but make the jelly roll quilt wider.

 

Second border for the jelly roll quilt

 

From four of the unused strips of the jelly roll, cut two 6″ strips from each one and then cut them down the middle to make 1.1/4″ wide strips 6″ long, four in each colour.  Cut strips 3″ by 1.1/4″ from the light coloured border fabric.

 

 

Make two 1.1/4″ wide strips alternating the border fabric with the coloured fabric.  Sew one strip to each side of the quilt and then add another 2.1/2″ strip of border fabric to each side, so that the coloured strip is enclosed by light fabric.  By now the jelly quilt top measures about 74″ by 60″.

 

Finishing the jelly roll quilt

Press carefully.  It is worth taking the time now as it will give you a flatter quilt top.  For the backing fabric, cut two 62″ panels across the width of the fabric.  When sewn together down the 62″ edge, they would give you a panel measuring 62″ by 84″, so you need to cut 10″ from one side.  It is easier to cut this before you sew the two panels together, but I have explained it this way because it is very easy to cut the wrong edge – I know, because I have done it more than once!

Lay the backing fabric right side down, add the wadding and then the jelly roll quilt top.  Quilt and bind.

You might also be interested in the Moda jelly roll quilt  pattern.