Jelly Rolls - Pros and Cons
I Recently bought my first Jelly Roll. Whilst using it it came to me that there are definitely some pros and cons to Jelly Rolls. These are mine.
Pros
Different, yet coordinated fabrics.
There are many patterns available for using the Jelly Roll.
As the fabric is already cut to 2 1/2 inches it means you can start sewing almost straight away.
Can be used with matching Layer Cakes or Charm Packs.
You do not need to calculate fabric requirements.
Cons
Can be more expensive than buying by the yard (a jelly roll is about 2.75 yards and at about £30 makes it about £11 a yard.
You often need to buy other fabrics to go with the Jelly Roll (backgrounds, borders and contrasts).
There were repeats in some of the fabric strips which meant that I took some out of the selection.
The edges of the strips were crinkle cut and let a lot of mess on my cutting board (and my legs!)
The finished result was very pleasing. I made a table runner. However when you add the cost of the Jelly Roll, the wadding and the backing fabric it is a pretty expensive table runner.
Other pre-cut fabrics available
Jelly Roll - 40 2 1/2 x 42 inch strips
Fat Quarters - 18 x 22 inches
Charm Packs - 40 5 inch squares
Layer cake - 40 10 inch squares