Good morning friends! Today I want to share about a couple of fun baby quilt gifts I stitched up this month. Just 1 jelly roll and a couple of yards of white gave me 2 nice sized quilts- each 51″ square! These are VERY quick, with minimal cutting, and are just perfect for a beginner, or any quilter who just wants to “get to the point” and stitch up some fast n’ easy gift or donation quilts.
OK! So let’s get down to brass tax! To make 2 of these quilts (or a larger throw size), you’ll need:
- 1 jelly roll consisting of 42 strips 2.5″ X width of fabric, and 2 5/8 yard of white (or whatever background solid you choose)
Now my jelly roll had exactly 42 strips in it, but I noticed that some of my other rolls had less- some only 40. Easy fix for this though- if the jelly roll you want to use has less than 42 strips, simply cut the remaining strips needed from matching yardage- it could be from the same line, or even a solid or another print that blends with the rest of the fabrics in your roll.
Next, stitch your strips together, lengthwise, into groups of 3s, and press. I pressed my seams facing outward, but it makes no difference which direction the seams are facing for this quilt (so to either side, or open, however you prefer). You should have 14 strip sets.
Now, trim off the selvage edges from one end of the strip set.
Cut the set into 6.5″ units (your set should be 6.5″ wide, so this will give you perfect squares). You can get 6 squares from each strip set.
Next, you’ll need to cut 14 strips from your solid yardage, 6.5″ X width of fabric. Sub-cut these strips into 81 squares 6.5″. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of all of the background squares (if your solid fabric doesn’t appear to have a right or wrong side, then either side will work. I can never tell with my solids!).
Now, it’s just a matter of giving these blocks the ol’ half square triangle treatment! Pair each strip block with a background block, right sides together, and with the drawn line facing up. Add a couple of pins along the drawn line. Now stitch a 1/4″ seam on both sides of the line, then cut the units in half along the drawn line using a rotary cutter (this is the part where I insert my handy dandy illustration, because I was on such a roll, I ended up getting these blocks made up in the evening when it was too dark to take a decent photo!).
**NOTE: Keep in mind that when you align your background square on top of your strip pieced square, your diagonal line could be facing one of two directions relative to the direction of the strips. I wanted a really scrappy, patchy looking quilt, so I went out of my way to keep the direction of the strips totally random when I pinned and stitched my blocks.
**TIP: Keep up a speedy pace by chain stitching these (ie, running them through your machine one after then next, without clipping the threads in between). Once you get through stitching the seams one one side of the line (on all of your pairs), don’t clip them apart yet- simply run them through the machine again for the second seam, and the pieces will practically feed themselves up to the needle!
Press the blocks open. You should have 162 of them (enough to make 2 baby quilts!)
Your blocks should measure 6 1/8″ at this point, but to be honest, if yours are a little smaller or a little bigger than this (perhaps due to your seam allowance being slightly larger or smaller than a true 1/4″), it doesn’t matter in the slightest for this quilt! As long as all of your block are the same size as one another, you’ve got the makings for a great looking quilt. I was happy with the size and squareness of my blocks, so I did not trim them down (as I sometimes do on more fussy designs), but feel free to trim them to 6″ if you like.
All that’s left to do is stitch the blocks together into rows, and then join the rows! My quilts both consist of 9 blocks X 9 blocks, with all of the triangles facing the same way (I love this clean, simplified look), BUT I had so much fun playing around with all of the other design possibilities for these patchy points! You could also forgo the second quilt and just make a single larger quilt, using the same 162 blocks in whatever dimensions you prefer.
Whatever design you choose, don’t forget to finish it off with a custom label!
XO
Beautiful Quilt! And I love your quilt label too!
I love your quilt label too. Where did you find it?
I found the fabric on Etsy.
Wonderful quilt and I have been wondering what to make with my jelly rolls that was different. Thanks for this Amy!
Gorgeous! Thanks for the tute, I will definitely be trying this one! :)
super cute! Thanks for sharing the pattern and all those great layout options.
what a great tutorial now I can use some of the jelly rolls I have in my stash
Thinks for an inspiring tutorial. I don’t NEED to make another project but yours are so pretty and they seem so efficient and easy that it wouldn’t be a laborious project at all! And your alternate layouts are really fun to look at.
I love the label/ gift tag – so cute. A tutorial @ how to make those would be interesting someday!
Thanks Amy for another practical, easy but OH SO PRETTY design.
Thanks for sharing will definitely add to my wanna do list!
Thanks for the tutorial! Great ideas! I love your label. What kind of pen do you use to write on the labels? The one I use seems to fade too much after washing. Thanks for any info you can provide!
That is so easy and you made my day when you showed the other layouts too. Great job.
I LOVE it!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas.
AWESOME!! You are amazing!
Thank you for the tutorial. The quilt is on my wish list to make. Love the fabric you used, can you tell us what it is?
I love this great idea! Sometimes I just want to dig into a jelly roll that I’ve been…ummm…savoring in my stash for way to long. This might just be the most fun way I’ve ever seen to use them!
Such a simple idea and oh so cute! I love the label.
Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing. Happy Holidays! ~Shari
Thanks for the great tutorial! I will definitely keep this post in my favorites for future use!
another lovely! by a sweetie! Yep.
Fantastic Tut! Thanks so much for sharing, Amy, you’re always so inspiring!
Lots of options!! Thank you!
Thanks for the tutorial, I love the quilt!
Love this quilt! Have a couple of jelly rolls that would be great for this quilt. Thanks for the tute!
What great quilts, Thanks for the tutorial with so lay out ideas.
That is so cute and adorable choices to make different quilts. Well I know what I’m going to work on after the holidays. I’m going to my room to pick which jelly roll to use. Yeah what fun! Ps. I like your label on the quilt!!
Thank you for the tutorial! I am in a slump at the moment, but this is exciting, just the right inspiration . Springtime… in my sewing room. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you and your adorable family. Blessings :)
Amy Girl, you have done it again! It is always a delight to see your designs. Thank you for sharing your fun, beautiful, and colorful quilt designs. We are so lucky to make these quilts by your very good tutorials. Thank you very much, dear lady! You are the best! Cheers to you and your family this Christmas season!
Hi Amy: Is there a way to attach a photo of the quilt top I just finished
Love this quilt an tutorial! I am a big fan of jelly rolls and always looking for new ways to use them!! Thank you for the inspiration!!
I have totally Pinned this one and added it to my to-do list – I love the different placement options – so many quilts from one simple technique – thanks tonnes for sharing your design with us. Have a wonderful Christmas with that adorable family of yours!
Your quilt is beautiful. I love your color choices. Thanks for the tutorial.
This is perfect! Thank you so much for the tutorial. I don’t even have any jelly rolls because I feel like the patterns for them often look, I don’t know, too simplistic? Like, it’s obvious a jelly roll was used? Maybe that doesn’t make any sense. Your pattern is awesome, it looks super-scrappy and I can’t believe how simple the piecing is. I’m definitely bookmarking this one for a quick quilt gift in the future, and now I just need a jelly roll or two. :)
Also, love the fabric and especially the backing. What is the backing fabric?
What a great pattern, Amy! Thank you for sharing!
Oh man, I love a jellyroll quilt and have an extra jellyroll just begging to be made. Thank you for sharing!
I will be using your pattern to make quilts for Hospice, using left over bindings or donated fabric. Thanks so much. Have a fantastic 2015!
This is so pretty! Thanks for sharing.
What a quick easy pattern for a Christmas gift had some jelly rolls and I am almost done:) Thank You for sharing!!
Super quilt pattern, and soooooo many variations. Can’t wait to try some of them!
Another great quilt idea, Amy! I have been wanting to use up some jelly rolls and to also make some baby quilts to have on hand. This is perfect! It will be my January project. I love your ideas!
Love this quilt. I think I am going to have my daughter make this quilt with me. She wants to learn how to make quilts. Perfect project for a beginner. Thank you so much.
All the ladies who work on the Hospice quilts are intrigued by your pattern and methods. Thanks for sharing your talent through this tutorial.
Do you have a PDF of these. I would be so grateful
I have one if the writer gives permission, I will send it to you. This is a procedure I wish many more tutorial generator would use, as we are not often at our computers when we sew.
Waiting for permission.
Sheron
I would love the PDF file also. Thanks in advance. Love this quilt, you are too kind to share it.
I would greatly appreciate the pdf file as well.
Thanks so much. This looks like such fun to make!
thanks for being so generous. Appreciate he free pattern. Love the colors.
Beautiful, I will make at least one of these. Love the directions. So easy to follow.
Definitely will try this, thank you
How do I become a member?
I stubbled on this site not sure how unless it came to me through e-mail from Pinterest or crafty designs. I have took a few classes of block of the month from where I’m from Hildebrand, NC. I never finished them all the way but I have helped in Linus Project. I would like to say thank you for posting these tutorials that seems I can follow the directions and tell what to do by looking at the pictures. I’m excited to try these projects if I could get to my machine away from all my junk. Thanks again put me on your e-mail list so I’ll be sure not to miss a thing. God bless you and your family.
So fresh and clean! What a great idea to mix up the prints too. I’ve really loved the HST since the first tutorial with BOM. This should be a treat to put together.
I have a lot of strips cut for a project, but no pattern. This will work well with my already cut fabric, which are 2.5 inch strips!!!
How can I print the PDG version?
I’d like to take it on a retreat with me
Thank-you for the great tutorial. It should be really useful!
Thank you so much for making a dreary morning light up with the excitement of making a new quilt. Love this happy pattern and colors.
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This is such a charming quilt, so perfect for those jelly rolls that sneak into your pile of ‘must haves’. Even if I’m later than many to find this, thanks for sharing this with us.
I know this is an old thread but I am new to quilting. I’d like to make this in a twin. Do I just use all the squares to make a twin?
This is a beautiful quilt, Amy, another way to make half-square-triangles. I also love the back to basics quilts you made for the twins, so cozy and sweet.
I have just begun quilting and sewing ive seen how your suppose to separate the colors is there a particular way to do this so you don’t have the same colors together or does it not matter for this one? also you just use a regular stich when sewing the 3 strips together how do they not come apart when you cut your triangles? any other tips would get great too. thanks!
I would love a pdf file if possible. I can’t wait to try this quilt pattern. Thank you!!
What a great stash buster quilt this would make! Thanks for sharing
This is such a gorgeous quilt! What a perfect baby gift. How did you do the quilting? Was it free motion of with a walking foot?
Also, how much yardage did you use for the backing? Thank you!!
Thanks for your tutorial, makes my life easier.🤔
Just plain fun! I have a shoebox full of 2.5″ strips, so this will be completely random!
Beautiful quilt and I love your choice of fabrics! By the way, it’s brass tacks, not tax… 😏
Hello, our quilt guild hopes to use your design for our mystery quilt.
Would you kindly reply whether we have your permission to do that. We certainly will credit your work
Thanks
Michele
HI Amy, We love this idea on how to use a jelly roll. We would like to use it for a mystery quilt in our quilt quild. We would use it for instruction and learning. We would not be making any money on it. Do we need your permission? If so can we use it? We would be rewriting some of the instructions so our beginners would understand what to do. Thank you for your consideration in this matter! Ronnie Baum Keuka Quilters Penn Yan, New York
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I’ve been sticki g up on nelly rolls just because I like them and I plan to make a few quilts with them. This pattern looks great! I can’t wait to begin.
I’ve been looking for a good jelly roll tutorial for my Maywood Studios Texture Illusions jelly roll. Happy I came upon your blog! Thanks!
Love this tutorial. I just used most of a jelly roll to make a generous size throw. Very easy to do and I’m loving the look. I have a few jelly rolls hanging out and being lazy, not to mention a lot of 2 1/2″ strips. With all the possible layouts, I can see some nice donation quilts coming up soon. Thanks so much!
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Thank you for this. I have a package of 40 strip of 2-1/2″ and didn’t know what to do with them. Guess I will just have to add a couple of more strips and I’m good to go.
I love your quilt top ideas for the jelly roll packs. If I wanted to make this for a king size bed what would my mesuremnts be? Thank you in advance!!
I got a jelly roll in the mail today and immediately started making this adorable quilt. Thank you for the great tutorial!!
I’m still newish to quilting, are you saying that I could follow your directions with the size and number of half square triangles and create the quilt in the lowest left corner with the white diamonds getting increasingly bigger? Thanks!
What a great quilt! I’m making it now, and I’ve discovered a little timesaver that other readers may like, too. Instead of cutting your three-strip panels into 6.5″ squares, leave them the width of the fabric (WOF) and cut (14) 6.5″ strips of your contrast solid fabric, also WOF. Then put one three-strip panel and one 6.5′ contrast solid together, right sides together. THEN, go ahead and cut the matched panels into 6.5″ squares. Now, they’re all set up for making your HSTs. ‘Can’t wait to finish this one!
Where did you get your quilt label?
Love the quilt! And instructions. One small change: it’s brass tacks; not brass tax. :)
I love this pattern! Is there a pdf for it?
I made the jelly roll quilt. But I think it does matter how you sew the backgrounds to your pieced squares; at least if you want to make the off center diamond option. My stripes would not line up perpendicularly, as shown in black and white mock up.
Can’t wait to try this versatile pattern. Thanks so much!
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This pattern looks easy enough for me. I have 2 babys of workers at my senior living, due in the next month, and this will allow me to gift them both. One is expecting a girl and one a boy so I will find a way to make them a bit different.