Simple Jelly Roll Race Quilt Tutorial

Learn how to make a simple jelly roll quilt that’s perfect for showing off your favorite fabric collection without spending weeks cutting fabric. Since the strips are already cut for you, you can get right to the fun part—sewing.

Jelly roll quilts are one of my favorite projects when I want something relaxing to work on. The coordinating fabrics do most of the work, and before long you’ll have a quilt top that looks like you spent a lot more time planning it than you actually did.

Whether this is your first jelly roll quilt or you’re looking for another quick project, this pattern is easy to follow and comes together one strip at a time. Grab a jelly roll, clear off your sewing table, and let’s get started.

Why You’ll Love This Quilt

This pattern is a great choice because it:

• Uses one jelly roll (2½” precut strips)
• Requires very little fabric cutting
• Is beginner friendly
• Comes together quickly
• Shows off coordinating fabric collections beautifully

It’s also a wonderful pattern when you want to enjoy sewing without tackling a complicated design.

The strips were dug out and separated into 3 different piles– each containing 42 — 2 1/2″ strips which is just what a jelly roll contains.

The variety of fabric was crazy. The quilts ended up so scrappy and wonderful! It was a great way to get the fabric used and for us to work on something together.

This tutorial is based on Melinda of Quirky Granola Girl and her Four Corners Jelly Roll Quilt Tutorial.

What Is a Jelly Roll?

A jelly roll is a bundle of precut fabric strips that measure 2½ inches wide. Most contain around 40 strips from the same fabric collection, giving you a variety of coordinating prints without having to choose fabrics yourself.

If you don’t have a jelly roll, you can always cut your own 2½-inch strips from fabric in your stash.

Materials Needed:

1 Jelly Roll or a pile of scrap strips from your stash

square of fabric –size is determined later on but is around 7-8″ square

Quick how to for the Jelly Roll Race Quilt —

1)  Sew your jelly roll strips side by side until you are out of strips

2)  Fold the end of the strip to the beginning and line up the never ending side and sew again….when you get to the end and it is a loop, just cut it with scissors.

3)  Fold the end of the strip to the beginning and line up the never ending side and sew again…when you get to the end and it is a loop, just cut it with scissors

You can see the trend here….repeat the process until you have 16 strips going across.

It does take a bit of time at the beginning, but then it catches up speed and you are cruising to the finish!

Some of the fabrics will find each other, don’t worry about it. It’s a scrappy fun quilt and it will be just fine.

4)  After you have your big wide strip of strips, you will need to trim the ends so they are straight

5)  Fold the long piece in half and cut along the fold so there is two large pieces

6)  Fold the two semi large pieces in half and cut along the fold

7)  If you need to, you can measure these pieces and then trim if needed. With the three quilts we were making there wasn’t that much difference in the sizes of the four big blocks, so we didn’t bother. Pinning will help ease everything to fit anyways.

8)  You will now need to cut one square for the center of the quilt. Head on over to the her jelly roll quilt -four corners tutorial to find out what size of square you need– this is based on the sizes of your 4 large pieces. You will need to make sure you are using the right sized square or things will get off and you will not be happy. She has done all the math for you, so really don’t skip this step.

9)  Sew your square to one end of the large piece. You will be making a Y seam, so be aware that is will look funky now

10)  Lay your next piece along the long side of large piece with the square sewn to it. Sew along this long side

11)  Repeat sewing the next large piece to the long edge until you get to the last seam, where you will play with the first seam and pin in place the large piece.

Picking Fabrics

One of the best parts of this quilt is how flexible it is.

You can use:

• A coordinated jelly roll collection
• Scrappy 2½-inch strips
• Holiday fabrics
• Baby prints
• Bright rainbow colors
• Neutral farmhouse fabrics

Every combination creates a completely different look.

Tips Before You Start

A few simple tips will help your quilt come together smoothly:

• Sew with an accurate ¼” seam allowance.
• Press as you sew to keep the strips flat.
• Keep your strips in order if you’re using a coordinated collection.
• Square up the quilt top before adding borders.

These little steps make assembling the quilt much easier.

Finishing the Quilt

1. Cut or piece together your batting and a piece of quilt backing fabric.

2. Make a quilt sandwich with the backing, batting, and top.

3. Baste together with fusible batting, pins or basting spray.

3. Quilt as desired. A few of my favorite ways to quilt are Straight line quilting or cross hatch quilting. Use a walking foot on your sewing machine. Trim away the extra batting and backing.

4. Cut strips of fabric for the binding. Cut 2 1/2” tall (sometimes I use 2 1/4″) binding strips. Sew the binding strips together and bind using your favorite technique. 

Jelly roll quilts are a wonderful reminder that quilting doesn’t have to be complicated to be beautiful. With a bundle of precut strips and a little sewing time, you can create a quilt that’s colorful, cozy, and uniquely yours.

More Fun Quilt Patterns

Heart Baby Quilt

This heart quilt uses a charm pack with a background. It’s a great weekend quilt and perfect for giving to babies.

Simple Layer Cake Quilt

This simple four patch on point quilt block uses a layer cake. It’s so simple – you’ll finish this weekend.

Simple Nine Patch Quilt

Keeping a quilt simple- this nine patch quilt is great for gathering your scraps and mindless sewing.