Quilt math · Calculator
Jelly roll quilts: how big a quilt one roll makes
What one jelly roll makes, how many rolls a bed quilt takes, and the jelly roll race, worked out to the strip.
The short answer
One jelly roll of 40 strips, 2½″ wide, makes a 48″ × 60″ quilt top of 6″ Rail Fence blocks, or about 64″ × 48⅞″ as a jelly roll race. A 60″ × 72″ throw takes 2 rolls; a queen, 3.
Work out yours
Free · no account1 jelly roll: 40 strips, 6 pieces of 6½″ from each
80 blocks of 6″
8 across × 10 down, before a border.
Every block is used.
A 4″ border all around, cut from yardage.
Quarter Inch’s “From a precut you have” shows the designs your jelly roll makes, with the background and border worked out.
See what it makesSame sums as the app: @quarterinch/cutting PRECUTS and yieldOf · 2½″ strips sew to 2″ · the biggest grid a row or two longer than wide
What’s in a jelly roll
A jelly roll is a roll of strips cut 2½″ wide across the width of the fabric, one or more of each print in a collection. “Jelly Roll” is Moda’s name for it; other companies sell the same strips under their own names. Most rolls have about 40 strips, but some have 42, and the strips can be 41″ to 42″ long depending on the fabric. Count yours, and type the count in the calculator.
Each strip sews to 2″ wide once it has a ¼″ seam on each side. The edges are usually pinked, cut with a zigzag: measure to the points, as the maker did.
What one jelly roll makes
It depends on the design, because every design wastes a little differently. Two simple ones, worked out to the strip:
| Rolls | Rail Fence, 6″ blocks | Rail Fence, 8″ blocks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 jelly roll | 48″ × 60″ (8 × 10) | 40″ × 56″ (5 × 7) |
| 2 jelly rolls | 72″ × 78″ (12 × 13) | 64″ × 80″ (8 × 10) |
| 3 jelly rolls | 90″ × 96″ (15 × 16) | 80″ × 96″ (10 × 12) |
| 4 jelly rolls | 102″ × 108″ (17 × 18) | 96″ × 104″ (12 × 13) |
- Rail Fence
- Log Cabin
Sizes are the quilt top with no border. A border from yardage takes a roll a long way: a 4″ border all around turns one roll’s 48″ × 60″ into 56″ × 68″.
How it’s worked out
| Strips in the roll | 40 × 2½″ |
|---|---|
| Three strips side by side sew to | 6″ |
| So cut each strip into lengths of (finished + ½″) | 6½″ |
| Lengths from one 42″ strip | 6 |
| Blocks: 40 × 6 ÷ 3 | 80 |
| The biggest grid, a row or two longer than wide | 8 × 10 |
| The quilt top | 48″ × 60″ |
With four strips to a block, each 8″, a strip gives only 4 lengths of 8½″, and the leftover end of each strip is wasted: one roll makes 40″ × 56″.
How many jelly rolls for a quilt
For a quilt of 6″ Rail Fence blocks, no border:
| Quilt | Blocks | Strips | Jelly rolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crib, 36″ × 48″ | 6 × 8 | 24 | 1 |
| Throw, 60″ × 72″ | 10 × 12 | 60 | 2 |
| Twin, 66″ × 90″ | 11 × 15 | 83 | 3 |
| Queen, 90″ × 96″ | 15 × 16 | 120 | 3 |
| King, 108″ × 108″ | 18 × 18 | 162 | 5 |
A border saves a roll. A queen of blocks alone takes 3 rolls. Two rolls make a 72″ × 78″ center; a 9″ border from yardage brings it to 90″ × 96″.
The jelly roll race
The quickest jelly roll quilt: sew every strip end to end with a diagonal seam, cut 18″ off the start, then fold the long strip in half and sew the two halves together along their length. Cut the fold, and repeat. After five rounds you have 32 strips side by side.
| 40 strips joined on the diagonal, less 18″ | 1564½″ |
|---|---|
| Five folds make rows of | 32 |
| Across: rows × 2″ | 64″ |
| Long: the strip shared by the rows, before trimming | 48⅞″ |
| The top, about | 64″ × 48⅞″ |
With strips 44″ long it comes to about 64″ × 51⅜″. Each fold seam shortens the rows a little too, so trim the ends straight and measure before you cut a border.
Jelly rolls in Quarter Inch
On New quilt, open More ways to start and choose From a precut you have. Pick a jelly roll and say how many you have, and What it makes shows Rail Fence and Log Cabin quilts drawn in colors like a pack’s, with the strips each uses and the background and border worked out. It’s the same engine as this page.
For the other strip precut, see honey buns and mini charms.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
How many strips are in a jelly roll?
Usually about 40, each 2½″ wide and the width of the fabric long. Some rolls have 42. The label says.
How big a quilt does one jelly roll make?
48″ × 60″ as 6″ Rail Fence blocks, or about 64″ × 48⅞″ as a jelly roll race, before borders.
How many jelly rolls for a queen quilt?
3 for a 90″ × 96″ queen of 6″ Rail Fence blocks with no border. Two rolls and a 9″ border from yardage make one too.
How many jelly rolls for a throw?
2 for a 60″ × 72″ throw of 6″ blocks: 60 strips.
Should I wash a jelly roll first?
Most quilters don’t: narrow strips fray in the wash. If you’re worried about color running, use a color catcher when you wash the finished quilt.
Sources
We checked every fact above against these pages on , and we update this guide when they change. Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@quarterinch.app.
- Moda pre-cut fabric: a complete guide The Sewing Studio
- What is a “Jelly Roll”? Quilted Twins
- Want to learn more about precuts? Nancy’s Notions