Jelly Roll Race in Pajamas

Have you ever tried making a jelly roll race quilt? They are fast, fun, and always create lots of anticipation and excitement because you are never quite sure how it will look when finished. 

What was left over

I recently found a bundle of fabrics that I had saved many years ago after my dad passed away in 1990. I gathered up his old pajamas and cut them up for a future quilt. Yes, Bonnie, you were not the first to recycle and repurpose old clothes. :-) 

I began by pressing these "parts" and then I cut them into 3.5" strips. Hmmm, perhaps I will sew together diagonally into rectangles and frame with a solid fabric, I thought. No, I want to make this quilt quickly and send it off to my sister who recently lost her husband. I thought this would make a nice hug for her, and I am sure she will recognize some of these fabrics as she was Dad's caregiver for a while. 

So I just began sewing into one long string. Some were sewn on the diagonal, and some were just butted together. Lots and lots of sewing and guessing about when there was "enough". This is where once you begin, it is hard to stop until finished because you just can't wait to see it finished into a top!

Mine finished at 46" x 61". A perfect size to cuddle under. 

But these fabrics are sooooo thin! I found batting pieces that I zigzagged together to make a "frankenbatt". And another find was some yardage in complimentary blues and browns. It is now a sandwich ready to quilt! I mention the thinness of these pajama fabrics (which are also poly-blends) because the batting I found is working nicely together with those thin fabrics and is making an unbelievably soft quilt! I think the batting is from leftover Soft & Toasty by Fairfield. It is a natural cotton, and soft because it doesn't have a scrim. I will have to quilt closely though. 2" to 4" quilting distance is recommended. 

So stay tuned for the finish. I have been quilting on it during the evenings and expect its completion soon. So anxious to get this in the mail headed for Florida!

So you want to try this technique yourself? Here is a link for instructions from Wee Folk Art. You can find lots of links to YouTube videos also with a simple search using your favorite search engine.  

This is my third "jelly roll race" quilt sewing strips together. I have not used a jelly roll but sorted strips from my stash. One I dearly love. It is made using low volume fabrics (simple backgrounds) and a few red and yellowish squares randomly. It was hand-quilted, and is so soft and cuddly. Maybe that is the key component - hand-quilting. Your thoughts?

Another jelly roll race project I worked on was one that I used brown and blue strips. Once it was sewn together, I was not that happy with the ending result. It hung out for a while in the closet until inspiration hit.

Then one day, I bravely cut into it and added these "positive" marks in a row vertically. I think I like it better now, even though it is still hanging out in the closet to be quilted. (grin)

So while I am see-sawing my needle through the pajama quilt in the evenings, I am also working on my "siggie" blocks getting them made into a top. You can see them peeking out behind the pajama top pictured.

I am very anxious to see this one finished to the flimsy stage so I can send it off to the long-arm quilter. Not too sure she will accept it though as it has embellishments of buttons, etc.

If not, I will be on the floor again, stretching and pinning to prepare for hand quilting. Sheesh, it is getting harder to do down there. 

I once saw a demo where you can load the backing, then the batting, and finally the top onto the rails of the quilting frame. Anyone have any luck trying it this way? I imagine you must carefully rolls these together so there are no puckers. Perhaps YouTube has a video....

Happy Summer stitching!