Jelly Roll Challenge: Project #1

Project #1 of the my jelly roll challenge

is a simple drawstring gift bag.

Supplies Needed:

• (6) Coordinating jelly roll strips or (6) 2 1/2" x Width of Fabric (WOF) strips. (I used 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain for Moda)
• (1) 12" strip of matching ribbon

Bag Construction:

Step 1:

• Choose 6 coordinating jelly roll strips

Step 2:

• With Right Sides Together (RST), sew (2) jelly roll strips together.
• Repeat until you have (3) sets of jelly roll strips sewn together.
• Strip set should measure 4 1/2" X WOF

Step 3:

• Press the  4 1/2" X WOF strip sets open



Step 4:

• With RST, sew (2) 4 1/2" X WOF strip sets together.

• Note: Join the strip sets in opposite directions to prevent the strips from becoming "wonky". I like to use the tail ends of the thread as my guide. I simply match a long tail end to a short tail end. This way I know that I will be sewing the strip sets together in opposite directions.

Step 5:

• Repeat Step 4 until you have all (3) jelly roll strip sets joined together.
• The completed jelly roll strip set should measure 12 1/2" X WOF

Step 6:

• Cut the jelly roll strip set into (3) 12 1/2" X 12 1/2" blocks.
• Save the remaining piece for a future project.

Step 7:

•  Fold the top jelly roll strip in half. Press to set the fold in place.

Step 8:

• Pin and sew the strip in place to create a tube for the drawstring ribbon.

• Note: When sewing, I used the neighboring jelly roll strip as my guide. This helped to create a straight line.

Step 9:

• Fold the 12 1/2" X 12 1/2" block in half.
• Pin along the two sides.
• Sew 1/4" away from the edge of the bottom of the bag and the long side of the bag.
• Be sure to stop sewing just before the seam of the that tube you created for the drawstring ribbon.

Step 10:

• Clip the corner edges of the bottom of the bag.

Step 11:

• Turn the bag inside out.

Step 12:

• Press the bag to give it a crisp, fresh look.

Step 13:

• Attach a safety pin to the end of the drawstring ribbon.
• Using the safety pin, thread the ribbon through the tube that you created.

• Pull the drawstring ribbon to close the bag.

Voila! You are now done creating your drawstring gift bag. All you have to do is add the goodies!

Note: (6) jelly roll strips will yield 3 drawstring gift bags.

Until Next Time ... Happy Quilting!