Add stunning checkered borders to the Jelly Roll Quilt with a Twist

Yesterday, we pieced the Jelly Roll Quilt with a Twist, and again today, we’ll use SCHMETZ #1709 Universal Needles Carded – 80/12 – 5 count with the beautiful Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Ivory.

Remember, on Tuesday, we had fun cutting these 410 (2½” x 2½”) squares?

Now it’s time to sew all the 2½” x 2½” squares together into sets of three. While sewing, arrange the fabrics so they create diagonal lines; this adds a nice movement to the design.

To make the checkered outer border, you’ll need to sew the following number of sets:

• Column 1: 27 sets
• Column 2: 28 sets
• Column 3: 27 sets
• Column 4: 26 sets
• Column 5: 26 sets

Once all the sets are sewn, you’ll have a few 2½” x 2½” squares left over. Set those aside—they might come in handy later if you need to make adjustments.

Press the seams in opposite directions on each set. This will make it easier to nest the seams when joining sets.

Note: From every set of squares, half of the seams should be pressed in one direction, while the other half should be pressed in the opposite direction.

For the bottom portion of the quilt, 31 sets will need to be sewn together. The photo below shows 10 sets sewn together.

With the seams pressed in opposite directions, nesting the rows becomes much easier and more precise, helping the corners align.

Once the 31 sets are sewn side by side, trip, attach it to the bottom edge of the quilt top to begin building the outer border.

Once the bottom checkered border is in place, it’s time to add the second border. Work on one side of the quilt at a time to keep things manageable.

For the side border, I started by laying out the sets to make sure the diagonal line effect continued smoothly from the bottom border. Once I was happy with the layout, I sewed the sets together.

36 sets are required to complete the second side of the quilt.

Repeat the previous step for the two remaining borders. You’ll need:

• 35 sets for the top border
• 40 sets for the left side

If everything has been sewn correctly, the checkered border will align beautifully, creating a continuous diagonal line effect all the way around the quilt.

But if things don’t quite match up—don’t worry! Just shift a few of the 2½” squares around in one of the corners. A small adjustment can easily restore the flow of the pattern.

We had a busy day, but using Gütermann Cotton 50wt Ivory Thread with a SCHMETZ 80/12 Universal Needle made sewing much easier, just what a project like this needs to make quilting enjoyable and hassle-free.

With the quilt top completed, the only things left are the quilting, the binding, and then starting to plan the next quilt! I’ll cover all that in tomorrow’s post. I’ll also be sharing a few other jelly roll quilts I’ve made in the past for a bit of extra inspiration.

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Smooth sewing and strip piecing with SCHMETZ Needles and Gütermann Thread