Smooth sewing and strip piecing with SCHMETZ Needles and Gütermann Thread

Yesterday’s post was all about cutting the fabrics using:

• OMNIGRIP Ruler – 8¹⁄₂″ x 24″ (21.6 x 61cm)
• OLFA 45mm RTY-2/DX/MAG Ergonomic Rotary Cutter – Magenta
• OLFA RM-MG – 24″ x 36″ Double Sided Rotary Mat

Today the sewing starts. To ensure a smooth process, we will use…SCHMETZ #1709 Universal Needles Carded – 80/12 – 5 count and Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Ivory.

Making a jelly roll quilt is easy. You’ll be sewing all the half strips (approximately 2½” x 20″) end to end to create one very long strip.

Lay out your fabric stacks side by side to keep them in order. My stacks were arranged like this:

• Black (with the small piece on top)
• Red
• Dog print
• Yellow
• Brown/Tan

Before you begin sewing, make sure to use a new SCHMETZ Universal 80/12 needle. This needle is ideal for quilting and works perfectly with 50wt Gütermann cotton thread. For this quilt, I chose an ivory-colored thread, which blends nicely with the fabrics.

Start sewing with the smallest piece—this helps offset the joins later. Sew it to a strip from the second fabric stack, then add a strip from the third stack, followed by the fourth, and then the fifth.

I began by sewing the small black piece to a red strip, then added a yellow strip, followed by a dog print, and finally a brown/tan strip. Then I repeated the sequence—black, red, yellow, dog print, brown/tan—until I had sewn all the strips together into one continuous, colorful strip.

Fold the strip in half lengthwise again, right sides together, and sew along the long edge. Once the seam is complete, press it flat so the strip lies nice and smooth.

Generally, at this point, we’d fold and sew the strip three more times to build the quilt top—but not this time. Instead, we’ll start cutting.

We need to cut eight sections that are 58½” long. Since that’s a pretty long measurement and my cutting table isn’t wide enough, I set up a cutting area on the floor.

The first step was to square off one end of the long strip to make sure all my cuts would be straight and accurate.

To make sure I had the correct strip lengths, I butted three rulers end to end to ensure accurate measurements. To keep them from shifting while I worked, I used my Oliso iron as a weight, placing it gently on the first ruler to hold everything in place.

Before we wrap up for the day, take the 8 – 58½” strip sections on top of each other, sewing them together along the long edges to form the quilt’s center.

After that, take the six strips that were cut for the inner border and sew them around the quilt’s center, starting with the sides and then adding the top and bottom borders.

We had lots to do today, but what made it all easier was using Gütermann Cotton 50wt Ivore Thread, paired with a SCHMETZ 80/12 Universal Needle. The combination gave smooth, reliable stitches all day long—just what you need for a project like this!

Tomorrow’s adventure will be adding the checkered border to the quilt. Join me!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: Cut perfect strips and squares with OLFA Cutters and Omnigrip Rulers