Cotton Batting Strips

Before you sew a single stitch, lay out all 42 strips and decide the order they'll appear in your rug. Mix prints and solids, alternate light and dark, or group your favorites together — there's no wrong way to do it. The first strip you sew becomes the center of your rug; the last one becomes the outer edge.

Sew your strips end-to-end using a 45° diagonal seam for a smooth, professional-looking join. Place the first strip horizontally, printed side up, then place the second strip on top vertically, printed side down, forming an "L". Sew a diagonal line from corner to corner where the strips overlap, and keep adding strips the same way without cutting the thread. Once all 42 strips are joined, trim the seam allowances to 1/4″ and press all seams open.

Turn your joined strips into a clean, finished tube using the fabric tube maker. Feed the fabric strip through the tool with the batting strip centered on the wrong side of the fabric — it folds both edges of the fabric over the batting, enclosing it inside. Sew a straight stitch down the center of the tube to lock everything in place.

Time to start shaping your rug. Curl the end of your tube into a tight spiral (2–3 rotations), hold it flat under the presser foot, and set your machine to a zigzag stitch — width 5.0–5.5 mm, length 1.0–1.5 mm. Zigzag so the needle catches both the current coil and the one next to it, turning the spiral slowly as you feed the tube in from the right side. Tip: turn the handwheel by hand for the first few stitches — it's easier to control.

The last step — finishing and securing the outer edge of your rug. When you reach the end of your tube, taper the last 3–4 inches by trimming the batting thinner so it narrows gradually, then fold the raw fabric end under to hide it. Zigzag stitch the tapered end flat against the previous coil and backstitch to secure. And that's it — your jelly roll rug is complete!