How to Use a Jelly Roll Sasher: Fold Strips Fast for Rugs, Bags and More
If you love jelly roll projects but dread the pressing, the Jelly Roll Sasher was made for you. This clever notion from Pauline's Quilters World takes layered jelly roll strips — fabric layered with batting or wadding — and folds them neatly as you feed them through. Instead of folding and ironing every strip by hand, you guide the layered strip into the tool and it emerges folded to a precise width of 2 1/2 inches, ready for sewing.
What Is a Jelly Roll Sasher?
A Jelly Roll Sasher is a folding tool designed specifically for the standard jelly roll strip width. Jelly rolls are precut fabric strips, and many popular projects build long lengths of folded, padded strip that are then coiled, zigzagged, or stitched into a finished piece. Doing that folding by hand is slow, and keeping the width even from one end of a long strip to the other is tricky. The Sasher solves both problems: it folds the layered strip consistently as it passes through, so every section comes out the same width and ready for the next step.
Why Quilters and Sewists Use It
The biggest reason is time. The product description calls it a game-changing tool because it eliminates the need for tedious ironing of layered strips. That matters when a single rug or bag can use many strips joined into one very long length. Consistency is the second reason — a standardized 2 1/2-inch fold gives your finished project a cleaner, more even look and makes stitching the folded strips together much easier. Finally, there is a seamless transition from folding to sewing: once a strip comes through the Sasher, you can baste or stitch it right away without stopping to press and re-fold.
How to Use It: Step by Step
- Prepare your strips. Join your jelly roll strips if your project calls for one long length, and layer each strip with batting or wadding as your pattern directs.
- Start the fold. Feed the end of the layered strip into the Jelly Roll Sasher, following the tool's entry slot so the layers sit evenly.
- Guide it through. Pull and guide the strip steadily through the Sasher. The tool folds the layered strip as it moves, and it emerges folded to 2 1/2 inches wide.
- Keep tension even. Guide with a smooth, steady motion rather than tugging in bursts — even feeding helps keep the fold uniform along the whole length.
- Sew right away. Take the folded strip straight to your machine to baste or stitch it into your project, or coil and set it aside neatly for the next section.
Practical Tips for Best Results
Test first on a short offcut of layered strip so you can get comfortable with how the layers feed before you commit to a full-length piece. Keep the batting or wadding layer smooth and centered as you start each strip — most uneven folds begin with uneven layering at the entry. Work on a clear table with room for the long folded strip to collect without twisting, and join strips carefully so seams pass through smoothly. If a section comes out less even than you like, simply unfold that short section and run it through again.
Care and Storage
Wipe the Sasher clean of lint and batting fuzz after a session, and store it in your notions drawer or with your rulers. Keeping it with your jelly roll supplies means it is always at hand when a new precut project starts.
Project Ideas
That neat 2 1/2-inch folded strip is ideal for jelly roll rugs, bags, mats, placemats, table runners, and bowls — all projects named for this tool. A coiled and stitched rug is the classic first project, while placemats and runners let you practice in shorter lengths. Fabric bowls and bags show off contrasting jelly roll prints beautifully and make wonderful handmade gifts.
Shop the Jelly Roll Sasher at Linda's Electric Quilters.
