How to Use the Clover Fabric Tube Maker: Make Jelly Roll Rugs, Bowls and Baskets Without Tedious Folding
If you love Jelly Roll projects but dread the prep, you are not alone. Folding long strips around batting by hand is slow and hard to keep even. The Fabric Tube Maker 4022 from Clover folds fabric and batting together at the same time, so you can get to sewing — and the finished rug, bowl, or basket — much faster.
What It Is and Why Quilters Use It
The Fabric Tube Maker is a notion from Clover Needlecraft, stock number 4022, made in Japan from ABS resin. It was designed to easily create fabric tubes for Jelly Roll rugs, bowls, baskets, and more.
Instead of folding each strip in stages — first the batting, then the fabric edges over it, pressing as you go — the tool does the folding for you as you feed the materials through. The product description puts it simply: no more tedious folding, because batting and fabric are folded at the same time.
Quilters use it when a project calls for many yards of consistent tube. An uneven tube sews unevenly and twists as you coil it. A tube that is even from start to finish coils flatter, stitches more smoothly, and gives rugs and baskets a cleaner look. It also saves time when making more than one for gifts or craft fairs.
How to Use It, Step by Step
- Prepare your strips. Cut or select the fabric and batting strips your pattern calls for. Press the fabric first so it feeds smoothly, and trim loose threads that could catch.
- Layer fabric and batting together. Lay the batting with the fabric as your pattern directs, aligning the starting ends evenly. Lined-up ends help the tube begin with a neat, even fold.
- Feed the layered strips into the maker. Guide the starting end into the Fabric Tube Maker and gently draw it through. As you pull, the tool folds the fabric and batting together in one pass.
- Keep a steady, even pace. Support the strip as it enters and guide the folded tube as it exits. A smooth, consistent pull helps keep the fold even along the full length.
- Press or set the tube if your pattern calls for it. Some makers like to press the finished length lightly before sewing. Follow your pattern for the next step.
- Sew the tube as directed. Stitch and coil, join, or shape the tube according to your project instructions. Check your tension on a short practice length first if you are new to sewing thick, folded layers.
Practical Tips
Practice on a short strip first. A test length lets you get comfortable with how the layered strips feed and how the fold should look before you commit a full Jelly Roll.
Work on a clear, flat surface with room for the strip to lay out. Tangles before the maker show up as uneven folds after it. If a fold drifts, stop, back up to where it was even, smooth the layers, and feed through again rather than pulling harder. Tubes also fold most evenly when strips are cut accurately throughout.
Care and Storage
The maker is made of ABS resin, so care is simple. Wipe it clean after use to remove lint and batting fuzz, and check that no fibers are caught inside before you put it away. Store it flat in your notions drawer, away from high heat, ideally with your Jelly Roll project supplies so everything stays together between sessions.
Project Ideas
Start with the classics the maker was designed for: a Jelly Roll rug for a kitchen, entryway, or sewing room, a coiled fabric bowl for keys or notions, and a fabric basket for fat quarters, yarn, or towels. Once you are comfortable, the same tubes can become placemats, coasters, trivets, and tote handles — any project that begins with a long, even fabric tube.
If folded strips have been the reason you put off a rug or basket project, this small tool removes that reason.
Shop the Fabric Tube Maker 4022 Clover #1 at Linda's Electric Quilters.
