Rope Bowls, Bag Straps and Trivets: The Small-Project Jelly Roll Batting Strip
Not every jelly roll project is a full-size rug. If you love coiled rope bowls, padded bag straps, trivets, and quilt-as-you-go strips, you may not need a huge roll of batting — you need the right strip, already cut to size. Pellon® Natural Cotton Batting With Scrim in the 2.5" x 25 yards Jelly Roll Size Package is exactly that: natural cotton batting, pre-cut into one continuous 2.5-inch strip and rolled 25 yards long.
That pre-cut format is the whole point. Instead of measuring and cutting long strips from a sheet of batting, you unroll what you need and start wrapping, coiling, and sewing.
What This Batting Is
This is a needle-punched cotton batting with a soft scrim. The fiber content is 93% natural cotton and 7% polypropylene scrim. The scrim is a light supporting layer that lends strength and stability without bunching or bearding. In a narrow strip, that matters a lot: the description notes that the scrim gives the strip tensile strength, so it will not stretch, bunch, or beard as you wrap, coil, and sew.
The loft is low, at 1/16 of an inch. That keeps bowls, baskets, straps, and trivets firm and flat rather than puffy. Expect 3–5% shrinkage, and note the recommended maximum stitch distance of 10 inches — though in coiled and wrapped projects, your stitching will naturally be much closer than that.
What It Is Best For
The product is described as the small-project size of jelly roll batting, and its best uses are rope bowls, coiled baskets, padded bag straps, trivets, and quilt-as-you-go strips — projects that need a narrow, consistent strip that can be wrapped, coiled, and sewn securely without shifting or thinning out.
One 25-yard roll handles bowls, baskets, and straps with room to spare, according to the product guidance. What about a jelly roll rug? Plan carefully there. The classic oval rug pattern calls for roughly 50 yards of 2.5-inch strips, so one 25-yard roll is not quite enough on its own. Pair two of these rolls for a full rug, or keep this size for the smaller projects it was made for.
How to Use It
- Unroll only what you need. Measure against your project — the length of a strap, the coils planned for a bowl, or the strips for a quilt-as-you-go block — and cut the strip to length.
- Wrap or layer it evenly. For rope bowls and baskets, wrap the strip as your pattern directs, keeping the coverage even so the finished piece has consistent body. For straps and trivets, layer it inside your fabric so the padding is centered.
- Coil and sew as you go. Shape the piece gradually and stitch to hold each coil or layer in place. The scrim helps the strip keep its strength while you handle and sew it, instead of stretching out of shape.
- Check flatness as you work. For bowls, baskets, and trivets, pause to check that the piece is taking the shape you want — a bowl should curve intentionally, while a trivet should lie flat.
Tips and Care
Keep the strip centered inside your fabric wrap as you sew; even coverage keeps a coiled piece smooth instead of lumpy. Store leftover strip rolled rather than folded, clean and dry, ready for a matching bowl or set of trivets. This small-project roll is also a practical way to try jelly roll techniques before committing to a rug-sized quantity.
For care, this batting is washable by hand or machine and dry cleanable. Care for finished items according to their outer fabrics as well, and remember the 3–5% shrinkage if a close fit matters.
Shop the Pellon® Natural Cotton Batting With Scrim 2.5" x 25 yards Jelly Roll Size Package. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
