Blooming Bands: A Free Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern for an Easy Strip Piecing Throw
A Quilt Pattern Inspired by Play
Some quilts start with a plan. Others start with curiosity. Blooming Bands began with play.
I sat down with a stack of precut strips and simply started sewing. No overthinking—just experimenting with color and watching the quilt grow piece by piece. Before long, the design started to expand across the table, almost like flowers spreading through a garden. That feeling of growth is exactly what inspired the name Blooming Bands.
This quilt finishes at 58″ x 58″, making it the perfect throw-size project for your couch, a cozy reading corner, or a thoughtful handmade gift.
Fabric Requirements
One of my favorite things about this pattern is how simple the fabric requirements are. All you need is:
- 1 Jelly Roll (or strip-pie)
- 2.5 yards of coordinating fabric
That’s it.
I love working with precut fabrics because they allow me to use an entire fabric collection in one quilt. The colors are already designed to work together, which means your quilt looks cohesive with very little effort. It’s one of the easiest ways to create a beautiful, balanced palette.
Another reason I love this pattern? Strip piecing.
Strip piecing is fast, relaxing, and wonderfully mindless in the best possible way. You can sit down at your machine, sew continuously, and watch your quilt come together quickly. And the best part? No trimming. If you’ve ever spent an evening trimming half-square triangles, you know why that makes me happy. (Let’s just say HSTs are not my favorite!)
As the quilt began to take shape, I started incorporating the idea of log cabin blocks into the center. Those classic building blocks gave the design a natural focal point, while the surrounding bands of color continued to grow outward—just like blooms in a garden.
And that’s really the heart of this pattern: color play.
With just a jelly roll and a coordinating fabric, you have the freedom to experiment. Move colors around. Try different arrangements. See what happens when certain fabrics sit next to each other. Quilting is supposed to be fun, and this pattern gives you space to explore without complicated cutting or overwhelming materials.
A Few Tips for Sewing Long Fabric Strips
Since this quilt uses long strips of fabric, there are a couple of simple tricks that will help keep everything accurate and prevent stretching.
1. Shorten your stitch length.
Try setting your stitch length to 1.8 mm. A slightly shorter stitch helps hold the fibers together and reduces the chance of the fabric stretching as you sew long seams.
2. Use starch for stability.
Adding starch before sewing helps stiffen the fabric and keeps your strips stable while you piece them together. This makes a noticeable difference when working with long seams.
Honestly, I would be cautious about making this quilt without starch. That extra stability helps everything stay straight and makes the sewing process much smoother.
Let Your Quilt Bloom
Blooming Bands is meant to be playful. With limited materials and a simple construction method, you can focus on what makes quilting fun—color, creativity, and the joy of sewing.
So grab your favorite jelly roll, press those strips with a little starch, and let your quilt grow band by band.
The pattern is free for all email subscribers, and I’m so excited to share it with you.
I hope you enjoy making Blooming Bands as much as I did. Share your creations on social media using hashtag #bloomingbandsquilt.
Looking for other quilty inspiration… check out our shop for more quilt patterns.
