I first wrote this on an Australian quilters' mailing list. I have had
a lot of requests for it since, so I thought I would share it with you all!
(If you want to use this in your guild newsletter, please
email me and let me know - I
usually say yes if you ask permission first, and I have other bits and pieces I
can offer you to print as well).
(Or, if you would prefer to just buy
a ready-made block roll, please see the
Yazzii brand one I now have available).
First you need a cardboard tube. I like the Australia Post ones, because
they have a removable plastic cap at each end.
The length of your tube is the width of your block roll.
The length of your block roll is whatever size you want it (15 inches is a
handy size).
You need two pieces of fabric and one piece of batting. The width of all of
them is the width of your block roll plus a seam allowance.
The length of the batting, and of one of the pieces of fabric, is the same
as the length of the block roll, plus a seam allowance.
The length of the other piece of fabric is the length of the block roll,
plus the circumference of the tube (i.e. the distance around the outside of
the tube in a circle), plus a seam allowance.
Lay the longer piece of fabric on the table, right side up. Then lay the
shorter piece of fabric right side down on top of it, so that it is towards
one end (i.e. there will be a flap of fabric sticking out one end that is
the same length as the circumference of your tube). Then lay your batting
on top of the shorter fabric.
Then sew, with a sewing machine, around the three edges. Don't sew on the
flap end.
Turn the piece right-sides-out, so that the fabric pieces are on the outside
and the batting is on the inside. Press the seam.
Now you need to fix up the flap end. Fold the edges of the fabric in (the
same amount as the seam allowance) on the two sides and sew a hem. Then
fold the long edge in and sew it to the raw edge where the batting and the
shorter fabric ended, covering the raw edge.
You now have a sleeve with a padded bit attached to it. You can quilt the
padded bit if you like. Your tube should slip into the sleeve. If you find
the tube is too big, unpick that last seam and move it a little, or make the
fold in the end a bit smaller, then re-sew the sleeve.
You can then roll the padded part around the tube. If you want to, you can
add a button and a thread loop to keep it closed, or sew some ribbons on the
end to wrap around the roll.
The end caps of the tube come off, so you can pop a small container in there
(or two) with your thread, scissors, pins and needles.
Does that help?
BTW, in case you are wondering just what a block roll is for - you use it
to keep your blocks, or partly made blocks, tidy. You can use it to lay out
the pieces in a pieced block and keep them in the right positions until you
have them all sewn together. It is portable, which is great for hand
sewing.
With the removable-tube method, you can take the tube off and wash the
fabric if it needs it. Many other block rolls are made by gluing the fabric
onto the tube because this is easier and quicker to make, but these can't be
washed.
Copyright © Christine Abela for Gecko
Gully, 2006.
