The Bargello quilt is one that always receives compliments. After making my first one, I was immediately asked to make a second one.
There are many patterns and books available for more complicated patterns, what is shown here is a very pleasing undulating pattern of color.
The Bargello Quilt looks Intricate, but Sews Entirely in Straight Strips
This pattern is suitable for intermediate quilters that are comfortable with cutting long strips with their rotary cutter. Though there are more than a thousand rectangles in this pattern, all sewing is of long strips, not individual rectangles.
Step by step instructions for pressing (ironing) and sewing are provided. Expert tips will help avoid the pitfalls that often result from sewing long strips.
I am with You Every Step of the Way
The Video Tutorial shares expert tips, shows each step, and helps to keep you inspired to get to the next step and finish this magical patchwork.
Design the Size You Want
An 80″ by 60″ (203 cm by 152 cm) quilt can be made from just two Jelly Rolls, this is the height and width of an American queen sized bed (British King size). If you want a bedspread that hangs over the edges, three modified Jelly Rolls are required. Alternately, you can sew an overhanging bedspread from two Jelly Rolls by adding a 16″ border on three sides.
Jelly Rolls, the Joy and the Perils
Jelly Rolls are packages of 40 precut 2-1/2″ (6 cm) strips of standard 44″ (112 cm) wide fabric. Some Jelly Roll packages contain all unique strips, some have mostly unique strips, and others have two sets of twenty unique strips.
Some brands of Jelly Rolls have inconsistent fabric quality, that is, not each strip has the same thread count or thread weight. As in any quilt that you put your effort into, you should pick a brand that offers good quality. I used Moda jelly rolls for my most recent Bargello Quilt patchwork, which I was very pleased with. (link for Moda Jelly Rolls)
As in any quilt that you put your effort into, you should pick a brand that offers good quality.
Some Jelly Rolls are not cut consistently 2-1/2″ wide, a single strip may vary 1/16″ (4 mm) wider or narrower along its length. This width variation should not be a problem with the Bargello quilt, so don’t be overly concerned about this. But again, quality counts.
Of course, you don’t have to use Jelly Rolls for this quilt, you can cut your own strips from fabrics in your stash, but choosing 40 fabrics that work well together can be quite time consuming. The fabrics in packaged Jelly Rolls are selected to work well together, buy from internet stores if your local quilt shop doesn’t have the selection you like.
To make a bedspread that overhangs the edge of the bed, you need to add strips to the Jelly Roll. In my work I added 20″ (50 cm), that is ten additional strips. Obviously, the added strips should coordinate with the others, this is fairly easy when working with batiks but could be challenging if not. Be sure to add an even number of strips, else the pressing instructions will not work!
Bargello Quilt Free Pattern and Instructions
Bargello Quilt top
Equipment
- Sewing machine
Materials
- 2 Jelly Roll 40 2½" strips
- Thread neutral color
Instructions
Sew Jelly Roll strips together
- Press and refold each strip of Jelly Roll
- Cut all strips to the same length
- Pin pairs of strips, matching seam edge
- Sew strips together for each pair, left to right
- Press seam of paired strips, all in the same direction
- Pin and sew adjacent pairs from previous step
- Press unpressed seams in the opposite direction
- Pin and sew top strip to bottom strip, forming a cylinder
Cutting instructions
- Lay the cylinder on the cutting mat and trim the leading edge through all layers to square it.
- Fold the cylinder in half in the direction of the sewn seams, align the cut edges and smooth out by hand to prepare for cutting. The width will be about 22" and will fit on your cutting mat. Pin in several places so that layers will not shift when handling.
- Cut strips the following widths from the cylinder. It is convenient to cut only a few three or four at a time so that your work area does not become cluttered. 3¼", 3", 2¾", 2½", 2¼", 2", 1¾", 1½", 1¼", 1",1¼", 1½", 1¾", 2", 2¼", 2½", 2¾", 3", 3¼", 3½", Repeat for the cylinder sewn from your second Jelly Roll. 3¼", 3", 2¾", 2½", 2¼", 2", 1¾", 1 ½", 1¼", 1",1¼", 1½", 1¾", 2", 2¼", 2½", 2¾", 3", 3¼", 3½"
Sewing the cut strips
- From the first strip, choose the color you want in the corner of your quilt and rip out the 3¼" seam to form one 80" long strip.
- Line up the next strip, right sides together, matching fabrics. Shift the second strip 2", so that the fabric pieces align with the adjacent one. Pin the entire length, aligning seams for each rectangle. Sew using a ¼" seam allowance.
- Repeat for each strip cut from the cylinder. When the first cylinder is completely cut, move onto the second. Important Note: You should be able to get twenty strips from each cylinder, but this depends on the width of your fabric after trimming. You may get more, or less, the finished quilt top will be excellent either way.
Video
Notes
Avoiding Wonkiness
When sewing long strips together it is important that the strips are fed smoothly through the machine so that they are not stretched. Pinning the strips assures that strips are aligned with one another, but it doesn’t prevent stretching. A walking foot helps, but how you feed the strips into the presser foot still influences stretching. If your strips are stretched as little as 1/16″, you will find that after sewing all forty strips of the Jelly Roll your edges will be off by 2½”!
So, how can you prevent this? Simple.
Each strip is sewing in the opposite direction of the previous one. If a strip is stretched to the right a bit, the next strip will be stretched to the left. This will even itself out after all forty strips are sewn. This is important for both the strips straight from the Jelly Roll, and the ones cut from the cylinder.
Expert Pressing (ironing) Jelly Roll Strips
When the strips of the Jelly Roll are sewn together, adjacent seams are pressed in opposite directions as shown above. The instructions sew pairs together first, these would all be pressed in the same direction, then when the pairs are sewn together the seam would be pressed opposite.
Doing this will insure that the cut strips will line up smoothly as shown below.
The seam pressing after the cut strips are sewn does not have to be in opposite directions.
Quilting Tips for Precision
A two Jelly Roll quilt (60″ wide) can be quilted fairly easily on your home sewing machine, although for the three Jelly Roll quilt (90″+ wide) I elected to have a friend quilt on her long arm machine. I also found a great single piece backing at Fabtabulous Backs which really helps to find those extra large pieces of fabric.
The quilting pattern I chose to sew myself simply followed the undulating pattern. I chose a top thread that matched the color of the strip I was sewing and simply followed that color from corner to corner of the rectangles. I sewed every other strip, that was close enough to hold the layers together nicely. No free motion sewing was necessary and the stitching complimented the curving pattern of the patchwork.
Binding a quilt usually is best cut on the bias, but for the batik quilt I took the shortcut of using strips from a Jelly Roll, cut to 8″ lengths to keep the batik look.
Expanding the size of the quilt
To make your quilt longer you will have to add fabric strips to each Jelly Roll. A Jelly Roll has forty strips, which result in an 80 inch length. Each strip is two inches finished. In the video my quilt was 100 inches, because I added ten additional strips to each Jelly Roll. This provided twenty inches of overhang to the length.
To make the quilt wider, you simply add sew together more Jelly Rolls. A single Jelly Roll with this pattern will be 30 to 32 inches wide when finished. Two Jelly Rolls results in a 60 inch width, three Jelly Rolls results in a 90 inch width (15 inch overhang on each side of a Queen). The King size would need four Jelly Rolls across, depending on how much overhang you want (you don’t have to use the entire width of the fourth one if that would result in too much overhang).
This pattern is designed to give twenty strips across the width of standard 42″ fabric. Thus by using two Jelly Rolls you will have 40 strips across the width, along with the 40 strips in length from the Jelly Roll. The pattern works best with a minimum of two Jelly Rolls. Adding more strips to the length and more Jelly Rolls for width, enhances the pattern and the effect.
What’s Next?
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Thank you for sharing your excellent instructions and video.
Glad you liked it
I am waiting for my jelly rolls to be delivered I absolutely love your quilt the colours are beautiful. 🥰
This “Seams” easy. Your instructions and uncomplicated.Love this!
I love your quilt. I’m very new to quilting and have never made a bargello before. I think this is one I can do tho. My question is how can I make it a king size with some overhang? Thank you in advance for your help.
To make your quilt longer you will have to add fabric strips to each Jelly Roll. A Jelly Roll has forty strips, which result in an 80 inch length. Each strip is two inches finished. In the video my quilt was 100 inches, because I added ten additional strips to each Jelly Roll. This provided twenty inches of overhang to the length.
To make the quilt wider, you simply add sew together more Jelly Rolls. A single Jelly Roll with this pattern will be 30 to 32 inches wide when finished. Two Jelly Rolls results in a 60 inch width, three Jelly Rolls results in a 90 inch width (15 inch overhang on each side of a Queen). The King size would need four Jelly Rolls across, depending on how much overhang you want (you don’t have to use the entire width of the fourth one if that would result in too much overhang).
This pattern is designed to give twenty strips across the width of standard 42″ fabric. Thus by using two Jelly Rolls you will have 40 strips across the width, along with the 40 strips in length from the Jelly Roll. The pattern works best with a minimum of two Jelly Rolls. Adding more strips to the length and more Jelly Rolls for width, enhances the pattern and the effect.
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I understand what you’re saying, you explain very well. I can’t wait to get started on this quilt. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Ron,
I am still a little confused. I want to make a Queen size with over hang on the sides and on the end of the bed. I believe I need approximately 90 x 90 to get that effect. I have purchased 3 jelly rolls of 40 different fabrics. Can I get the additional inches in the length and width with 3 jelly rolls or do I need additional fabric to each of the 3 Jelly rolls? Looking forward to getting started.
Your three Jelly Rolls will give you the width you want.
In order to get the additional length you will need to add five more 2-1/2” strips to each Jelly Roll. The 40 strips in the Jelly Roll result in 80” length, to get 90” you need five more.
Be sure to choose fabric with the same feel and weight, I recommend buying from a quilt shop rather than a chain fabric store because the quality will be better.
Have fun.
I want to thank you so much for all your attention to detail and your gift of teaching. After watching several YouTube’s on making Bargello quilts and even reading a couple of books, you make everything so clear. You are the best! I now just need to get 4 jelly rolls for my king size quilt in a colors that match my bedroom. Oh, plus another for pillow shams maybe. I only have two packs of one color set that also match my living rom and will just make throws and pillows with them unless I can find more of the same. Can’t find them online, and my quilt shop only had two, but I loved the colors for my house so much, I got them for throws and pillows. Wish I could find more of these. But will keep looking for something that will match the bedroom even better. Thanks so so much! Know that you are very appreciated!
Thank you for your kind words. I, too, have Jelly Rolls that I love but cannot find additional ones to complete a large project. —Ron
Hi Ron, I love the video and I’ve watched it a couple of times getting ready to make one of my own. Where most people are wanting to make a larger quilt, I’m the opposite, I’d like more of a throw size. I’m mathematically challenged, If I use just one jelly roll it will end up being ~80″ long but how wide will it be?
Pat
One Jelly Roll will give you about 30” width. Two Jelly Rolls give you 60”, which is the width of a queen size bed. Happy sewing.
Hello,
I’m trying to find the pattern for the Christmas Bargello Table Runner. I believe it’s also been referred to as Twist and Twirl. Any suggestions as to where to purchase this?
Hopefully you can help!
Peggy
Sorry, I don’t know the pattern you want but it does seem like a great table runner for the holiday.
Hi Ron
I just watched your Bargello quilt video! It is fabulous!!! I’ve been quilting for a very long time but hadn’t tried this pattern yet!!! I can’t wait to do it!
You are awesome! I needed a pick me up, having a rough time lately, and you helped me feel better and inspired me!!
Your comment gives me a pick-me-up. The Bargello is fun to make, sew go for it.
I’m going to have to trim a decent amount of leading and ending fabric from my jelly roll cylinder because they did not line up well for some reason. I followed the opposite end sewing as you suggested. After I cut as many strips as I can from the first jelly roll cylinder, should I pick up where I left off in the list of strip measurements when cutting the second roll?
Yes, you should continue where you left off when adding the second jelly roll. I am sorry to hear you are having difficulties, just be patient and enjoy the process.
Thanks! I probably didn’t cut them the same length or something. Whoops!
What was the name of the Moda jelly roll
This was not a Moda jelly roll. It was the 2021 limited edition by twistedthreads called Balilicious Batiks. And of course I also added a few strips in addition. So, I’m doubtful you will find the same Jelly rolls available.
I love this! I want to make more of a throw size, lap quilt. I think around 48-50” wide and 65 long? Would I use maybe 52-56 strips which will make it wider, and then remove some of the length? I’d appreciate any input, I’ve looked to purchase a pattern for a lap size but most are for twin or larger!
if you get one jelly roll with duplicates it will make a quilt 40″x64″. if you add five fabrics more (two strips each), you can get 50″x64″.
64″ is approximate, it assumes 42″ fabric strips reduced by seam allowances that add up to 10″. This would yield 32″ for each half of your jelly roll. You might get slightly more or less depending on how you cut the strips.
You are an excellent teacher. Thank you for your instructions. I’m excited to try this quilt technique.
Thank you for your kind words. I wish I could see all the quilts that my video has inspired.
Thanks for sharing your very comprehensive video instructions.
Wow, great video and great idea. Super explanation, “estimating” how wide the finished section will be helps plan for fabric tremendously! Thank you. I have 2 jelly rolls of home-dec length fabric (56 inches), so figuring out the size has been a challenge. I think I will use them for a bargello.
I have an idea for creating the “extra” strips you need to add length; if you can no longer get the jelly roll or yardage is out of print, fat quarters can be cut into 2.5 inch strips, you then join 2 to get/make one strip length. I have done this in other applications, like kids quilts or square-in-a-square to save fabric. Just a suggestion.
Thanks again, I appreciate you sharing your process.
Ron,
Thank you for sharing your Bargello patterns without cost and wonderfully taught. Your instructions and tips, video backups addressing specific problems and accessibility are extremely rare these days. I’m from the final years when HomeEc was a requirement in both middle school and high school, for BOYS and girls. I’m well rounded in textiles, so here I go!!.
I am fabric hunting, have read Bargello books extensively…
It’s time to stop cutting bait and fish!! I will attach a pic of my results, good or bad, so you can critique (or laugh your ass off)…
Sincerely,
ML
thank you for this really great instruction. I have done a small tree skirt bargello. I want to do a wall hanging 48ish wide by 24ish long beach waves. I’m trying to use a blue batik for the water and then adding in the cream & tan for the beach corner. The planning is killing my head! I like your wave, just trying to work the colors. The blues will go from left to right, but the beach sand colors I want to occupy only the right corner (hope this makes sense). Should I do the blues and a separate section for the sand with blues? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated.
Ron,
Thanks for the video. It helped me so much in making my bargello quilt. Now I need a little help with the quilting. Did you sew through the middle of each color, corner to corner? I would love to see a picture of the finished quilt.
Thanks.
Everybody says all you have to do is add more strips to make your bargello quilt wider. I get that but nobody ever tells you how wide you have to cut each strips so you don’t compromise your design. I’m making the ribbon bargello quilt and think it’s too narrow. But I can’t just add more rows without messing the design and do I cut them 3/4 wide 2 in wide. And wouldn’t I have to add some strips on both sides so it is even looking? I was actually just thinking of adding a wide border on the sides and not the bottom, but I thought that might look funny. Suggestions please
I love your video, I have done a bargello tree skirt. I’m thinking through / planning a bargello wall hanging. I want rolling waves & a small beach to one side. Would I plan a 2 section design with the major portion being blue rolling waves, then join to the smaller beach section? I don’t want the beach colors, tans, in my rolling waves. suggestions please?
Ron
I have been quilting for quite a long while but, it seems that I have become mentalty challenged with this bargello one. I’m using 2 jelly rolls with repeating strips in each one. After I make the first strip, sew and cut it. Do I make the second strip exactly the same and where do I attach it to the first strip? On the bottom or the side and what about the last 2 strips??
Very green when it comes to quilting but have done enough to take on the challenge of this quilt. Forgive me if this is a silly question but.. My question is did you use two of the same jelly rolls or two separate jelly rolls with no duplicates?
You made making the Bargello a lot simpler than I expected! I absolutely love your method! I have made 2 of these!
Love your Pattern and tutorial. The tips were priceless. Thanks so much. I did make one. I love it! I’d show you a photo of my quilt but so no way to do that in comments.
Hi from the East of England, I am about to quilt your lovely design. Just a question, when you say quilt rectangle from one to opposite corner of rectangle I am assuming you mean each individual rectangle of alternate columns? Thank you
Thank you so much for your wonderful, easy-to-follow instructions. I just purchased $$$ a Borgello quilt from a lovely little old Mennonite woman in PA. Now I know the secret!!! and can make one myself (some day). 😊 I searched the web to try to find the name I couldn’t remember, and came out learning new skills to try.
Thank you! I have looked so many patterns, and how to make it bigger your tutorial is best for me. I really appreciate what you have done.
I only have fat quarters of the fabrics I want to use…twelve different fabrics. If I sew like fabrics end to end and add 6″ to each of those with the remaining strip, would that be enough to make say a lap quilt?