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Machine die cut perfection or what? (Moderated by Sharon1952)
Posted on: 10/16/11 8:10 PM ET
I recently purchased my first Jelly roll! 2011 Sampler of Kaffe Fassett fabrics in neutral. I have to admit that I have never used Jelly Rolls simply because I'd rather buy yardage and not be limited by the dimension of a 2.5 x 44 inch strip.... OK, OK... I know Jelly rolls are convenient but that is not the reason for my purchase. Kaffee fabrics go for $12 per yard in my area. I love his line but there is so much fabric a girl could love that I buy what I can afford. I have a pattern by Heather Mulder Peterson, from her book Sizzling Sixties. I thought that Kaffe Fassett fabric would look fabulous so I purchased a jelly roll.
I think I got cheated because all the strips are V shaped, they were not squared at the fold when they were cut... all 30 strips are like that! Plus one strip is narrower than the rest at 2-3/8 instead of 2-1/2 inches. I would expect that a die cut fabric to be precise and exacting! Am I expecting to much? Is this common to Jelly Rolls? Did I get ripped off? Should I return it?
The other comment I want to make about jelly rolls in general is it is hard to be precise with a 1/4 seam allowance when the edge is serratted!
-- Edited on 10/16/11 8:15 PM --
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I think I got cheated because all the strips are V shaped, they were not squared at the fold when they were cut... all 30 strips are like that! Plus one strip is narrower than the rest at 2-3/8 instead of 2-1/2 inches. I would expect that a die cut fabric to be precise and exacting! Am I expecting to much? Is this common to Jelly Rolls? Did I get ripped off? Should I return it?
The other comment I want to make about jelly rolls in general is it is hard to be precise with a 1/4 seam allowance when the edge is serratted!

-- Edited on 10/16/11 8:15 PM --
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Janome MC6700 Bernina Q16Plus Bernina 240 Juki MO735 Singer 201-2 Singer 221-1
Posted on: 10/16/11 8:26 PM ET
I know with my experience with Bali Pops, which are not machine cut, but done by hand per the disclaimer in the package. Maybe it is the same with these jelly rolls. I would shoot the Manufacturer an email and show them the difference in the strip size and the V cut.
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Member since 7/1/08
Posts: 5331
Member since 7/1/08
Posts: 5331
Massachusetts USA
Skill: Advanced
Skill: Advanced
Posted on: 10/17/11 10:24 AM ET
In reply to Warbler
I would definitely contact whomever sold them to you. You can't use jelly rolls if they aren't cut on the grain- or at least it will make more work for you. I have 3 or 4 sets and they were fine and on grain. Mine were Moda fabrics.
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Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness. ~Author Unknown
Posted on: 10/17/11 10:44 AM ET
Grrrr... I've heard of this, but I've never had any trouble with Bali Pops, by Hoffman. Even the store-cut rolls I bought were fine. I thought I'd never use precuts either, but there are so many fun patterns that whip up so fast. I always end up adding a few other fabrics and usually adding some appliqué, so I don't feel like my projects with precuts have been lacking my individual creativity. Yes, V-shaped strips are defective, IMO. I hope you can get a refund. The first time I used a jelly roll was this year, and I had bought it in 2007, so I was just lucky it was properly cut.
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🌸 Plenty of machines, mostly Berninas 🌸
Posted on: 10/17/11 11:23 AM ET
In reply to Warbler
The company needs to know their quality control sucks lint.
Something you would not expect from Kaffe Fassett products.
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Something you would not expect from Kaffe Fassett products.
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OLD CHINESE PROVERB: I HEAR & I FORGET; I SEE & I REMEMBER; I DO & I UNDERSTAND.
Posted on: 10/17/11 2:16 PM ET
That is just awful - completely unacceptable. I would have bought the jelly rolls for the convenience and accuracy. I agree - take it back to the seller and see what they can do for you to make this right.
Although good luck with that. I got a kit for Christmas last year for a Christmas table runner. All I needed to do was cut the precut strips into wonky strips (triangles). The precut peices were all supposed to be 9 inch runners. I got 5 of these 9 inch runners and only 3 of them were actually 9 inches. The rest were either not evenly cut (some 9 but more 8 3/4+) or were just an even 8 3/4.
So I called the store where I got them. Their reply?? "We don't have that fabric anymore so just re-size them all to 8 3/4 and then cut your wonky strips". No - "we are sorry", or "we would be happy to resize them correctly to 8 3/4" or "if you find fabrics you like we will cut an even 9 inch peices to replace them".
I have become a fan - by default - of do it yourself. At least if I screw it up I have no one to blame but me.
I agree too - if the small jelly roll peices are cut with pinked edges - that would be hard to sew an accurate 1/4 inch seam. I wonder why they would cut it like that?
-- Edited on 10/17/11 2:18 PM --
Although good luck with that. I got a kit for Christmas last year for a Christmas table runner. All I needed to do was cut the precut strips into wonky strips (triangles). The precut peices were all supposed to be 9 inch runners. I got 5 of these 9 inch runners and only 3 of them were actually 9 inches. The rest were either not evenly cut (some 9 but more 8 3/4+) or were just an even 8 3/4.
So I called the store where I got them. Their reply?? "We don't have that fabric anymore so just re-size them all to 8 3/4 and then cut your wonky strips". No - "we are sorry", or "we would be happy to resize them correctly to 8 3/4" or "if you find fabrics you like we will cut an even 9 inch peices to replace them".
I have become a fan - by default - of do it yourself. At least if I screw it up I have no one to blame but me.
I agree too - if the small jelly roll peices are cut with pinked edges - that would be hard to sew an accurate 1/4 inch seam. I wonder why they would cut it like that?
-- Edited on 10/17/11 2:18 PM --
Posted on: 10/17/11 7:47 PM ET
The pinked edges prevent fraying (I'm sure you know that...)
The reason why they are FANTASTIC for jelly rolls, is that if you don't unroll non-pinked ones carefully you get INSANE fraying. Since the strips are so small, you lose a signifigant amount of fabric to it.
I won't buy non-pinked jelly rolls anymore. You can still get an accurate seam- just measure from the top of the cut.
But "V" cut strips? That doesn't sound acceptable. And Jelly Rolls are expensive.
The reason why they are FANTASTIC for jelly rolls, is that if you don't unroll non-pinked ones carefully you get INSANE fraying. Since the strips are so small, you lose a signifigant amount of fabric to it.
I won't buy non-pinked jelly rolls anymore. You can still get an accurate seam- just measure from the top of the cut.
But "V" cut strips? That doesn't sound acceptable. And Jelly Rolls are expensive.
Posted on: 10/17/11 9:11 PM ET
In reply to Warbler
One (dis)advantage of having a distrusting nature is that I have never bought anything cut smaller than an 8 1/2 square, and only one set of those. I always worry that they won't cut the fabric well, and your report just confirms my suspicions. 
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Barb
Posted on: 10/17/11 10:05 PM ET
I brought the roll back where I bought it and they happily refunded my money er rather gave me a store credit. So I picked up some fat quarters of the same line. At least the fat quarters were folded so I could open them to check the size... they were cut from the bolt at the store so at least I knew I was getting the right dimension.
I spoke to the store owner who was concerned the rest of the collection of Fasset jelly rolls were badly cut... she very carefully unrolled another to find the V... then another which was cut correctly. Guess who is getting a call from a very disappointed retailer!!!
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I spoke to the store owner who was concerned the rest of the collection of Fasset jelly rolls were badly cut... she very carefully unrolled another to find the V... then another which was cut correctly. Guess who is getting a call from a very disappointed retailer!!!

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Janome MC6700 Bernina Q16Plus Bernina 240 Juki MO735 Singer 201-2 Singer 221-1
Posted on: 10/17/11 10:19 PM ET
In reply to Maia B
Quote:
I thought I'd never use precuts either, but there are so many fun patterns that whip up so fast. I always end up adding a few other fabrics and usually adding some appliqué, so I don't feel like my projects with precuts have been lacking my individual creativity.
I thought I'd never use precuts either, but there are so many fun patterns that whip up so fast. I always end up adding a few other fabrics and usually adding some appliqué, so I don't feel like my projects with precuts have been lacking my individual creativity.
You are so right! I think I tend to buy fabrics from several collections in a palette of colors to give me the look I am after. I have used charm packs because they are relatively affordable and I sprinkle them into a project to draw the palette together. Having said that I tend to have 20-30 different fabrics in my quilts as I love that scrappy look - planned chaos!

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Janome MC6700 Bernina Q16Plus Bernina 240 Juki MO735 Singer 201-2 Singer 221-1
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