It’s Cindy reporting in from rainy Ohio today.
Help!!! Sandy and I need some advice from our readers. We’ve been working on creating several new patterns using Jelly Rolls AND we have a huge problem with fabric “dust”.
You know, those little thread pieces that adorn the tops and bottoms of jelly rolls?!
As soon as I unrolled a jelly roll, I immediately realized there were a TON of loose little threads! I think most of those little threads ended up on my black sweater…YIKES! NOT a good wardrobe choice when working with jelly rolls!
What is your method for solving the fabric “dust” problem?
We’d love to hear from you!
C’mon! Take ’em outside and shake them. Run the sweeper over them. Use a whisk broom. We’re women. Dust doesn’t get us! Use your imagination! 🙂 🙂 🙂
-Jean
Yes! Outside….like shaking a rug!
Try using a lint roller/brush all over the cut sides before opening the roll.
I have plenty of those for dog hair! Good idea!
My favorite advice is to take off your glasses, get a glass of wine and ignore them! You’re welcome. Cheers!!!
Double cheers!
Pat Sloan has some tips, and she recommends lint rolling the top and bottom of the jellyroll before you unwrap it. If you’ve unwrapped it, rewrap it and secure it with a rubber band, then use the lint roller.
Lint rollers seem to be the way to go! Mine is used for dog hair, so why not jelly rolls?!
I have heard that rolling the edges with a lint roller before unrolling the strips helps!
Thanks, Barb! I am going to do this the next time because I used a lint roller on my sweater…after the fact!
I use a lint roller, the kind that have adhesive tape. I roll it over the top and bottom of the jelly roll, before it is opened. I do this several times until there are no more threads sticking to the adhesive . Then I unroll the jelly roll and it is pretty much fabric dust free.
A can of air….I can clean off all my work surface with one blast. Then the jelly roll pixie dust just becomes blended in with the rest of my dust collection!
Ohhh, very wise…spray the dust to oblivion!
lol
You are so wise!
I read once that someone used a lint roller! She ran it across the top and bottom of the jelly roll while it was still wrapped tightly and it picked up all the fuzzy dust. Not sure what to do with the strings, but you could use the lint roller on your black sweater too!
Thanks, Kathy! I had to use several lint roller strips to get my sweater all cleaned up! I could eliminate this step by rolling the jelly roll first!
One good reason I don’t like jelly rolls!!!
I’m blaming Sandy for all the dust in my sewing room because she gave them to me!
Tape, wrapped around my hand inside-out. Successfully improvised lint roller.
Yes! And probably cheaper, too!
Hi Cindy! Don’t you just love the advice from your sister?!! Hmm. I honestly haven’t really noticed an issue . . . or I just ignore it like Sandy said. How about a piece of masking tape to the edges before you unroll it? Or another thing I use to remove those little pieces from my design wall flannel is a silicone scrubby – it catches the little pieces of thread really easily. ~smile~ Roseanne
Oh wow! This is such a great tip! My design wall is a mess of threads AND the lint roller doesn’t seem to work…but maybe it’s just very old! Never the less, I am going to get myself a silicon scrubby! Thank you!
Hi again! I wanted to share Sarah’s website where I originally saw the tip: https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2019/03/hands2help-2019-tips-tutes-and-tasty.html
Thank you!
I clicked through from FaveQuilts for the butterfly pattern but all I can find is a blog. No patterns at all. Please send me the corrrect link. Thank you.
Hello! I just sent the pattern pdf to you! If you can’t open the file, let me know and we’ll try another way!
Those dust specks are the mark of a quilter, like a badge of honor. Embrace it!
I don’t use a lot of jelly rolls, but I wonder if you could vacuum them before opening. Or maybe open them outside and fling them around until you have blessed the whole neighborhood!
Yes, I like the idea of shaking them outside and blessing the neighborhood! Great idea, mom used to have us shake out the rugs outside and what a great way to share “fabric pixie dust”!
Definitely shaking the dust outside, though I’ve ran into the same irritating problem myself
I run a thread catcher several times over the top and bottom before I ever open them – helps allot – thread catcher – sticky tape rollers
Thank you, Susan. This is a good tip.