Courthouse Steps Jelly Roll Quilt

Courthouse steps from my Stinky Boy Quilt

You've probably seen my photos on Facebook and Instagram  of the Stinky Boy Quilt I've been working on. I finished the top yesterday and thought it was about time I told you a little more about it. I've even included a quick tutorial at the end. Yay me.

This was started as a trial for a quick jelly roll quilt. I posted my Super Easy Jelly Roll Quilt (a.k.a 1600 Quilt/Jelly Roll Race) previously and thought it was about time to see what else these funky little pre-cuts could do. I've had this Kona Naturals jelly roll sitting in my stash for ages so I thought it would be a great one to use for the trial. In other words, I wouldn't cry too much if it didn't work.

I'm calling it my Stinky Boy Quilt for no reason other than it being intended for my stinky boy beloved partner. I certainly don't mean to say that all boys like these types of colours. They are, however, all stinky.

Anywho, here's the finished quilt top...

Completed Quilt Top

I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. I love the colours and the simplicity. It really shows how powerful quilting can be when simple neutral solids can have as much impact as beautiful prints.

That's enough history though. Let's talk tutorial. I've whipped up a quick tutorial here showing how to construct the block. I'll list what I used for this quilt, but leave it up to you to resize and rotate the blocks as you see fit.

Cutting

Take two jelly roll strips of contrasting colours. For this example, let's assume the dark piece will be the inner and outer layers and the light piece will be the middle.

From the light piece cut:

Two pieces 2.5'' x 2.5'' square

Two pieces 2.5'' x 6.5'' square

From the dark piece cut:

One piece 2.5'' x 2.5'' square

Two pieces 2.5'' x 6.5'' square

Two pieces 2.5'' x 10.5'' square

Cutting Diagram

Construction

Use a 1/4'' seam allowance.

Sew the two light 2.5'' squares on either side of the dark 2.5'' square.

Sew the 2.5'' squares together

Sew the two light 2.5'' x 6.5'' strips to the long edges of the block.

Sew the light 2.5'' x 6.5'' strips

Sew the two dark 2.5'' x 6.5'' strips to the block. These should be on the opposite sides than the light 6.5'' strips. See the image below for the positioning.

Sew the dark 6.5'' strips

Sew the two dark 2.5'' x 10.5'' strips to the long edges of the block.

Sew the dark 10.5'' strips to the block

Your final block should measure 10.5'' x 10.5'' square.

Final block measures 10.5'' x 10.5''

I pressed each seam out towards the strip that was being attached. It's really not an issue until the last seam. None of them intersect until you start joining blocks and rows, in which case simply press the seams in alternate directions.

My quilt measures 40'' x 50'' and I used 30 jelly roll strips (15 light and 15 dark). Using the above as an example, one block will require one full dark strip and half of a light strip. These requirements are reversed for the blocks that are light on the outside and dark in the middle.

What jelly roll range do you think would look great for this quilt?