I do longarm quilting for others and I do charge by the inch. That said, I would not want to pay by the piece, i.e. $50.00 for a baby quilt, because I know the quilter would be hustling through the quilt, in git-r-dun mode, and I know I would not be happy. The only time I do charge by the hour is when I m doing ruler work - it is very slow process to get it lined up correctly compared to doing free-motion quilting!