I am very cautious when a person decides to get a LA machine to make money quilting. Most won't travel or take time to go to classes. The few in my area that does quilting for pay seems to be practicing on customer's quilts. One lady bought a LA over a year ago and she says she's not ready for customers yet, she is still learning, going to classes and her work is looking great. She is one I will take a quilt to when she thinks she's good enough. The charge in my area is about $65 for a double bed size quilt using an all over design, mostly the big loops or swirls. I wouldn't buy an expensive LA machine that you had to start making money using it to pay for it. All it takes is one unhappy customer and your business may never build up.

Yup. All it would take is one customer's show and tell at a guild meeting with crappy quilting and your business is done.

i really feel for those who go into debt thinking they would be making money hand over fist as soon as they get their machine set up, one friend of mine was so optimistic that she even had about 20 quilts from (customers) setting there waiting for her when her first machine arrived...3 weeks later when she had not managed to quilt a whole quilt successfully without puckers, stitch issues, wonky sides...she was so frustrated! she expected way too much and really thought she had been sewing for years, this should be easy.no one could tell her it wasn't going to be a simple put an add at the lqs and be in business..quilting on a long arm is different than any other sewing you do, you move the machine around while the fabric stays stationary,, that in itself takes a little getting used to. it takes practice, practice practice. and after you have quilted a dozen or so of your own (after lots of practice quilts) you might feel relaxed enough to work on someone elses quilt. it takes time to build it into a business. and remember, the busier you are quilting for everyone else the less time you will have to ever make a quilt yourself. if you love the designing, piecing of quilts you will miss it later...you can very easily become a slave to your machine.and never make another quilt. also around here at least there is definite quilting busy season...i tend to be swamped from about mid-september/october through about february then business drops off, and if i get 6 quilts in between march and september it is pretty amazing...so that's when i get to get my own done :) but if i were depending on this for my income i would be in big trouble, there is not enough to pay the bills during the off season. and i do not accept work if i am behind. i try very hard to stick to a 2 week turn around. once in awhile life happens and i get behind, but i just wont accept any more until i catch up, and if i'm behind i do refer people to other quilters i know if they want to get it done before i can accept it. i believe we should be a very helpful group. just like at the lqs, if they don't have what i need, they tell me where to go to find it.

Yip -- all of the above. I've said that quilting on a longarm has the biggest learning curve I've ever dealt with. I'm on my 2 quilt on this longarm (5 on a mid-arm - same principal, different and better machine) and I still don't feel I'm qualified to hire my work out.

I would do a bit of homework first . Call the longarm people in your area and find out how much of a back log they have. If they are all more than 3 months than ... your area could support another. Check out how much they are charging for services. Do the math .. how long will it take to pay for the machine .. how many quilts will it take to just break even?
Find out how close is the mechanical support you may need for your machine. Do you have dedicated space that can remain dedicated for at least 5 years.
Try to think about where will your customers come from , do they all have longarm professionals they are happy with? it is unlikely that once a good relationship is established they will switch. How will you break into your market? What will it take and what are the time and costs associated?
Can you handle the payments before it becomes a business? Like regular peice work long arm work takes skill and practice. One LA pro I know did over 80 quilts for charity before she felt she had the skills to truley go professional.
I guess it also comes down to is this going to be a dedicated business or a hobby that you sometimes make money. Manage your expectations first, by putting some numbers to paper.
I hate to say it but ... what is an exit strategy? In other words what if come to find out you do not like it .. ( for what ever reason) will you be stuck doing something you would rather not because of a payment on a machine. Find out what you would be able to sell the machine and how long it would take to sell. Ask the dealers for the machines if they have used machines and how long they have had that particular model ( and why it got turned in). I know a few LA pros that after a few years just burned out ... and only do a few quilts for close friends.
All that being said... Good luck , keep us posted

Of course I'm generalizing!

I've been thinking about doing LAQ for the public. I've had a LM for about 6 years. I still wonder if I'm good enough to charge. I only do the meandering, but there are lots of varitions of mearndering. DH does not want me to feel that I have to do my craft for profit. I do rent my LAQ for my students to use to finish their quilts. My sewing classes are starting to pick up so I'm not sure if I would have time to do both. I still want time to sew, sew, sew for us. Staying off this board would help with the time. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have a great LAer in AR. King sized $90.00 incls batting. I send all of my kings and some queens to her as they are too hard on a HQ or Tinlizzie. She is usually sinking in quilts or none and working on her own quilts. So it is not steady business. From Sept 1 to Dec.23 she is inundated. Come Jan, Feb & March nothing. You have to make it when you least want to, in order to tide yourself over the empty months. She quilts round the clock thru Thanksgiving holiday to stay ahead. Few are willing to do that.

The trouble with generalizing is it's usually wrong for as many people as it's right for.

"Survey says" the quilt survey said the "average" quilter is affluent. Which means they can afford to have their quilts quilted and pay for "fancy" quilting.

So, saying "most people would only be able to afford an all over pattern." the operative word being "most" is probably wrong. If you said "some" instead of "most" you'd be correct. And of course some people can't afford longarm quilting at all.

It's going to depend a whole lot on the area you're in. Does the area have a large guild? Does it have a strong quilting tradition? Is it a poverty stricken area?

Those are just the beginning of the questions you need to ask yourself to start a longarm buisness.

I have had my long arm machine for almost a year now. I waited 6 months before soliciting paying customers. I do mostly pantographs and an occassional custom quilt (outlining, patterns and/or meandering).

I started with some women I met through my church group. Every social group I belong to has potential customers in it.

Yes, there are a lot of quilters in my area and several longarmers. Most women who can will finish their own quilts, but there are those who either are not able to finish their own quilts or don't want to. I'm sure economics plays a part in whether or not quilters want to hire a LAQ.

Bottom line: Don't go into debt expecting to pay for the equipment with machine quilting business. If you can relax and enjoy the time it takes to build a business and establish customers, you are better off. It does take time!