longarm quilting
 

just wondering what to charge for just all over design on double or queen size quilt they furnish backing batting and thread so it would just be my time and of course the machine.

Around here it's two cents per square inch. Multiply the length by the width to get the overall size in square inches, then multiply that by 0.02. I wouldn't advise allowing customers to provide the thread, though. Many longarms run their best with specific brands of thread, and these are large cones which your customers don't usually buy. Instead you could just have an additional thread charge, and provide the thread yourself.

prices are very (location matters) if you are planning to 'break into' the *quilting for others for profit* market you should start with some local market research- call around find other long arm quilters- and find out what they are charging in your area- find out how long they have been quilting for others, what their experience is, what their policies are, what they include- what the 'norm' is for your area. then, adjust your prices to reflect your experience, ability.

Check with LQS to see what they are charging and what they ask their customers to provide.

I agree with supplying your own thread, or requiring your customer to supply a brand that you know will not cause problems on your machine. Some all over designs are quite dense, while others are less dense and take less time. Some longarmers charge by the hour, so that is one option.

When I first started LAing for others, I charged a very minimal fee for quilting. My friend entrusted her quilts to me to learn on and only paid about $20 to $30 per quilt basically enough to pay for my thread and a token amount for wear and tear on my machine, my time and effort. I made sure she understood I was new and just learning and she took a chance on me. I will be forever grateful for that opportunity because I would not be the LA quilter I am today if not for my friend Meg entrusting her first quilts to me. It was a good experience too, because Meg was also a beginner quilter so I was exposed early on to wonky, out of square quilts and learned a lot from doing her quilts.

Only you know if you feel you are good enough to charge what other professional LA quilters in your area do. Remember that word of mouth can be your friend or your enemy. So if you do a job that the maker is not happy it can snuff out your budding career in no time flat, likewise if you are good you can end up with many new clients just as quickly.

To your original question... As others have stated it varies by region. In my area, a simple all over meander or open continuous quilting is .01 per square inch. A simple Panto done E2E starts at .015 and more complex panto .02.