Question For Long Armers
 

Before I ask the question, I must tell you that I do not have a long arm machine. I don't have the space, $$, or expertise to quilt in this manner.

I was just wondering, how many hours does it take, (on average) to quilt a queen sized quilt with an all over, moderately easy pattern? This includes loading it onto the machine.

When I think queen size, I think about 90 x 102. An easy pantograph pattern. Including loading would take me about 6 hours.

It would take me about double that. I'd say two days, at least eight hours a day. It usually takes me a couple of hours to load it, due to measuring the top on all four sides, measuring the batting, measuring the backing on all four sides, deciding which side is the best to attach at the top, etc. I use a longarm centering tape to keep everything straight and square with each advance.

Depending on ease of pattern, and barring any surprises like wavy borders,etc .....as little as 4 hours.... Why are you asking?

If the quilt is squared up and there are no issues with the quilt or machine I would say 8 to 10 hours. I do not work continually for hours on a quilt because of back problems so quilt an hour or so and rest or at least get away from it.

Assuming that things are very good - no wavy borders or "volcanoes" in the blocks and the backing is square - I would say about 6-8 hours. However, things seldom are "perfect", so there will usually be something somewhere that slows down the process, so perhaps another 2-3 hours for the "problems"... which means an average of 8-11 hours for me.

With that said, I do have a "real" job, and therefore do not stay at the machine for 8-11 hours straight. I may manage 2 hours in the evening when I get home from work, and sometimes (if hubby is a good boy and doesn't bother me) I can get 5 hours on a Saturday. So, overall, it may take me a week or more to finish a queen, with FMQ or pantographs.

I too only quilt part time. I agree with the others who have responded, assuming no issues with top or backing and factoring in loading time (I still pin) I can do a queen with a fairly simple panto design in about a weekend which would equate to 8 to 10 hours. I also can't stand at the longarm for much longer then a few hours before I need a break. I can usually go back to it for a few hours more but it seems I can't get much more than 5 hours max in a single day of quilting. This is for hand guided. I am thinking someone with a computer guided setup may be able to do it quicker because the computer doesn't need to take a break, but can't say for sure as I have never watched a CG longarm quilt out an entire top.

Thanks. The reason I asked the question was mainly curiosity. I have always quilted by hand unless it is placemats, or little wall hangings, and I have many tops waiting. However in our little church group one lady's husband keeps pushing for us to get a long arm and he thinks we will be experts and be cranking quilts for sale to benefit the church. I take his comments with a grain of salt.

Some people hit the ground running when it comes to longarm quilting others take longer to get comfortable. It does take a bit of practice to learn how to load the quilt and how to handle problems. Tension is fussier but once you learn how to tweak it, it just becomes part of the routine. Some people are faster than others. But as it is with everything, it takes practice to get good and proficient. If your group does many charity quilts it might not be a bad investment. Maybe a couple of members will take to longarming like a duck takes to water and in addition to quilting for the charity can maybe try to recoup the cost of the machine by quilting member quilts for a nominal fee.

I absolutely love longarm quilting and you never know, maybe there are members in your church group who will also love doing it and the idea may not be so unfeasible.

How about seeing if "the husband" buys the machine and learns to do the long-arming?

It might be interesting to see if he is still as "enthusiastic" about the idea if he were the one to do it?

I still think that some people do take to long-arming and fmq'ing easily.

I think it's a bit like having perfect pitch - you have it - or you don't have it.

When I managed a LQS which is a nonprofit I asked for the store to invest in a longarm machine. Since the nonprofit runs mostly on volunteer there were problems. These are the problems that came up at the store. Too many hands at the machine tends to bring thread tension issues because everyone is messing with the tension. So the solution to this was only 2 or 3 trained persons were to run/use the machine. They would quilt for the store samples and also for customers, every 4th quilt could be for them selves or they could get a percentage of the sale.

As word got around the machine was producing a good amount of work which kept the machine worthwhile. Since I left I have heard the now they only have 2 persons that volunteer and their work is still in the learning stage.

All this to say that as long as you have someone willing to be trained and to practice, practice, practice it would be profitable for the group to get a start up 12-18" machine set up.

Some of my queen size quilts takes me 4 to 6 hours is all runs well....and then there are what has been mentioned and then they bring the batting in a bag and you have to measure and maybe even cut, the back is pieced and the ends are not even so you have to trim it, and oh so many more that the list would go on and on. enough said,

I agree with what the others have said. I only want to emphasize that if many people are going to be using the machine this will cause problems and some of them will be major. These machines can be very temperamental and require a level of expertise that only comes with using it over and over. The idea sounds good but then there is reality. MHO

I don't have a long arm -

but the impression I have been getting from my reading -

they seem to get like one-owner pets. They do much better when only one person is using them.

Another option is to have it computerized.
Pros: the quilting can go a little faster, and with a library of designs at your disposal, it can look professional.
Cons: you still have to have people who are trained to load/operate the longarm and the computer and software that run the longarm, and it can add as much as $4-10K to the cost of the machine, depending on what system you purchase.

I have a friend who loves to quilt, but doesn't care to piece tops. She has 2 longarm machines; one is computer-driven, the other FMQ. She'll set the computerized one up and get it going, then move over to the FMQ one and drive it by hand. She's got it down to a science. She has a full-time job outside the home and can quilt as many as 20-30 quilts in a month. Almost all of these go to charity: veteran shelters, the humane society, passage quilts for terminally ill patients at the hospital, Linus quilts, etc. She has the support of a couple of different groups that get together and piece tops for her to quilt.

My friend (lives around the corner) and I bought an APQS Lenni in October which we keep in her loft. The sharing arrangement has worked very well for us both financially and as back up support and trouble shooting for each other. We have leadergrips and can load a Queen sized quilt in about 15 minutes or less including cutting batting. If we are stitching a fairly basic not too dense E2E panto, we can quilt this in 3-4 hours. We float our tops and baste the sides as we go and mark our edges on the front roller with green painter's tape to keep things straight and even. We have quilted more than 100 full sized or larger quilts since October and have an easy to learn and use, low maintenance, few problems machine. We quilt three or four afternoons most weeks and are not one bit sorry that we invested in a longarm.

For and easy, low density pattern, I agree. That time is always spread over several days, though.

Moderate density probably takes 1.5 times that amount of time.

It takes a long time to become expert on a long arm. Mine is computerized quilting; nonetheless, it takes a lot of time to get good at it. It's more than just watching the Long arm move across the quilt...

Even computerized laq takes time to learn and become good. And, though I'm sure some people are willing to walk away from the long arm while the computer runs the pattern, it, like any type of machine, can malfunction. And malfunctions can destroy a quilt, especially when the machine is left to run alone.

Ask me how I know...

Bet it was one that "mattered", too!

For the pushy hubby, find out what his hobbies or interests are - does he golf? work on cars or small engines? do woodworking? Find out, then ask him if a new set of golf clubs or mechanics tools or a band saw mean that someone is automatically a "pro" at doing that. Of course, he's going to say "No!"

Then tell him it's the same thing with the longarm.

As others have said, some people just have a "knack" for doing this - others take a little longer. And having a computer-guided system will not necessarily make it faster/easier/more professional.

I would recommend that several of your group find a nearby LA dealer, and ask for a group demonstration. This should allow several people to "test drive" the machine, and will quickly help you discover who has the "aptitude" for it. Then, if you have two or three who seem to really have "the knack", negotiate a "group price" for the training.

Most of all, you REALLY do need to "test drive" - as many different machines as possible. It's amazing how different the machines can "feel".

Good luck!!

you've been good advice from many but one part of your OP stuck out to me--that his idea was to get the LA in order to make a profit for the church. I'm going to make a guess that if there are that many ladies at the church quilting, then your area may have many, many quilters and at least some LA already. As many have said about selling quilts--there isn't much profit there! And you would be competing with your area LA who are already established. While the idea of getting a LA for the purpose of charity work, or to provide a way for quilters in the church to finish quilts at a modest fee---then go for it. But I do think your group should look long & hard at the idea of making $$ on this. I heard from a LA rep last year, that while it's still possible to make $$ as a LA quilter, the "competition" for that has really increased with the advent of the many affordable mid-arms and sit-down quilters. And now, with the addition of the ruler systems for domestic machines, I suspect this will only become more competitive.

I find that quilting with the computer takes much longer as lining up each new pass takes more time. I find that freehand free motion is quicker for me. But at least 8-10 hours to quilt.

very well said. lots of things to consider. don't expect to make lots of money!

I would say that is about right although some quilts are more difficult. What I mean by that is as a longarmer will get quilts that are not squared, tangled with thread and not enough batting or lining. I usually call the customer and discuss this with them and charge them a fee. This does not happen all the time but once in a while it does. But normally 6 hrs is good for a pantograph. Custom quilting and ruler work takes longer depending the size of the quilt.

And then there are the tax implications....

I had no idea you could do a quilt so quickly on a long arm. Is this based on an overall design? What if you are doing an original design or rulers? Is it still that much faster than a DSM?
It makes me slightly green when I think of the MANY hours I've spent FMQ-ing a queen size on my DSM and I'm not nearly done. I've been working on it off and on for over a year.
It makes me want one more than ever.

Watson

We've only had our long arm since October and it takes about 6 to 8 hours to do a quilt. Dh took the class on how to run it with me and he's probably better at setting up the computer aspects than I am. I'm better at squaring up and picking designs. ;)

I find it's way faster to do a quilt on the long arm then on my regular machine and way easier since I'm not moving all that bulk on my sewing table. I'm looking forward to learning how to drive my long arm myself and create my own designs.

Watson, the OP was asking about a simple panto on a queen, and yes, the time would probably average about 6 hrs. Using custom work, hand guided, with rulers or stencils or other marking, would depend on the degree on intensity of the quilting. I did a 96" sq., ALL rulers, LOTS of thread changes & starts/stops for a customer and it took 33.5 hrs--that was the Jaybird Gravity quilt shown in the KC Regional Quilt Fest guild display--but in my experience that is extreme. Most custom quilts would not take that long or have near that many thread changes as customers would not want to pay the $$ for it!