Set up fee on longarming?
 

I've got a question for the longarmers for hire. A little while ago I discovered that some of the other local longarmers are charging a set up fee as part of their pricing. The explanation that I got from them is that it's for loading, unloading, squaring & trimming the quilt. Thread is extra. I've always included these items in my price per inch. Thread is extra though. Of course seaming a backing, batting, & binding are extra. What do ya'll think of this?

I rarely do a quilt for hire but when I do I just charge by the inch. They provide thread batting and backing.

People find all kinds of different ways to charge for longarming, but it all comes down to trying to get a decent wage for the time put into the quilting. I think the charges are set up the way they are in order to make the final cost more palatable (and understandable) to the customer.

I don't think most longarmers trim the quilt without an extra charge, and many quilters wouldn't want the longarmer to do that anyway since the method to be used for binding can determine how the quilt should be trimmed. I'm not sure what they mean by squaring, whether being sure it's square on the frame (which should be done with every quilt) or actually trimming to make it square before or after quilting (which should have the customer's approval first).

LAs here have a set fee per size of the quilt. Thread and batting included. But they are not professional, just do loops and swirls.

I have read that some longarm quilters have a set up charge or minimum and the reason given was it's especially helpful for small quilts that aren't many square inches it is a way to get an adequate payment.

It's probably just a breakdown of charges because some customers don't understand that it can take 45 minutes just to load the quilt, wind bobbins, etc. Many quilters figure all that into one charge but if you find people are questioning the charges breaking it down to show all the steps involved might help.

I have not yet sent a quilt for long arming, but I would appreciate a break down of the charges.

As a customer I like to know what I am paying for the components of a job as well as the finished job.

I am always happy to pay a fair price for a job well done.

I break my charges down on an invoice so that my customers can see what is labor, design, set up, marking, thread, etc. I started doing this to help people get a better idea of the time and work that goes into the whole longarm quilting process. It probably works out about the same as when I was charging per square inch, but helps me to be more consistent in my rates. Somethings I charge by the hour, i.e. design, marking, unmarking...basically anything that happens before and after it's on the machine. I also give itemized estimates so my customers know what they can expect to pay. Hope this helps.

I just had two quilts quilted by different ladies. One charges $25.00 per hour for the actual time of quilting. She doesn't charge for set up but does charge for thread. The other one charges $18.00 per square yard for an all over pattern. It is more if you want custom. She didn't charge for set up but did charge for thread.

I don't break my fee out - I think X per square inch is pretty self-explanatory, and easy for customers to understand. I also don't charge for thread, but do have additional fees for backing & binding if they want anything done there.
I did institute a minimum fee, to cover the loading/unloading for smaller quilts. Anything under 50x40 (200 square inches) hits my minimum.

I would think "most" people want to know the bottom line. $5 for this, an extra $10 for that, thread is $?. How can you quilt without the thread. That one made no sense to me unless they are using some type of specialty thread, like silk or yak fur!! Now if the LA is providing the batting, backing or binding, I also expect that to be per sq inch. Just my opinion.

I sent out a quilt last year to the shop in Kansas, Happy Quilters I believe was the name. It was a full size quilt, the the top. For $75 they put the batting, backing, binding and quilted it for me and did a wonderful job. They only extra I had to pay for was the shipping charge for getting it back to me of cours.

I charge by the sq. inch--ranging from 1.5 cents (simple edge to edge or panto)upward--I don't charge for thread (although know people that charge for each bobbin used on top of per sq. inch) but if I am having to use 2+ colors then I'm doing custom work, and the price per sq. inch is higher.
I don't charge for set-up---each quilt has to be loaded so don't think a set up charge makes sense. I do charge if there's prep work like pressing, squaring up backing (many people don't bother to do this), securing seams (just did a quilt that had tons of opened seams!), etc. Time is $$ for long armers, so having to get a quilt ready to load without charging anything causes a long armer to lose $ on the job. I don't trim bat/back unless asked to as many people want to do that themselves. I did hear Jamie Wallen say that he charges an additional fee/hour for micro quilting and haven't done that but it makes perfect sense--it's such a time & thread consumer!

i agree with this. I also would like my hairdresser to give me a receipt each month. The total fluctuates depending in the services but I should not have to ask for a reciept. What is the big deal?

sandy

My LA quilter charges by the inch. This includes set up and thread for border to border designs. There are no additional fees. I provide top, of course, batting and backing. These are not trimmed so there is adequate material to put on the frame. They do not get trimmed as part of the quilting process. I do the trimming and binding to finish my own quilts. This seems to be pretty standard in this area.

I am a longarmer and I don't charge for loading and unloading, that is just part of the longarming. If I do have to press I charge extra, if I have to square the backing I charge extra. I expect for the quilt and backing to be squared up before it is brought to me. I belong to a long arm guild and I think most of the ladies in my guild do the same.

Do any of you have a contract with the customer, a written contract? I am thinking something that spells out the type of quilting (overall meander/pantograph vs anything custom), thread color(s), expected fee, added items and fee(pressing, squaring back, fixing seams).
Do any of you ask for partial payment up front with balance due when finished?

I've had 2 quilts done by a local LA lady. I bring top, batting and back. She has a set price according to the size of the top. She also has tons of different types of batting to sell. She has a page that I sign. It acknowledges that I know what she is charging me. She supplies the thread. No extra charges for loading or etc. The first one totaled $132 for a nice panto. It was a king size quilt. The second one was custom wall hanging for $162. I'm very pleased with her work and will bring her more quilts.

I have used two different LA'ers. One had an invoice type contract that laid out panto selection, thread, size of quilt x price per square inch. The other charges only by the square inch and in all honesty, is much more reasonable while giving the same type of result. Unfortunately, the more reasonable quilter is a great distance from me and I can only use her services when I visit my family.

However, I would think that loading or unloading the frame is integral to the quilting process and I don't think there should be an extra charge for it--kind of like full service gas stations cleaning your windows and then expecting you to pay for it.

My longarmer provides a contract before accepting a quilt, yes. It states the agreed upon price (she charges by the square inch), type of quilting (panto, custom, dense, etc) and pattern to be used, thread colors and type (brand/fiber/etc), rate used to compute the price, whether trimming or any extra services are to be done and at what additional rate, the quilt measurement, quilt title, date accepted, anticipated completion date, who is to provide the batting (price if she does) and what type it is, her agreement to contact me before making any changes, my contact info, and any notes either of us want to add as part of the agreement. We both sign and date it and we both get a copy. All this even though we are good friends. We both feel the professionalism assures that we remain good friends. :)

In her advertising, she does say that she requires a $40 advance payment to reserve a place on her schedule, but she's never actually charged me for that. Could be a friendship benefit, I don't know. She books out about 6 months, but once a spot is reserved, I don't take my quilt to her until a few days before she plans to start. She prefers it that way, as do I. Several times I've actually reserved a spot before I even started the quilt.

I charge by the inch. I do NOT trim or square up a quilt. For my personal quilts, I leave the backing and batting untrimmed until after I have the binding stitched on the top. Then I trim. I find it helps make less puckers in the backing that way. I fell that the customer may have her own way to add the binding and they can do the trimming too.

I don't charge a setup fee, but I do have a minimum charge for small quilts, which is essentially to cover the loading time on something that only takes an hour to quilt.

This is how I did it, when i was for hire......no complaints from anyone either.......although I do know of some who itemize.....my question is how does one figure thread cost?...can't not use thread and do the job!

Thank you Ghostrider. Great info.