Tipping your Long Arm Quilter
 

I am fairly new to quilting, started with baby quilts and now making twin or full size. As these are too big to do on my home machine, I started using a long arm quilting service. I have found a wonderful lady who does LAQ out of her home and she does excellent work. I do my own binding to save money, but I think she is working incredibly below the average market price. I don't have a good feel for what I should be paying, but most places I have checked out online won't touch a quilt of any size for less than $50 and then you pay extra for the batting and thread, by the square inch, etc. She has charged me $20 to $30 for the smaller quilts and has never charged me over $36 even for a full sized quilt. I am not asking for special stitching, just meandering stitch or simple all over machine patterns. She charges nothing extra for the batting or thread. I tactfully mentioned that she had great prices and she said well it only took her a couple of hours to do one and shrugged it off. I actually feel guilty that she is making so little profit for her work. Would it be inappropriate to tip her for a job well done? It is common to do so?

Her pricing is really low. You certainly could quilt twin or full yourself, the bigger the quilt the bigger the job.
I think if you want to tip her you certainly can. She would probably be thrilled!!!!

My quilting lady is also very reasonable -- not as reasonable as yours but -- I usually always give her more than she asks because she's fast and she does a fantastic job.

Thanks for the input. I felt like she was very low priced too, and doesn't really know what her services are worth.

40.00 is what I have paid for twin size quilts...that is what I feel was fair...and is what is being charged in my area. I did not tip. I now do my own quilts on my 7700...so glad I invested in that sewing machine. It has paid for its self.

I tip my long armer. She does not charge enough either.
Sandy

In my area the going price is .01-.125 a sq in. So a 40x40 will run between $16-$20. Check around in your area as to what there getting. This price is for edge to edge

I took a quilt to a local LA lady. She charged a penny a square inch. My double bed sized ones (at least it fits over my double bed witha little overhang) cost me $90.00 She charges for thread. I supplied the batting and back. She does a really lovely job. This of course was for a very simply meander, as I dislike heavy quilting. I know she charges more for fancier quilting. She is popular in the area and also teaches classes at local fabric store. Would love to use her more, but I just cannot afford it. I mostly now just either tie or hand quilt. Sometimes I use the ladies at the senior center. They do just a wavy line quilting and are quite a bit cheaper. Not fancy, but functional. smile.

I'd tip her and also engage her in conversation to see if there is something she wants, but won't buy for herself. Maybe you can get her something special for her birthday, etc.

The price here is $60. for a twin, $70 for a double. That includes poly batting and binding the quilt. The quilt shop deducts $15.00 if someone does their own binding regardless of the size of the quilt, so $45.00 for twin and $55. for a double. You really are getting a good bargain. If she doesn't want more $$, then perhaps take your own batting to her.

The lady I am using just did a 72 by 96 quilt for under $40. The postage and insurance was 1/3 the price of her LAQ services. She is located about 60 miles from me so still cheaper in time and gas to mail my quilt to her.

I'm a long armer and I think the only people you're supposed to tip are employees, not an owner. It's like going to a hair stylist... they make minimum wage, right? You only tip the employees, not the owner. An owner is already getting top dollar, we don't need tips. However, if an employee is doing the quilting, then tip the employee.

I think the idea was that she was so cheap, that giving her a bonus is great. She obviously isn't getting top dollar. I can't believe how cheap she is!

In the uk we would pay in english pounds what you pay in dollars. A queen size quilt would cost £100 not including batting. I think the exchange rate is a little over $1.50 to £1.00 at the moment. If it was me I would tip the lady, I am sure she would be over the moon.

At those prices, she'll be forever paying off her machine. Then there's electricity and time and materials. "Reasonable" is being able to pay the bills and getting at least minimum wage. It isn't just the sewing time, add to that the set up of the machine, customer contact, billing, keeping the books and taxes, training, store cleaning. This is a business, not a hobby. I do have a minimum. It's not worth my time to quilt a small quilt.

i've had many customers (add) a little extra to their check when they pay for their quilt (and i'm not as *inexpensive* as yours!) i charge a pretty reasonable rate- but often if i give someone an invoice that says...$135 on it I may receive a check for $150...I do charge for batting (at cost) if i provide it- most of my customers bring their own choice of batting. I do not charge extra for thread unless i'm using a specialty thread- or making many color changes.
i don't think it's unreasonable to add a bit if you think its worth more to you than you are being charged and you can afford it.