Iluv2quilt

My quilter charges by the square inch and cost is depending on the complexity of the pattern she quilts and how close the quilting is. Anywhere from $.015 to $.030

judy_68

Im glad you started this post. Its interesting to know this. I would probably never pay that much but understand why it costs that much. If I made quilts to make a profit I would be in trouble. lol
Judy in Ohio

diogirl

I was seriously considering making them for profit, but unless I was given one of those long arm machines and do it myself, I just can't see how I could make a profit if i'm paying hundreds of dollars to have the quilting done.

Scissor Queen

The problem with that is the people that appreciate how much a hand made quilt is actually worth are generally quilters and making their own. People that don't quilt don't know the value and know they can buy a quilt at a big box store for less than a hundred bucks including sheets and shams. It's tough to compete with China.

chickadee_42us

China - I am very tired of seeing almost everything Made in China.

weezie

How true! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that is all changing and has been for some time now. It seems to me that about 15 years ago, home quilters such as we are, were few and far between. As I get more involved in the process of creating quilts, I see a lot more "newbies" to quilting, much more on-line info. and more "quilt" products for sale.

It has occurred to me that maybe I was simply unaware of the parallel quilting world before I got involved in it, but I don't think so; I think it's growing at a fast pace constantly. That's all to the good for those of you who sell quilts and/or your long-arm quilting skills as more people become aware of the value of what you do. Regarding the price a long arm quilter charges, I'm sure he/she earns every penny and more, if the quality of the work is good. Just take a look at the prices of the kits that are for sale; there's big honkin' price tags on those and, in point of fact, no quality fabric, thread, or notions are inexpensive and therefore we are constantly on the lookout for bargains. I, for one, would be willing to pay what it's worth to get the best quilting job possible once I invested all the time and money into putting together a quilt top.

crashnquilt

Well guess I'll jump onto this soapbox too. I can fully appreciate you think the quilting is expensive. It was kind of a shot in the gut when you said "Just the stitching?"

That is not the only thing that happens when you hire a longarm quilter. Also, you need to know a bit more of what happens on OUR side of your quilt.

First off, does the quilt top have any problems? It may be out of square, the borders may be wavy, some of the squares may not lay flat when loaded, are the seams pressed flat, are the loose threads cut off, what kind of backing is with the quilt, is the backing square, if the backing is pieced together how was it pieced, were the selveges cut off and tons more stuff to be considered.

If the quilt is not square, the quilt will not lay flat after it is quilted. It will be wavy and have bad corners. You, the originator of the quilt, will blame the longarmer for messing up the quilt when it was not the fault of the longarmer.

If the borders are wavy, once again the end product will be wavy.

If you choose to use a pantograph design on the quilt, the longarmer has to measure the quilt THEN measure the pantograph. If the panto does not go into the quilt measurement evenly, then the longarmer has to figure in the "fudge factor" to make the panto look correct. And trust me that ain't always easy!

Now beyond all of the above, which is only a SAMPLING of things to look at, now we talk about threads and needles. A longarm needle is a MINIMUM of $1.00 and most are more expensive. Most quilts will use up at least 3 bobbins or more. This means the amount of thread used will be from 500yards and up. Not all threads will work with all quilts. We have to "sample stitch" and check tensions and the like. If that thread don't work, we have to remove it and try another thread, so on and so forth. Plus we usually use a more expensive thread. Why? So it doesn't fall apart with repeated washings. We also have to make "invisible" stops and starts and hide our threads.

Then to top off all of the above situations there is one other thing to consider. We have to deal with the quality of thread the quilter used for her piecing! I have had this happen:

Load customer quilt on frame. Get one section quilted and advance the quilt on the rollers. I hear a popping sound. HMMMMMMM What was that? As I begin to quilt the next section I fully see what the popping sound was. Because the piecer decided to use a "discount" thread, the thread broke from one side of the quilt to the other! So, I had to painstakingly HAND SEW the quilt back together before I could proceed with quilting. It only took me about 4 hours to complete that.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm really coming down on you, but before you pass judgement thinking longarmers charge too much "just for stitching" you need to consider our liability as well. Spend a day chatting with a longarmer, you'll come away with a whole new appreciation for the art.

diogirl

Maybe I came across the wrong way.. I definately do not want to upset any of you ladies on here who work hard to do the quilting. I am on a very tight budget and was just asking roughly how much the service was... I had no idea how much it was. My cousin said she took her quilts in to a company that charged around $20 to have it done on a machine, about 10 years ago, so I was thinking with inflation, today it would be about $40-$50. So I'm not sure what machine that company used, but that's why I had posted "that's expensive just for stitching." She made it sound like they put your quilt on a machine and it's programmed to follow a pattern and they hit start. I'm very much new to the quilting world and I have tons of questions. That's why I'm on here. I mean no disrespect at all to anyone here. I apologize if it seemed that way. :oops:

burnsk

Personally, I'm glad this discussion ensued. I've learned a lot about what's involved with longarm quilters and what they have to go through and how they charge. So keep asking your questions. We've all been newbies at one time or another.

weezie

I am not a long-arm quilter so I might very well be mistaken, but I don't think you upset or offended anyone. I think it's all good info. we're getting. From what I can tell, people can afford to be candid on this board; it's one way that we learn stuff. I've "vented" at least once since I joined.