Why long arm quilting is so "expensive"

I am asked about the prices that are charged for long arm quilting services. While I cannot speak for others, I can relate my own experiences. I am by no means an expert either! I'm just putting thoughts on paper, so to speak.

First of all, prices are all over the place, so you have to shop around to find the best fit. You should be able to talk to the quilter and explain what you want. You should also feel confident that what you want is what you will get!

I don't have a set price or a price list. I'll give you a price after I know how large the quilt is and what pattern you have chosen. Pattern choice is important because the pattern will help determine the amount of time spent at the machine. (See below.) If the pattern is very detailed and dense, it will take much longer to stitch out than a looser, less detailed pattern.

If you want to supply your own batting, that will save you just a few dollars. However, it is often not worth it as shipping batting will add to your total cost, if the quilt is to be shipped to the quilter.

If the backing is going to be pieced, I would very much prefer to do that myself and you will pay me to do it. Quilters not familiar with how a long arm machine on a frame "works" and do not understand the importance of a nice squared, straight pieced backing. Even the best constructed quilt top will suffer the consequences of a poorly prepared backing. Most long arm quilters will piece the back for you and will charge for it. Most are very particular regarding piecing, ironing, etc. and will indicate such on their website or when you contact them on the phone or in person.

The quilter must be at or near the machine at all times when it is running, if it is computerized. If not, then obviously, the quilter is guiding the machine. Time is money! With computerized equipment, the quilter must be close enough to the machine to observe problems like running out of bobbin thread or thread breakage. Problems must be dealt with promptly. If thread breaks or runs out, there is generally no harm done to the quilt, but quite a lot of time is wasted and the machine was running, unproductively. Sometimes a problem will damage the quilt on the frame, so it is imperative that the quilter learn to deal with all problems promptly.

Remember that the equipment the quilter uses is not inexpensive, and the equipment and supplies also require a LOT of space. If it was inexpensive and small, you would have it, right? OK. Quilting systems vary quite greatly in price, as does the quilting itself. Take a few minutes and check them out the next time you are at a quilt show or just surfing. Some run as high as $40,000! Regarding supplies, a professional will have quite a bit of money invested in threads, needles, batting, perhaps some backing fabrics, etc.

And, while we are at it, let's be honest . . . your quilt is probably not "show" material. Yes, we would all like to think they are, but face it, most, if not all that we make are not going to win any prizes. They may be very well constructed and when quilted are stunning, but whatever "it" is that is going to win the prize, our quilts just don't have "it." And, that's OK! I make quilts for enjoyment and to be useful. I do the very best job I can on each and every quilt and have FUN! So . . .

If your quilt did have "it" and you are going to enter it in a show, you probably wouldn't be reading this. It wouldn't matter how much the cost, you would be looking for a quilter who had one prizes themselves. You would pay them whatever they charge and wait whatever length of time you had to.

Come back! I will probably add more as I think of things I didn't say today!

Some quilts I have made

Most people think that I have a lot of quilts in my house since I am a quilter. Well, most quilters will laugh at that suggestion, as I do! Many of the quilts I have made over the years have been given as gifts or have gone to charity. I make as many quilts as I can per year for Hope Pregnancy Center, a Christian crisis pregnancy center. They do not counsel to abort but rather keep the baby or put it up for adoption. They also help with other services and expenses as needed.

Over the next few days or weeks, as I have time, I will post pictures of quilts I have made and where they are now.
I made this quilt for my niece and her husband for Christmas. She likes blue & silver for Christmas instead of the traditional red & green. The pattern is Turning Twenty.

This quilt is a more recent one. It is flannel and, obviously, scrappy with a scrappy binding. It is hanging as a class sample in a local quilt shop. It was really a lot of fun to make! The pattern is Geese in the Fields.


I saw the pattern for this quilt during a local shop hop and knew I had to make it for my niece - the same one who was the recipient of the blue & silver Christmas quilt. This was a pattern, but I cannot remember the name of it. I will post it if I remember or can find the pattern. I cut out all the "Bugs" during a car trip to NC at Thanksgiving to visit my in-laws. The hubcaps are all buttons that I had or found after I got the idea. Button hubcaps was not part of the pattern, as I recall. This quilt was also a Christmas gift, in 2005.

Now you won't guess who received this one - yup, the same niece that received the other two. This is a Christmas tree skirt I made for her and her husband. No wonder she caught the quilting bug from me! This quilt was made from strip sets and with a large wedge ruler. My husband had made an extension to the ruler so I was able to make the quilt this large. Since then, the company sells an extension as well. Guess my idea was just a little ahead of its time.

This is a quilt I made for my Secret Sister at church and presented in Nov 2007. She said she LOVES cows, so a "cow quilt" she got! The pattern is from a magazine and the fabrics, believe it or not, I had in my stash! Can't have too much stash! The backing is cows as well, which I also had in my stash. She loved it.

I made 7 quilts using this pattern, besides the cow one, for Christmas gifts in 2006. My parents and in-laws each got one, one of my sisters-in-law, our next door neighbor and my husband. It is a fun and easy pattern that adapts well to a theme, like the cows. My husband, neighbor and Dad got "tool" themes, my father-in-law, golf, his wife, flowers, my mother cats and my sister in law, oriental, something they all like!