Wondering how it works? Here's how!
- You sew your quilt top and bring (or mail) it to my home in Edmonds, or another prearranged site.
- We talk about what you’d like, including design choices, thread, and batting.
- I give you a written estimate for the quilting, as well as a timeline for completion. My typical turnaround time is 4-5 weeks, depending on the season and the complexity of your quilt. Christmas season and Quilt Show season tend to get pretty busy!
- You leave the quilt with me and I quilt it.
- You pick up your quilt, pay me (I accept checks, cash, Paypal, and Venmo), and take home your quilt to finish the binding. Then you do a happy dance, because it's finished!
Pricing
The cost of quilting depends on what design(s) you want on your quilt. The least expensive is edge-to-edge (E2E), which is a design that's quilted from one side of your quilt to another, across the whole quilt. It uses a repeating pattern (called a pantograph), and I have many different designs to choose from. This quilting begins at 2.5 cents/square inch for very simple open designs, and goes up to 4 cents/square inch, based on the density and complexity of the pattern you choose. (Total square inches is found by measuring your quilt's length and width, and multiplying those two numbers together.)
As an example, a typical queen sized quilt of 80 x 90 inches would cost $180 using a 2.5 cent E2E design, and a typical twin quilt measuring 70 x 86 would cost $150 using a 2.5 cent E2E design.
Horizontal or vertical straight line quilting also starts at 2.5 cents/square inch, and goes up to 3 cents for lines closer than 2 inches apart.
The minimum charge for quilting an E2E design is $75. See a sampling of E2E patterns here and in my Quilt Gallery.
The cost of quilting depends on what design(s) you want on your quilt. The least expensive is edge-to-edge (E2E), which is a design that's quilted from one side of your quilt to another, across the whole quilt. It uses a repeating pattern (called a pantograph), and I have many different designs to choose from. This quilting begins at 2.5 cents/square inch for very simple open designs, and goes up to 4 cents/square inch, based on the density and complexity of the pattern you choose. (Total square inches is found by measuring your quilt's length and width, and multiplying those two numbers together.)
As an example, a typical queen sized quilt of 80 x 90 inches would cost $180 using a 2.5 cent E2E design, and a typical twin quilt measuring 70 x 86 would cost $150 using a 2.5 cent E2E design.
Horizontal or vertical straight line quilting also starts at 2.5 cents/square inch, and goes up to 3 cents for lines closer than 2 inches apart.
The minimum charge for quilting an E2E design is $75. See a sampling of E2E patterns here and in my Quilt Gallery.
The next type of quilting is called custom quilting. In custom quilting, the quilter free hands different designs on the quilt (or uses a computerized machine, which I don't). This makes custom quilting more artistic, time consuming, and personalized than E2E quilting.
Basic custom quilting involves simple patterns, stitch in the ditch, and/or all-over or continuous curve quilting. This level is priced at 5 cents/square inch, and is a great choice when you want something unique but very budget-friendly.
Mid-custom quilting takes the quilting up a notch, while still remaining affordable for that special quilt. Mid-custom can include feathers, a variety of motifs, separate border treatments, etc, and can be used to lay a beautiful layer of texture over a quilt with less regard to the specific block piecing. This level includes some ruler work, and one change of thread color. Mid-custom ranges from 6-7 cents/square inch.
Full-custom quilting is for those special quilts that you want to uniquely enhance with extra-beautiful quilting. Full-custom includes all the elements of mid-custom, and adds multiple changes of thread, significant ruler work, increased density, and attention to the elements of the quilt's piecing. This level is priced at 8 cents/square inch.
The minimum charge for custom quilting is $100. You can see many examples of custom quilting in my Quilt Gallery.
(Please note I do not offer heirloom quilting.)
Basic custom quilting involves simple patterns, stitch in the ditch, and/or all-over or continuous curve quilting. This level is priced at 5 cents/square inch, and is a great choice when you want something unique but very budget-friendly.
Mid-custom quilting takes the quilting up a notch, while still remaining affordable for that special quilt. Mid-custom can include feathers, a variety of motifs, separate border treatments, etc, and can be used to lay a beautiful layer of texture over a quilt with less regard to the specific block piecing. This level includes some ruler work, and one change of thread color. Mid-custom ranges from 6-7 cents/square inch.
Full-custom quilting is for those special quilts that you want to uniquely enhance with extra-beautiful quilting. Full-custom includes all the elements of mid-custom, and adds multiple changes of thread, significant ruler work, increased density, and attention to the elements of the quilt's piecing. This level is priced at 8 cents/square inch.
The minimum charge for custom quilting is $100. You can see many examples of custom quilting in my Quilt Gallery.
(Please note I do not offer heirloom quilting.)
Thread I use Superior threads (Omni, So Fine, Bottom Line, King Tut) and Fil-tec (Glide), and I have a variety of beautiful colors to choose from. Thread is an additional flat charge of $5. Unfortunately, I cannot accept customer-provided thread.
Batting: You are welcome to provide your own batting for use (make sure it's not flimsy or so thin that it pulls apart when handled), or you can purchase from me. I stock Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 cotton poly blend ($9.00/yard, 96 inch wide, not a lot of loft, but more than 100% cotton, lighter and more durable than cotton, machine washable/dry, shrinks 3-5%) and Hobbes Heirloom Wool ($12.00/ yard, 106 inch wide, soft and luxurious feel, brings out piecing and stitching, great warmth without weight, "breathes" well, more loft than 80/20, also shrinks 3-5%, machine washable in cold water/air dry but best if dried flat). Visit Hobbs Batting to determine the best type of batting for your project.
Other services: I will trim your quilt edges after quilting at no charge, and I offer the following services at $25/hour: pressing the quilt top/back, constructing and attaching binding to the top (machine only), shopping for backing fabric, pre-washing backing, piecing backing, and extensive thread clipping on quilt backing.
WA State tax of 10.4% will be charged on all services.
Batting: You are welcome to provide your own batting for use (make sure it's not flimsy or so thin that it pulls apart when handled), or you can purchase from me. I stock Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 cotton poly blend ($9.00/yard, 96 inch wide, not a lot of loft, but more than 100% cotton, lighter and more durable than cotton, machine washable/dry, shrinks 3-5%) and Hobbes Heirloom Wool ($12.00/ yard, 106 inch wide, soft and luxurious feel, brings out piecing and stitching, great warmth without weight, "breathes" well, more loft than 80/20, also shrinks 3-5%, machine washable in cold water/air dry but best if dried flat). Visit Hobbs Batting to determine the best type of batting for your project.
Other services: I will trim your quilt edges after quilting at no charge, and I offer the following services at $25/hour: pressing the quilt top/back, constructing and attaching binding to the top (machine only), shopping for backing fabric, pre-washing backing, piecing backing, and extensive thread clipping on quilt backing.
WA State tax of 10.4% will be charged on all services.
NEW CUSTOMER DISCOUNT!
I love new customers, and to show my appreciation, I offer a 20% discount on your first order!
(Offer limited to quilting only, and does not include batting or other services. May not exceed $60)
Every 5th Quilt is 10% off too!
I love new customers, and to show my appreciation, I offer a 20% discount on your first order!
(Offer limited to quilting only, and does not include batting or other services. May not exceed $60)
Every 5th Quilt is 10% off too!
How to Prepare your Quilt for Long Arm Quilting
Quilt Preparation
Quilt Top
Quilt Backing and Batting
- Don’t baste any of the layers together, no need to do this! Hooray!
- Tip: when measuring how long to cut your borders, measure through the center of the quilt top as well as the outer edges, and average these measurements together to cut your borders to. Match outer edges and centers, and ease in any fullness. This will go a LONG way towards reducing "wavy borders"! Search YouTube for videos on how to do this if you don't understand.
Quilt Top
- Press all your seams flat (not necessarily open, just flat). Clip loose threads, especially if you have dark threads on the back of a light colored quilt top. Make sure your top is nice and square. Measure your quilt across the bottom, middle, and top. These three measurements should be pretty close to identical! If not, your quilt corners may not be square after quilting. Spray starch is a great way to get near-perfect cutting, sewing, and pressing results! If you're having trouble with wavy borders and uneven blocks, try a spray starch during the construction process next time.
- If your quilt is directional, mark the top of your quilt with a safety pin.
- Check your seams to make sure there are no gaps or holes. If any seams extend to the edge of your quilt, stay stitch 1/8 inch from the edge of the quilt across the seams to secure them.
- Remove any pins, buttons, or other embellishments from your quilt top for later.
- If your quilt will have scalloped edges, please wait to cut them until after quilting is finished.
Quilt Backing and Batting
- Both the backing and batting need to extend 4 inches further than the edges of your quilt top. For example, if your quilt top is 50 x 60, your backing and batting should be at least 58 x 68 inches. If you have problems with this, contact me, and we can talk about options.
- When possible, leave the selvages on the outside edges of your backing fabric, as they provide a nice straight edge to attach to the machine. If you've sewn the selvages together in the middle of your backing, make sure to cut them off, as they shrink differently from the rest of the fabric.
- If you piece your backing, run the seam(s) parallel with the longest side when possible. This makes it easier to keep everything straight while quilting. However, there's no need to run a seam exactly through the middle of the backing.
- Please don't sew a border fabric around the outer edges of your backing (essentially "framing" the backing like a picture frame). It's very challenging to perfectly center the quilt top in a specific place over the backing on a longarm machine, and it's possible that some of the "frame" fabric will land on one edge of your quilt, but not another, making the back of your quilt look a little odd!
- If your quilt is directional, mark the top of your backing with a safety pin.
- Make sure your backing is cut evenly and as straight as possible. Straight, square edges are best!
Disclaimers
If your quilt has fullness and/or puckers, unfortunately they cannot be quilted out. I can’t guarantee that puckers and tucks won’t be sewn in. In some cases, excessive fullness in borders may result in the quilt corners not being square. The flatter your quilt top is, the better your finished quilt will be. I will definitely try to work in any fullness, but cannot guarantee this! If you're having trouble with your borders, there are some great YouTube videos on attaching borders to solve these problems.
If your quilt has fullness and/or puckers, unfortunately they cannot be quilted out. I can’t guarantee that puckers and tucks won’t be sewn in. In some cases, excessive fullness in borders may result in the quilt corners not being square. The flatter your quilt top is, the better your finished quilt will be. I will definitely try to work in any fullness, but cannot guarantee this! If you're having trouble with your borders, there are some great YouTube videos on attaching borders to solve these problems.
