Quilting Currently, I am offering only edge-to-edge (allover) quilting. Pricing starts at 1.5 cents per square inch and goes up to 2 cents per square inch for designs of a higher density. With continuing education and experience gained, I plan to offer custom quilting in the future.
To calculate the total square inches in a quilt, multiply the length x the width. For example, to calculate the cost for a quilt that is 70 inches wide by 80 inches long:
70 inches x 80 inches = 5600 square inches 5600 square inches x $.015 (1.5 cents for average density) = $84.00 Batting I have Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Premium Cotton Blend batting in both 96-inch and 120-inch widths, and I have the same Hobbs batting blend in a bleached white color. If you supply your own batting, be aware that some brands are more suitable for long-arm quilting. I recommend Hobbs, Quilter’s Dream, or batting made by the Warm Company, including Warm & Natural, Warm & White, or Soft & Bright polyester batting. Economy battings such as Mountain Mist or Fairfield are not suitable for long-arm quilting.
Additional Costs My philosophy is to pay your long-arm quilter only for long-arm quilting. Save money by properly preparing your quilt at home. If your quilt requires preparation upon its arrival, the following charges will apply.
Fix open seams: $20 Trim loose threads: $20 Iron top or quilt back: $15 each Squaring up backing or quilt top: $15 each Backing too small: $25
Fix open seams: Make sure there are no gaps in any of the seams. It can be very difficult to close an open seam that is discovered after the quilt has been loaded onto the long-arm frame. The quilting machine moves at a steady and sometimes high rate of speed. If the quilting foot gets caught in an open seam, it can quickly lead to disaster and result in a torn quilt. Also, please make sure all pins and needles have been removed.
Trim loose threads: This is especially important if you have light-colored blocks or background, in order to keep dark threads from showing through the quilt top. This can be time-consuming, but save your money and do this at home. I recommend looking over the back of the quilt top more than once, as those pesky dark threads have a way of showing up even after I think I have trimmed them all from my own quilts.
Iron top and quilt back: For best results, all seams must be pressed flat. Ironing the backing fabric helps prevent fabric creases from becoming a permanent part of the quilt. If the backing is pieced, remove selvages before seaming your backing, use a 1/2-inch seam allowance, and press this seam open. Another option is to leave the selvages intact to help keep the fabric edges square while you sew them together, use a large seam allowance of 1 inch or more, and then trim the seam to 1/2 inch, thus removing the selvages. Again, this seam should be pressed open. If the quilt top or backing has a directional print, please pin a note indicating the top edge of the quilt.
Squaring up backing or quilt top: The quilt top and backing fabric must be square in order to load properly on the long-arm frame. I will not load a backing that is not square—I will fix it and add the additional charge. Be sure to square up your backing fabric on the straight grain of fabric before measuring. The backing fabric must be at least 4 inches larger than the quilt top on all four sides. If the backing seems to be the correct size but has not been squared up, the measurements will not be accurate, as some of the width will be lost in the squaring process. There are many videos on YouTube that demonstrate the process, which you can find by searching for “how to square up your quilt.” You can see one of my favorites here.
Backing too small: The backing fabric must be at least 4 inches larger than the quilt top on all four sides. This is necessary in order to load it onto the long-arm frame. If the backing is too small, it will require extra fabric being added before it can be loaded. This extra fabric will be removed after the quilting is complete, but it requires extra time and expense to accommodate a backing that is the incorrect size.