A Complete Guide to my Longarm Services

Are you looking for a long arm quilter with a fast turn around? Let me help you bust through your stash of unfinished quilt tops with edge to edge quilting designs that enhance the beautiful quilt tops you’ve already created!

Edge to Edge (E2E) designs

What does this even mean?

• I stitch every design by hand. I do not have a digital tool to help.
• Depending on the size, each quilt takes 4-8 hours of of my undivided attention.
• The design you choose is stitched all the way across the entire quilt from top to bottom.

I stitch every design by hand.

So I’ve been told, the industry standard and expectation right now is that longarm quilters have a digital tool (like the ProStitcher) that will stitch a quilt automatically. These are computer tablets that are directly wired to the longarm quilting machine with a library of digital designs to choose from. This essentially makes the long arm an employee, freeing-up the quilters hands so they can work on a website, create a blog post, piece together another quilt top, cook dinner, answer emails, etc.

I do NOT have a digital tool yet. What does that mean for you? Here are the pros:

Each quilt takes 3-8 hours of my undivided attention.

• I love listening to podcasts while I quilt! What are your favorites?
• You never know what I’ll be jamming to upstairs! Music is the best company! Harry Connick Jr., Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, Lil Jon, Pitbull, Will Smith, bbno$, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, George Ezra, Elton John, Teddy Swims, Yebba, Sam Smith, Darius Rucker, George Straight, Walker Hayes, Chris Stapleton, Old Dominion, Lucky Chops, David Schultz, Kenny G., Michael Bolton, Kid Rock, Phillip Phillips, Lady Gaga, Andrea Bocelli, and The 3 Tenors are all on my playlist. What do you listen to?
• Pro Tip – Don’t wear headphones! You’ve got to be able to HEAR when the bobbin runs out or those other subtle differences in sound that your machine makes from time to time. I’ve stitched an entire row with no bobbin before!

Ever wonder why long arm quilting costs so much? Well, that’s a whole other blog post, but ONE reason is because it takes TIME, and time is money, honey.

Quilting is labor intensive. I am standing the entire time, with my neck bent down and eyes locked on a tiny laser light FOR HOURS. My neck and shoulders get a work out every day. Sometimes my fingers go numb from gripping those handle bars for so long.

Ruler Work and Free-Motion quilting take even more time, concentration, and skill. Quilters with years of experience with these 2 techniques are hard to come by and their talent will knock your socks off. They should be compensated for the talented craftspeople they are!

I’m still pretty inexperienced when it comes to FMQ and ruler work. If I don’t think I can give you the desired results or exceed your expectation, I WILL TELL YOU and recommend another quilter.

Sometimes E2E designs are not the best option for your quilt.

Even I still reach out to other long arm quilters to put the finishing touches on my beloved Kim Diehl quilts with wool applique. My friend and fellow guild member, Barb Linares over at Crafty Threads in Hahira is going to mentor me as I attempt to quilt my latest one! There is just no way I would quilt over those fabulous designs. In this case, I want echo stitches and fillers for the low volume space (white background areas).

E2E designs are stitched across the entire quilt from top to bottom.

You get to choose a pantograph (design) you think compliments your quilt top. There are thousands to choose from. I purchase mine almost exclusively from from Urban Elementz. They have such an extensive collection! I’ve always found what I’m looking for and have never had to shop around.

This design is not stretched to fit. It’s a continuous line, repeated design. They come in various sizes and each can be ordered to any custom size. My machine can quilt designs up to 13 inches wide. I stitch one long continuous row, then roll the quilt to the next section and begin again.

(Kind of like a old-timey type writer. Sometimes I even make the little “DING” sound in my head when I finish a row.)

You can search by designer, size, & soooo many themes!

• Curls, Swirls, and Spirals
• Fans and Clams
• Feathers
• Fillers and Stipples
• Flowers
• Flames and Woodgrains
• Circles, Ovals, Pearls
• Novelty (holidays & themes)
• Water, Wind, Clouds
• Texture
• Geometric and Modern

If I don’t already have the design you want, I will order it! Urban Elementz ships every day!

If you’re looking for a long arm quilter, I would absolutely love to meet you and discuss your next quilt project! Just print this form to get started.

Need help filling out the intake form? I’ll walk you through it here.

Enter your Contact Information

Line 1: If you would like E2E quilting:

The price for edge to edge quilting is 2.5 cents per square inch. This includes thread and a new needle.

Measure your quilt’s length and width, and write those measurements here. Then multiply the length x width x .025 to find the price of quilting your top with E2E pantographs.

Line 2: If you would like custom quilting:

The price for custom quilting is 6.5 cents per square inch. This also includes thread and a new needle.

If you want something more advanced, like stitch in the ditch, ruler work, custom quilting, or any combination of the 3, leave the top line empty and complete the second line. Again, enter the length and width of your top, then multiply length x width x .065

Line 3: Top thread color

So many choices it’s hard to choose! There aren’t just solid color choices these days. There are a wide variety of variegated and metallic threads available.

Do you like the quilting stitches to shine when you look at the quilt? Or do you prefer the patchwork and applique designs to be the star of the show? Write your choice of thread color here. You can audition colors by just unwrapping the thread and laying it over the top in different places to see how the colors “play together.”

Line 4: Bobbin color

Your bobbin doesn’t have to be the same as your top color. Again, everyone has their own tastes and desires for their quilts. Some like the quilting design to really shine on the back, so they will opt for a contrasting color of thread.

Other quilters want the thread to “blend in” or “match” the backing, so if, for example, their backing is blue, they will choose a pretty blue to match.

So, most people are finished with the order form here. However, if you want me to provide batting and bind your quilt, keep moving down the form.

Line 5 & 6: Binding

To keep things simple, I can bind your small quilts (up to 60 x 80 inches) for $75. Larger quilts are $100.

Would you rather pick up a completely FINISHED quilt? You can send me your binding material, prepared strips, or simply pick a color. I usually use leftover backing material to make 3.25 inch flange binding strips.

I attach the binding to the back first, then flip over to the front and machine stitch it to the front.

Line 7: Batting Hobbs 80/20

You can provide your own batting and bring it to me when you bring the quilt top and back. If you just don’t have time to pick it up, or find it out of stock at your retailer, I carry Hobbs 80/20 at $10 per yard.

Line 8: Backing assembly

If you purchase 108″ wide fabric for the backing, you can skip this line. Most of the time, this fabric is plenty big enough for the backing and overage that long arm quilters require. There also isn’t much room left on the frame. My long arm can handle up to 120 inches.

If you purchase any other material and piece it together yourself, you can also skip this line. Just make sure the backing extends 4″ longer on all 4 sides of your quilt. So, if your quilt is 60 x 80, your backing needs to be 68 x 88.

But let’s say you have purchased 42″ wide fabric and have to piece it together to be the correct size. If you want me to piece it for you, I charge $10 per seam.

Sometimes people forget that a long arm quilter needs the extra 8 inches and send the backing just barely long or wide enough for the top. If I have to add muslin strips…figure $10 per seam.

Line 9: Center quilt top on backing

If you have meticulously pieced a beautiful quilt back and want it centered, both horizontally and vertically, you need to let me know.

Otherwise, the quilt will only be centered 1 way. I typically load quilts “the long way,” and they are centered only that way. When I take the finished quilt off the longarm, you might have more excess backing material hanging off one side.

Line 10: Shipping costs

Shipping your quilt is simple, safe, and secure. Plus, it’s faster than you think! Send in your quilt via your most trusted shipping partner and we’ll have it back on the road to you, with tracking and insurance, within 2 weeks.

Once your quilt is finished, I will find out exactly how much it costs to return ship it and any leftover materials directly to you and add that exact price to your total cost.

Line 11: Fabrics purchased for this project

This is one of those lines that wasn’t really needed, UNTIL it was.

• extra fabric for backing or binding
• maybe the backing you sent with your quilt wasn’t quite right, so we discussed and agreed upon changing it to something else.

Line 12: Total cost of project

Aren’t you glad it’s not like buying a car?! We’re really finished and all that’s left is the grand total. Just add up lines 1-12 and enter the amount here.

Page 2 – The fine print and your signature

Page 2 is just as important as the first. Please sign and check if you would like me to trim the excess batting and backing away after it’s quilted. This makes it so easy for you to zip right over to your machine and attach your binding strips.