KellyAustin

Hi all, I'm new here! My wife is just getting into quilting and she is trying to find some advice.

She finished the applique and front patterns on her first quilt (queen size) and it looks really great. She bought the batting and the fabric for the back.

She decided to pay someone to quilt it together into the final product. She was quoted $170. Now it is finished and the final amount was adjusted to $200 because the binding had to be done by hand.

This seems very expensive to me, considering all of her materials were about $100. So I have a few questions:

Do many quilters (beginners) pay someone else to assemble the quilt?
Is $170-$200 a normal price for this service?
How hard is it to put together the front, back, and battling without a quilting machine? Can it be done with a regular sewing machine like she uses to assemble the front pattern?

Thank you for your advice.

loves_2_quilt

Do many quilters (beginners) pay someone else to assemble the quilt?
Is $170-$200 a normal price for this service?
How hard is it to put together the front, back, and battling without a quilting machine? Can it be done with a regular sewing machine like she uses to assemble the front pattern?

Some quilters always send their quilts out no matter what their skill level.
I don't know about the price, I do my own, but I have heard of people paying much more.
It can be time consuming to layer your quilt. You need an area large enough to lay out all your layers. It can be quilted on a regular machine. I quilt mine on the same machine I piece it with. I quilt anything from a king down to table runners.

Hope this helps.

Scissor Queen

Lots of quilters "quilt by check." $170 to $200 is probably about average for a queen size quilt. It can be a lot more expensive than that.

It's not that hard to put the layers together and quilt it yourself. It does take some time and practice to learn to quilt and it takes some space to get the layers basted. I recommend she go to youtube and search for Sharon Schamber's quilt videos. She has a method for basting that works for any size quilt. Quilting on a regular machine with a small throat can be a challenge but it can be done. It's a lot easier to do on one of the longer throat machines. (throat is the space between the needle and the right side of the machine)

Raggiemom

I don't think that's a bad price to quilt it. However, I would think she should have been told up front the cost of binding. I still think it's reasonable since the binding is hand sewn. You can quilt on the same machine but the bigger the throat, the easier I think it is. Assembling the 3 layers can be daunting at first, especially if you start with a larger quilt, but it gets easier as you do more. Congratulations to your wife on finishing her first quilt!

Mazda

For me it just depends on the quilt as to whether I do it myself or send it out. It would seem to me the cost would be some what determined by your location.

Rose L

It is possible to have a long arm quilter just layer and baste a quilt sandwich together for her to then quilt herself by domestic sewing machine or by hand, if you don't have the floor space or a large table to do it on. If you are considering a long arm you don't have to have a large 12-14 foot frame. You can purchase a long arm model and place it in a table for sit down quilting. Handi Quilter and Tin Lizzie each have them with tables or you can also buy a Bailey or Nolting and have a table reconstructed to set the machine down in. For this type of quilting you would usually sit at the head of the machine not on the side of it like you would a domestic machine. Any of these options would pay for themselves in a short amount of time compared to sending quilts out to be quilted. Some of the newer machine manufacturers also have machines with 9-10 throats that make domestic machine quilting much easier than with a typical 6.5" or 7" machine. All she would really need is a straight stitch machine for this purpose however. Look at the Juki machines for quilting. Also, some of the vintage machines, like a Singer 15-91, are great for sit down machine quilting because they also have a larger throat opening on them. Parts for that particular Singer are still readily available. There are many many options for today's quilter besides just sending a quilt out for quilting.

suebee

I would suggest that your wife take a class on assembly of quilts and the quilting process. Many local quilt shops offer classes like this. Quilting can be expensive. She may want to take a machine quilting class as well. You learn soooo much from them.

QuiltE

The price doesn't sound outrageous. Prices quoted usually are JUST for the quilting. If you want the binding put on, there'd be an added fee, as in this case, and this too seems reasonable.

Of course, prices vary from area to area ... and are dependent on the amount of quilting that's done.

Many choose to have the professionals do the quilting til they have mastered the piecing technique.
Some enjoy doing their own machine quilting and master it. Some hate it. Some never learn!

It seems you have stepped in here to ask questions.
Here's some for you ... what did your wife think about the fees? does she have any interest in learning to do the quilting herself?

Perhaps for now your wife is content to let someone else enhance her work with the quilting, rather than not being happy with her beginner quilting efforts!

deemail

does she check up on the prices and expenditures you make for your hobbies and personal interest? are she and her artwork not worth $200? how long did she entertain herself with this quilt? is she going to be doing 2 a year or 20? Did she ask you to buy a longarm machine to save $200? they cost anywhere from $5000 to 30,000.....

lindy-2

that sounds like a reasonable price. but if she whants to learn to quilt her quilts herself there has been some realy good advice posted on here. i personaly bought a relitivly inexpesive mid arm setup ($1900) so i wouldent have to pay to get my quilts quilted but i also make 10-15 quilts per year. but if she is only going to make one or two per year sending them out to be quilted is a good idea and it would take a long tome to pay a quilting machine off but if like me she makes quite a few quilts getting a machine and learning to use it would be a good idea.