The Cost of Long Arm Quilting

I had my fabulous machine drive for the finish of this crazy quilt.  I needed to clean up my studio and hate to have a quiet space, so I chose one of my own recent purchases to put on the frame.

My lovely machine is a Handi Quilter 24 Fusion with Prostitcher.  In English this means I have a large machine with a computer ;)  I can either guide the machine myself or with the computer.  Many times I choose both.

This crazy quilt is a great example to explain a few things.  First, don't spend a bunch of money for custom quilting on busy fabric!

Honestly, do you see much of the pattern on the front?  I only notice the fabulous 1930's fabrics, which is the whole point of this quilt for me!  Now let me show you the pattern.....

I also did the stitching in red to distinguish the pattern as much as possible on the front, but it hardly matters when you have such a collage of fabrics.

So yes, on a solid, spend some money, where you can see it!  And you can spend a LOT of money if you choose.  Let me break the cost down of this particular quilt.

I charge by the square inch of a quilt, depending on the intensity and difficulty of the pattern.  An edge to edge, all over design is by far the easiest and most of the time, finished by the computer.  There are oodles of designs!  Charges begin at 2 cents per square inch.  The dimension of this quilt is 63" x 74".  If you multiply these numbers you will get the total square inches, 4,662.  Now, multiply that times the per inch cost of the quilt, 2 cents....4,662 x .02 = $93.24.  Custom work (lots more quilting) begins at 3 cents per square inch and goes up from there.  It's that easy!

I carry a few different types of batting and mostly use Hobbs or Warm and Natural 80/20.  I can also use 100% cotton or washable wool.  Polyester batting can be a little slick, so I'm not such a fan.  Most quilts use 2 or 3 yards of batting @ $10 a yard, so add $20-$30 for batting.

That's it in a nutshell!  Email or Facebook message me for a quote. You can also find me at Kelly Cline Quilting on Facebook, where I usually post daily.  I am booking into July right now and I ship all over the country.  Thanks for stopping by!