How Much Does It Cost to Longarm a Quilt? Prices by Size and Break-Even Math

How do longarm quilters charge?

Nearly every longarm service quotes a price per square inch for the quilting itself. To estimate the cost:

1. Measure the quilt top in inches, width and length.
2. Multiply to get square inches. A 90 x 95 in queen is 8,550 square inches.
3. Multiply by the rate. At $0.02 per square inch, 8,550 x 0.02 = $171.

The rate depends mostly on the type of quilting:

• Edge-to-edge (E2E) or pantograph. One repeating design stitched across the whole quilt, row by row. This is the lowest rate, because the quilter follows a pattern without stopping to change designs.
• Semi-custom. An all-over design plus separate treatment of borders or sashing.
• Custom. Different designs in blocks, borders and backgrounds, ruler work, feathers and dense fills. This takes many more hours and is priced much higher, sometimes quoted by the hour.

Denser designs cost more than open ones at the same style, because they take longer and use more thread. Many services also set a minimum charge, so a small wall quilt may cost the minimum rather than its square-inch price.

How much does it cost to longarm a quilt by size?

The table below applies four example rates to our standard quilt sizes from the quilt size chart. Treat the rates as a way to scale a quote you receive, not as local prices: if your quilter charges $0.025, read that column. Batting, thread, binding and backing fees are not included.

Two things stand out. A queen costs about 2.6 times a throw, because it has 2.6 times the area. And the difference between rates grows with size: a penny per square inch is $16 on a baby quilt but $101 on a king. If your quilt is not a standard size, the per-size pages such as queen quilt size and king quilt size list the common ranges, and the calculator takes any measurement.

What extra fees do longarm quilting services charge?

The square-inch price covers the stitching. An invoice often includes other lines, and it is worth asking about each one before you drop off a top:

• Batting. Many services sell batting from a roll by the length. You can usually supply your own; ask what brands and sizes they accept.
• Thread. Some include thread in the rate, others charge per quilt or per bobbin, and specialty threads can cost extra.
• Binding. Machine-attaching binding, or fully finishing it, is commonly priced per linear inch of perimeter. A queen has 370 in of edge.
• Backing preparation. Piecing a backing that arrives too small, or squaring and pressing one, may be charged by time.
• Thread trimming and pressing the top. Tops with loose threads or unpressed seams can carry a prep fee.
• Rush or shipping. Quick turnaround and return shipping add to the total.

The easiest fee to avoid is backing preparation. Most longarmers want backing 4 to 6 in larger than the top on every side. For a queen that means 8 1/4 yards of 42 in cotton with 4 in per side, or 2 3/4 yards of 108 in wide backing; the queen backing page and quilt backing calculator give exact figures for any overage.

Is it cheaper to buy a longarm or pay for quilting?

It depends almost entirely on how many large quilts you finish each year. The table uses the same math as our calculator: a 90 x 95 in queen at an illustrative $0.02 per square inch ($171 per quilt), minus about $15 per quilt for your own thread, needles and wear, so each quilt you do yourself saves about $156. Batting is left out, because you buy it either way.

Read this table with three honest caveats. First, it counts only the machine price, not tables, rulers, lighting or servicing. Second, the lowest-cost machines are not equally good at queens: a 9 in throat like the Juki TL-15 makes a queen hard work, which is why the 13 in Grace Little Rebel or a frame is the more realistic comparison. Third, smaller quilts change everything. A 50 x 65 in throw at $0.02 costs only $65 to send out, so at two throws a year even the $1,399 midarm takes about 14 years to pay off.

The simple rule: if you finish four or more bed quilts a year and enjoy the quilting itself, owning can pay off within a few years. If you finish one or two, pay a longarmer and put the money into fabric, unless quilting your own is part of the joy. Try your own volume and rate in the longarm cost calculator.

What else does owning a longarm cost?

Ownership brings running costs that a service bundles into its rate:

• Thread. Longarms use cones. A 5,000 m cone of Glide 40wt 5,000 m runs about $15, and a 2,000 yd cone of cotton Superior King Tut 40wt about $30.
• Needles. Longarm needles are a different system from home machine needles; a 20 pack of Handi Quilter Longarm Needles is about $15.
• Batting by the roll. Buying a 90 in wide roll such as Warm & Natural 40 yd Roll at about $300 lowers the per-quilt cost if you quilt often.
• Rulers and a ruler base for ruler work, such as the HQ Steady-Fit Ruler Base 15 in for Moxie machines.
• Lighting across the full frame, such as a Daylight Slimline 4 Floor.
• Servicing through a dealer, and the space itself: an 8 ft rail frame needs a room roughly 11 to 12 ft long.

Our how to choose a longarm guide covers room sizes and total first-year cost in more detail.

How can you lower the cost of longarm quilting?

• Choose edge-to-edge for everyday and gift quilts, and save custom quilting for heirlooms.
• Use wide backing. It is often cheaper than 8 or more yards of quilting cotton, and it removes seams a longarmer has to manage.
• Prepare the top. Trim loose threads, press seams, square the top and make the backing the requested size, so no prep fees apply.
• Supply your own batting if the service allows it, bought on sale or cut from a roll.
• Rent longarm time. Many quilt shops rent machines by the hour after a short certification class. You do the quilting, they supply the machine.
• Finish small quilts at home. Baby quilts, table runners and throws quilt well on a domestic machine with a walking foot. A straight-stitch machine like the Juki TL-2010Q handles throws comfortably.

Is a longarm quilting business profitable?

It can be, but the square-inch math is sobering. At an example $0.02 per square inch, a queen brings in about $171 for the quilting, and a customer quilt includes loading, quilting, unloading, trimming, thread changes and communication. Your real hourly return depends on local rates, how fast you quilt an edge-to-edge design, how many customer quilts you can book, and the cost and payoff period of the machine from the table above.

Before buying a machine for business, it helps to price out a sample month: expected quilts, average size, your local rate, thread and batting margins, and the loan or savings behind the machine. Frame systems with stitch regulation and a wide throat, such as the Handi Quilter Moxie XL + Loft with its 18 in throat, quilt more of the design per pass, which matters when time is money. Many hobby quilters start by quilting for friends and a local guild to learn their true speed before committing.