Understanding the Cost of Long Arm Quilting

When we opened our online store in July 2025, we made sure everything was organised and ready as orders began to trickle in. Anyone who has opened an online store will understand when I say it starts like a dripping faucet, with only a few orders at first, then gradually picking up over time.

One of the first things I did was create our business profile on Google. I listed our store as “online only,” though I still had to include a physical address. Not long after, ladies began showing up at our home with quilts they wanted to have long armed. I was surprised, because I had never mentioned long arm services in our online store description or in any search terms. Even so, it became clear there was a real need for long arm quilting services in our area. After the third person showed up at our door, we decided to open the store in Elkin and offer a range of services to the community. Needless to say, it has been a success.

For many customers, the cost of long arm quilting is a bit of a mystery. People are often unsure what the store provides and what they are expected to bring. Pricing can also seem confusing because most long arm providers, including Pisgah Needleworks, charge by the square inch. Some may ask, “Why not charge by quilt size?” In practice, we do. The difficulty is that there is no universal standard for twin, full, queen, king, lap, or baby quilts. Every quilt is a little different, just like the person who made it.

To help our community better understand long arm quilting, here is a simple guide to what is included and how pricing works.

The customer provides:

• The finished quilt top

• The batting, which is the filling that goes in the middle

• The backing, which may be a single piece of fabric or several pieces sewn together to create one backing

The store provides:

• The long arm machine

• The thread

• The time to load the quilt onto the machine

• The software used to select the quilting pattern

• The time and expertise required to stitch all three layers together using the customer’s chosen design

Our store also sells batting and backing fabric by the yard for customers who need them, though these purchases are often made well before the quilt is ready for long arm quilting.

At our store, we charge a $35 setup fee. This covers the thread, along with the time and materials required to load the quilt onto the machine. From there, our base rate is 2.5 cents per square inch for basic continuous patterns such as Baptist Fan or Running Daisies.

We also offer more detailed patterns that require additional time and thread. Those designs are priced according to complexity, and we always discuss the total cost with the customer in advance. That said, more than 90% of our customers choose classic continuous patterns at the base rate. When we quilt our own projects, we usually make the same choice because those patterns are timeless, attractive, and allow the artistry of the quilt top to remain the focus.

So what does that look like in practice?

Let’s say a quilt top measures 90" x 90", which falls within a common queen-size range. If the customer chooses a continuous-line pattern at the 2.5 cent rate, the cost would be calculated like this:

$35 setup fee
plus
90 × 90 × $0.025 = $202.50

Total: $237.50

Because this is a service, no sales tax is charged.

Now let’s look at a baby quilt measuring 36" x 36":

$35 setup fee
plus
36 × 36 × $0.025 = $32.40

Total: $67.40

One important point to keep in mind is that many quilters are fully capable of quilting their own quilts on a standard sewing machine. The challenge is often the time, space, and frustration that can come with managing a large quilt on a smaller machine. Long arm quilting simplifies that process and often produces a faster, smoother, and more polished result than most people can comfortably achieve at home.

The question I hear most often is why long arm quilting can seem expensive, especially when a small quilt may take less than an hour to finish and a large quilt may take fewer than three. The answer is that the price reflects far more than stitching time alone. In fact, labour is only one part of the overall cost.

Many people do not realise that a long arm machine with Pro-Stitcher software costs well over $25,000. These machines also require regular maintenance, along with needle changes and ongoing upkeep to keep them running properly. For a quilt shop, a long arm machine is a major investment and an essential piece of professional equipment.

We take great pride in offering long arm services. Seeing a customer’s face light up as their quilt begins to take its final shape makes the work worthwhile.

If you are in the Elkin area and need long arm quilting services, feel free to reach out to us at 336-258-0623 or stop by the store with your quilt top to discuss your options. We are always happy to help.