Longarming Relationships & Pricing with Stephanie Baker - Part III

​On October 11, 2022, Guild Member Stephanie Baker shared with us some great information about how a longarming business works, how pricing is determined, and tips for keeping your longarmer happy.  Here is the third and final installment of what we learned during Stephanie’s presentation.

Part III: Computer-Guided vs Operator-Guided Quilting

Computer-Guided Quilting-  The operator uses a machine that is programmed with a digital quilting design.  These designs are more likely to be consistent. These designs can be also be altered to fit in the spaces necessary and can be very time consuming on the custom quilts. 

Operator-Guided Quilting- The operator guided quilting machines are completely hand-guided and can be faster since there isn’t a need to program each space individually.  There is also less consistency with the design elements execution.  This is completely dependent on the quilters fluidity when quilting.

Edge-2-Edge- An E2E design has one element repeated throughout the body of the quilt.  It can also be called an all-over design or a pantograph.  Pricing is dependent on your quilter as the quilting can be sparse or dense.  This is another area that needs to be addressed with your quilter, as it can reflect in the pricing.

Semi-Custom-  This refers to a combination of E2E and Custom.  This could mean having a border treatment that differs from the body of the quilt.  The pricing will vary depending on how may borders you have and the density of the designs chosen for those borders.

Light Custom- Custom in general, to me is when each section of the quilt top has a different design element in it.  If you had a sampler quilt, each block might have a different design applied and the sashing and corner stones would be quilted differently.  This is another place to be creative with border applications too.

Heavy Custom-  These can be very pricy and well worth it. Think about how will you be using this quilt, are you gifting it, is for show? Depending on the complexity of the design, the price will vary.

Binding Options, Labels, & Other Fees- Some longarmers choose to charge for these elements by the linear inch or by the hour.  This includes, but is not limited to, binding application, piecing your backing, and making or applying quilt labels. Some longarming charges that may not fall under the already discussed categories include loading fees, bobbin fees, and thread fees. 

For more information about Stephanie's business, you can visit her website at www.stephaniezquiltz.com/about

---