When I teach or speak at events, the number one question I get is “Do you quilt your own quilts?”. My answer is a little complicated. Basically it depends on the quilt. As a professional quilt pattern designer I make a lot of quilts. Because most of them are for fabric lines or magazines, they need to have a professional look. I’ve been taking my quilts to longarmers for a long time to get that look. On the other hand, I do straight line quilting on most of my smaller pieces.

Because I have been doing this for a long time, I decided to do a blog post and video giving reasons to take a quilt to a longarm quilter. I also added lots of tips on finding the right one.

Watch the Video

11 Reasons to Take a Quilt to a Longarmer

Get a Professional Look – There is nothing like getting a quilt back from a longarmer and seeing the crisp smooth quilting. No matter what occasion the quilt is for, you can’t beat that professional look. For me it is perfect because I need my quilts to look good for my business. The quilt above is called Strength Training and it was beautifully quilted by Melinda Keppler.

Get Quality – Unless you are a longarmer or have a lot of experience, the quality of quilting may not be near the quality from a professional. Quilts look so finished and I believe that they will last longer with wear and tear than any that I make.

Time Savings – While this is somewhat dependent on the longarmer, there are times when you may need your quilt quickly. Often longarmers can accommodate that. I am often on deadlines and making a number of quilts at the same time, so for me it is definitely a time saver.

Helpful for Larger Quilts – For those of us who make large quilts, a longarmer can be a great solution. I had one quilt that was an octagonal shape and was about 108″ across. Even if I wanted to, there is no way I could have quilted that quilt. Luckily my longarmer could do it!

Great Option for Those of Us Who Don’t Love the Quilting Part of Making a Quilt – Quilting my quilts is not my favorite part of the process. In fact, it’s one of my least favorite things to do. A longarmer is a great option.

Costs of Quilting versus Buying a Longarm Machine – A few years ago I thought that I would be interested in getting a longarm machine. I briefly looked into it and wow, they are not cheap. For me, the cost of getting my quilts quilted is far cheaper than investing in a machine that I probably wouldn’t use that often anyway.

Space Savings – While there are various sizes, a lot of longarm machines are huge. Even if I wanted one, a lot of space in my studio would be taken up by it.

You Are Unable to Quilt For Some Reason – Maybe your machine is broken or you are physically unable to. Longarmers are a great option. For example, when I had my knee replaced a couple of years ago I was unable to sew for quite some time.

Huge Choice of Quilting Designs to Choose From – I am always in awe of the amount of designs I can choose from when I take a quilt to my longarmer. She has big books filled with all of the options she offers. From swirls and flowers to geographic designs, I can find anything for any quilt. I could never be able to do anything close to that.

Quilting can be Customized – Depending on the person you take your quilts to, they can do custom quilting. They can either do what you want or, if you are comfortable, you can let them work their magic. Custom quilting can yield incredible results. Look at the amazing custom work (front and back) on my Civil War quilt. This was done by Adria Good and it is stunning!

Longarmers Can Help You Up Your Game – If you have a special quilt that you might want to enter in a contest, then it might help to get it professionally quilted. Years ago I won a Best in Show at a county fair and, after reading the comments, I realized a large part of it is because of the quilting.

Make a New Quilty Friend – It is always fun to make a new friend, especially one who has some similar interests.

Tips on Finding a Longarmer

-Places to find longarmers.

• Quilt Shops
• Quilting Friends
• Quilt Guilds
• Quilt Shows
• Internet
• Church/Community Sewing/Quilting Groups

-Things to do before you decide on one.

• Talk to a few different longarmers
• Compare costs and services offered – e.g. Custom work, pantographs, edge-to-edge etc…
• Location – Longarmers can be all around the country so you can send pieces off or they could possibly be your next door neighbor.
• Take a look at some of their work

-Some Questions to Consider (as they pertain to your preferences)

• Are there types of fabrics or batting they don’t take?
• Will they do binding?
• Are they willing to use various threads like metallic or invisible?
• Will they do odd sizes? For example I made a king size octagonal one. Luckily my longarmer could do it!

I hope you will consider taking a quilt to a longarmer after reading my reasons to take a quilt to one. It really is worth it!

Happy Quilting! – Claudia