How Much to Charge for Longarm Quilting: Lessons from Traci Smith’s First Year

Setting Your Longarm Quilting Price: Local Research Matters

If you’re wondering how much to charge for longarm quilting, Traci Smith’s approach is refreshingly practical. Living in Moline, Kansas—a town of just over 300—Traci began by calling every local quilter and shop she could find to ask about their rates. “Most of them all charged by the inch. And so that’s what I do is charge by the inch”.22:34 After this informal survey, she settled on 1.5¢ per square inch, which she found to be the going rate in her area. She notes that some nearby quilters charge closer to 2¢, but for her market, 1.5¢ felt right.22:50

This method—directly asking others in your region—helped Traci feel confident in her pricing, and she encourages new business owners to do the same. “Based on your own informal research, you think it’s, that’s close to what it is in your area. Yes”.23:05

Thread and Batting: To Charge or Not to Charge?

Traci currently does not charge her customers for thread, even though she’s aware that many longarm quilters do. “Right now I just tell people I’m not charging for thread. I want to get some, plenty of quilts under my belt and make sure I’m doing an awesome job. And then someday I may start charging for thread”.23:11 She’s noticed that some quilters in her area charge by the bobbin—about $2 each—but for now, she’s prioritizing building experience and customer satisfaction.

Batting, however, is a different story. In her rural area, there are no local sources for batting, so she keeps it on hand for convenience. “I do carry batting because in our area, there’s no place to buy batting and people, when they bring you a cool top and they want it done pretty quickly, you better just have batting on hand”.24:40 She’ll sell batting if needed, but doesn’t keep a large inventory of other supplies.

Building a Customer Base in a Small Town

With a population of just over 300 and no local Walmart or grocery store, Traci’s business depends on creative outreach and strong relationships. She’s leveraged her decades of experience in alterations and her Mary Kay business to bring in initial quilting customers: “I have a huge customer base from Alterations and from Mary Kay, both. So I’ve gotten some customers from that”.18:48

Traci also attends a local needle club and brings business cards to the area’s only fabric store, but she emphasizes that word of mouth is her most powerful tool: “I think word of mouth is the best, best advertisement”.21:46 Social media is another key piece: “I’m on Facebook and on Instagram. So I’ve just started where I’ve started posting pictures of what I’m doing to get the word out”.21:00

From Alterations to Quilting: Lessons from Decades in Business

Before quilting, Traci spent 30 years running a professional alterations business, both from home and in a storefront. This background gave her a leg up on the business side of things. “I did alterations. I am one that loves to sew and I’ll, I pretty much would do any kind of sewing. So, I started doing alterations when I was 19 years old and did it professionally for a business…and then I opened my own store and did more alterations”.3:51

She credits her local economic development office and a good CPA for helping her navigate legal and tax requirements: “They helped me walk through that and find a great CPA and so that I didn’t have to worry about how to do all that”.8:28 Traci prefers a home-based business for tax reasons and flexibility, but acknowledges there are pros and cons to both home and storefront setups.8:33

Workflow, Capacity, and Balancing Life

Traci’s quilting business is just one part of her busy life. She works part-time in an insurance office, teaches skincare classes, and spends time with her grandchildren—sometimes quilting with a baby on her hip.17:14 She doesn’t keep strict hours, but says, “Every spare moment that I get” goes into quilting.17:41 On a good day, she might quilt all day, but often juggles multiple responsibilities.

When asked about capacity, Traci shares, “Right now I’m working on nine for—no, eight for a lady that, um, their memory quilts out of her husband’s clothes”.25:36 She estimates that, during the pandemic, she made 14 quilt tops in just a few months.25:45 For now, her turnaround is fast: “When they bring me a quilt, they can get it back in a few days”.37:21

Specialty Work: T-Shirt and Memory Quilts

Traci has found a niche in t-shirt and memory quilts, even though she knows some quilters avoid them. “I have taken them on for other people, not just the ones I’ve made because I want to be able to do everything. Not, I don’t want, I can’t do that. I want to do it all”.26:34 She offers practical advice for handling tricky t-shirt quilts: use a less dense, meandering pattern, and always wash t-shirts without fabric softener to help interfacing stick.27:56

Her willingness to take on these challenging projects helps her stand out, especially in a small market where customers may have limited options.

Growth, Challenges, and Encouragement for New Quilters

Traci’s business is still in its early stages, but she’s optimistic about growth. “I definitely think it’s going to be growing, and more of the word gets out, and the more people that see, you know, the love for quilting, I think, um, it’ll definitely grow. I would love to be able to stay home more and just do quilting”.32:14

She’s faced challenges, like needing to order specific thread colors or patterns for customers, but sees these as opportunities to expand her skills and offerings: “I had never quilted the design that she, she called it a feathery design, and now it’s one of my favorite designs. I would highly recommend it, so I was, I was glad that she challenged me in that area”.29:46

Her advice for new business owners: don’t wait too long to get started. “I probably wouldn’t have waited so long to buy one, if I would have, you know, known in my earlier years”.35:11

Community, Support, and Looking Ahead

Support from family has been crucial for Traci. Her husband, in particular, encouraged her to buy her longarm machine and even built her a dedicated quilting room in his shop, complete with central heat and air.31:28 This setup allows her to work close to home and family, balancing business and personal life.

Traci also values the encouragement she’s received from other local quilters, even those she once considered competitors: “I was a little nervous to even tell her, hey, I’m going to get, I’m going to get a gamble. But I did tell her and she was very encouraging. And then the first time I seen her after I got my machine, she brought me a sack of thread and said, here’s some threads. So it’s, it’s been a blessing”.20:29

Looking ahead, Traci is open to growing her business, possibly adding computerized quilting, and continuing to learn through classes and community events.