Meet our Longarm Quilter
Nancy Altsman is our Longarm Quilter. Nancy has been sewing since an early age (hand sewing at 5 years of age); her mom allowed her to use the family machine at age 10. Nancy has continued to sew, starting with garment sewing and had planned to become a home economics teacher when she changed her plans to support her husband and taking care of their growing family. She is a mom to 3, and her second oldest son Curtis is our lead machine technician.
Nancy has created many quilt tops and has been longarming for Cupcake Quilts since 2017. Nancy is very talented at making our customers’ quilts come to life. While one can choose their own design and thread color, many customers just say, ‘let Nancy choose… I always love what she does’.
Nancy also enjoys smocking, beaded ornaments, knitting, and singing in the church choir. When asked what she does for fun, Nancy replied “I sew!”.
Longarm Quilting Services
All our longarm quilting is done on our Bernina Q-Matic Longarm Machines. Bernina Long-arms offer state of the art stitching and design precision. We have a selection of hundreds of quilting patterns and designs. We are continually adding new designs to our collection and can recommend sites to review for designs should we not have one that meets your needs. We will work with you to turn your quilt top into a finished keepsake.
All our longarm quilting is done on our Bernina Q-Matic Longarm Machines. Bernina Long-arms offer state of the art stitching and design precision. We have a selection of hundreds of quilting patterns and designs. We are continually adding new designs to our collection and can recommend sites to review for designs should we not have one that meets your needs. We will work with you to turn your quilt top into a finished keepsake.
Preparing your Quilt for Quilting
Quilt top should be clean, pressed and trimmed down to final finished size.
Trim any loose threads. Make sure all seams are secure
Use a safety pin to mark the top of the quilt.
Remove any excess pins, buttons and other embellishments.
The quilt top must lay flat. Measure the quilt top across the top, bottom, and at the center. These measurements should be the same, if not you may end up with puckers and an unsquared quilt.
Quilt top, backing and batting should be 3 separate pieces. We load them separately on the longarm machine.
Batting and Backing must be at least 4" larger than the quilt top on all sides. For example, if the quilt top is 60" x 70" the Batting and Backing should measure 68" x 78".
If you prewash your quilt top, it is highly recommended that you also prewash your backing fabric.
If you piece your backing; seams are 1/2" pressed open and NEVER include the selvage. Horizontal (side to side) seams work better than vertical seams.
Quilt top should be clean, pressed and trimmed down to final finished size.
Trim any loose threads. Make sure all seams are secure
Use a safety pin to mark the top of the quilt.
Remove any excess pins, buttons and other embellishments.
The quilt top must lay flat. Measure the quilt top across the top, bottom, and at the center. These measurements should be the same, if not you may end up with puckers and an unsquared quilt.
Quilt top, backing and batting should be 3 separate pieces. We load them separately on the longarm machine.
Batting and Backing must be at least 4" larger than the quilt top on all sides. For example, if the quilt top is 60" x 70" the Batting and Backing should measure 68" x 78".
If you prewash your quilt top, it is highly recommended that you also prewash your backing fabric.
If you piece your backing; seams are 1/2" pressed open and NEVER include the selvage. Horizontal (side to side) seams work better than vertical seams.
When you bring your quilt top to Cupcake Quilts, one of our associates will complete the paperwork to get your quilt into the queue for longarming. We will measure your top, provide you an estimate price, help you select backing, show you potential longarm designs and thread choices. Many times, our customers will leave design and thread color to our employees who longarm to choose.
Quilting
Edge to Edge - A single pattern is used on the entire quilt top. Designs are chosen to enhance or compliment your quilt pattern or fabric.
Basting – Basting done in long stitches over the entire quilt top, in rows 4-5" apart. This allows the quilt top, batting and backing to be sandwiched together, for easier hand or home machine quilting. The long stitches allow for easy removal once the quilting is complete.
Custom – Quilting specifically designed around your individual quilt. Typically, more than one design is utilized for the blocks, borders and sashing. Pricing varies depending on the complexity of the quilt and desired quilting. We will provide you an estimate upon consultation and drop off.
Binding
We offer binding services. You may choose to provide binding and we will attach it to the front of the quilt so that you can hand sew down to the back of the quilt. We can also attach and sew the binding on my machine so that your quilt is complete when you pick it up at our shop.
Backing
We will put the backing of your quilt together for you if needed. Backings that need to be pieced have a minimum charge (~$10 per seam). Generally, backings will have only one or two seams. Cupcake Quilts also has a selection of wide back fabrics (108 – 118 inches in width), where no piecing is needed.
Fabric & Quilts
The price of your quilt is determined by several factors. The longarm quilting fee is determined by the size of your quilt in square inches. For example: for a quilt top that is 60" x 75", this would be 4500 square inches. The cost of quilting for an edge-to-edge design is approximately $.03cents/square inch x 4500 which comes to $135.00. Other costs would include design, batting, thread, and binding services. You may choose your own batting; however, we do have white 100% cotton batting and 80/20 cotton-polyester blend available for purchase. Additional charges may apply for specialty fabrics, techniques, and preparation/repairs of the quilt top. We have a minimum quilting fee of $50.
Pricing effective September 2024
*Fullness Disclaimer – Fullness and/or puckers within a quilt top cannot be quilted out. We cannot guarantee that puckers and tucks won't be sewn in. In some cases, excessive fullness in borders may result in quilt top corners not being square. The flatter your quilt top is, the better the finished quilt will be.
*Mechanical Disclaimer – Please be aware that sewing machines, including longarm machines, are mechanical devices. Although we do our best to ensure perfect results every time, on very rare occasions mechanical problems can occur which may cause minor damage to a quilt top and/or backing.
