Long Arm Quilting Services

Professional Quilting Your Way

You worked hard on your quilt top. It has its own personality. Now the time has come to finish your project.

Dark Star Fabrics can enhance your quilt’s personality with your choice of three quilting methods. Here is how you can choose the method that works best for you:

Choice #1
Computer Guided Long Arm Quilting

Computer guided long arm quilting works especially well on larger quilts, quilts with repeated design elements and quilts that suggest precision or order.

Thanks to our Nolting NV long arm quilting machine with the Quiltmagine computerized guidance system, we can offer you a variety of quilting designs to choose from.

The computerized approach highlights blocks and borders. Although we do not normally recommend edge-to-edge quilting, we will be happy to provide it upon request.

Choice #2
Freehand Long Arm Quilting

Does your project require an artistic or hand guided quilting design? Does it have 3-dimensional elements? Dark Star Fabrics offers freehand long arm quilting on our Voyager 17 long arm quilting machine.

Freehand quilting creates custom designs to highlight individual design elements, with abundant background fill. No two design elements will ever be identical.

If you do not have a specific theme or block idea in mind, we will happily improvise the design you want. We do feathers, spirals, stars, flowers, open stippling and more. If you would like a particular design, we can try to replicate it for you.

Choice #3
Free Motion Quilting

For your panels and art projects, Dark Star Fabrics provides design-enhancing free-motion quilting to highlight the images on your fabric.

Multiple colors of thread, careful texturing and detailed design elements help showcase your project.

This type of quilting is ideal for wall hangings with detailed printed panels. It works well with small display quilts.

Price

For Choices #1 or #2, we will charge you 1.75¢ per square inch. For example, for a 60″ x 80″ quilt, your price would be $84.

For Choice #3, we will charge you 3¢ per square inch. For example, for a 30″ x 42″ panel, your price would be $37.80.

Our minimum price is $35 per project. The State of Maine charges sales tax on quilting services performed in Maine.

Size

For choice #1, our Nolting NV machine can accept quilt tops up to 120 inches (ten feet) wide. Your quilt top must have one direction no longer than 120 inches.

For choice #2, our Voyager 17 machine can accept quilt tops up to 100 inches wide. Your quilt top must have one direction no longer than 100″ and one direction at least 20″ long.

Choice #3 works best for smaller projects, such as wall hangings or baby quilts. Maximum size is about 40″ x 40″. There is no minimum size.

Thread

For Choices #1 or #2, we use King Tut 100% cotton top thread and Bottom Line bobbin thread. Since we choose bobbin thread to match the top thread, it might contrast with your backing. We do not charge extra for thread. 

Batting and Backing

Dark Star Fabrics sells 90″ wide 100% cotton batting in two weights for $10/yard. Choose between Pellon standard weight batting or Katahdin summer weight batting. We also carry wool batting.

For backing, you may view our display of 108″ wideback fabrics and tell us your choice. You will receive a discount from our regular online prices.

You are welcome to provide your own batting and backing. We will work with pieced batting and pieced backings. If you have a backing with piecework, please mark the top/bottom and left/right sides. Please measure batting and backing to include at least 2″+ extra on each edge for a small quilt or 4″ – 6″ extra on each edge for a large quilt.

Time

Because our timeline depends upon how long our current list is, we will give you an estimated time of completion when you deliver your quilt top. If we encounter an unavoidable delay and cannot finish your quilt in the estimated time, we will be sure to let you know. Please tell us at the start if you need your quilt finished by a particular date.

Getting Started

We will be happy to talk with you to determine the method and design that will work best for your quilt. Dark Star Fabrics will work with you from the beginning to satisfy your needs.

When you are ready, please make arrangements to deliver your quilt top to the Dark Star Fabrics retail shop. If you are not nearby, you may send your quilt top to Dark Star Fabrics, 30 Main Street, Phillips, ME 04966.

Find Out More

For more information about our long arm quilting services, or for a custom estimate, please give us a call at (207) 639-1026 or send us a message.