Mail-In Machine Quilting Services

Do you happen to have a stack of unfinished quilt tops patiently waiting to be quilted? For many, that final step can seem daunting, but we’re here to help! Missouri Star's long arm quilting services have a five-star rating from our customers, and we look forward to giving your next quilt the five-star treatment, too! 

What Do You Do With Unfinished Quilt Tops?

There are many ways to go about finishing your quilt, from old fashioned hand quilting and straight line machine quilting to free motion machine quilting and even sending in your quilt to be finished professionally with a long-arm machine quilting service. There are many quilt top stitching ideas out there. We can also help you learn how to finish a quilt with a sewing machine. But whichever method you choose, we want to help you feel confident in your decision. After all, there’s no wrong way to finish your quilt!

Hand Quilting

First off, let’s talk about hand quilting. It doesn’t require a sewing machine, but it does require some patience. The easiest method is to hand tie your quilt and Jenny’s here to show you how it’s done.

It’s fairly straightforward and requires a hand quilting needle and a frame or a large hoop. The best thread for hand quilting is either 100% cotton floss or perle cotton. Hand quilting stitches are traditionally small, but more recently, big stitches have been popular in modern quilting. Hand quilting stitch patterns for beginners can be helpful if you’re looking to create a particular design; we recommend trying these quilt stencils to help you get started.

Machine Quilting at Home

Next up, straight line quilting on your home machine is a popular way to finish your quilt. Some are still asking can I quilt with a regular sewing machine? Yes! Of course you can. It’s less challenging than attempting to free motion quilt at first and it doesn’t require too many adaptations to your machine, just a walking foot. Many beautiful straight line machine quilting designs can be found in Jacquie Gering’s popular books WALK and WALK 2.0 including many easy machine quilting designs for beginners. Learn more about quilting on a sewing machine with Natalie on the Final Stitch. She’ll help you with machine quilting basics like machine quilting instructions for beginners, walking foot quilting patterns, stitch length for stitch in the ditch quilting, and much more.

Now it’s time to talk about free motion quilting. What does free motion quilting mean? It’s a type of quilting you can do on your home machine and it means that you move your quilt freely beneath the needle to create a unique quilted design. It’s not straight line quilting, it’s loops and swirls, and just about anything you can imagine! Now, it does require some specific things to help your free motion experience go well. Some might be wondering, can you free motion quilt with a regular foot? And the answer is no. You will need a special free motion presser foot. It has a spring inside that allows the foot to “hop” and move about freely above your quilt. You can follow along with Jenny in the video below as she demonstrates how to begin free motion quilting on a sewing machine. Learning how to free motion quilt on a regular sewing machine is just like riding a bicycle. It requires plenty of practice!

Edge-to-Edge Longarm Quilting

Finally, if you would prefer to hire someone to finish a quilt, that’s also completely fine! There are many options out there. You can take your quilt top to a local longarmer to have it finished, but if you don't have professional machine quilting services near you, you can send it in to Missouri Star and try our professional 5-star mail-in machine quilting services! We have a team of passionate longarm quilters who are experts at using our state-of-the-art computerized quilting machines, also known as longarms. These machines are programmed with intricate edge to edge quilting designs to give your quilt the perfect finish. With hundreds of quilting motifs for machine quilting to choose from, your quilt will have a professional look you’ll love. Long arm quilting pantographs can vary from a simple meander to detailed designs like lush florals, fall leaves, feathers, and designs for holidays and special occasions. No matter what you choose, our longarm quilting services are sure to leave you impressed.

Missouri Star’s amazing long arm quilters will treat your quilt with care from the moment it arrives to the final stitch. Our professional quilting service has been rated by hundreds of quilters and they are happy with the final result. You can have confidence in our mail-in machine quilting services when you see the gallery of beautifully finished quilts. Longarm quilting is a time saver for you and eliminates the stress of quilting with a machine on your own. If you haven’t tried machine quilting services yet, there’s no time like the present.

The Cost of Professional Long Arm Quilting Services

Machine quilting is amazing, but how much does it cost to have a quilt machine quilted? At Missouri Star, all of our pricing includes batting and standard thread options. You can choose how quickly you’d like your quilt back, the complexity of your design, and also opt to include trimming and binding when you place your order. 

If you’re not in a hurry, our value machine quilting option takes up to eight weeks from the time we receive your quilt to the time we ship it back to you. Value machine quilting is a bargain at 3 cents a square inch! If you would like your quilt back as soon as possible, we offer priority machine quilting for just 3.5 cents per square inch. The wait time is 10 business days from the time we receive your quilt to the time we ship it back to you (please allow additional time for quilt binding services, if selected). Now, that’s speedy! Once the machine quilting is finished, we can trim your quilt for you for an added $10, allowing you to finish the binding at home (don't worry, we'll return any extra backing fabric when we send back your order!). If you don't want to add your quilt's binding, don't worry! We offer hand stitched and machine stitched quilt binding options. Both are priced by the linear inch, with machine stitched binding (using a zigzag stitch) at 25 cents per linear inch and hand stitched quilt binding at 50 cents per linear inch.

How to Choose Machine Quilt Stitch Patterns & Thread

Choosing a beautiful machine quilting pattern is half the fun! We have over 100 computerized machine quilting designs including cute animal patterns from butterflies to birds, classic long arm quilting machine patterns like elegant swirls, brocade, feathers, and paisley, modern stipples, squares, and loops, and holiday quilting designs for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, the 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! There’s so many machine quilt stitch patterns to choose from to make your quilt design truly shine.

Preparing Your Quilt for Mail-In Quilting

When you send in your quilt to be machine quilted, be sure to include the backing of your choice that’s at least 8” wider than your quilt top on all sides so it can easily work with long-arm machine quilting. You can also order your backing along with your machine quilting order. Check out our selection of 108” wide machine quilting fabric at Missouri Star so your quilt has a smooth finishing touch without any seams on the back. And guess what? Batting is included with your machine quilting order for free!

Download our FREE Machine Quilting Order Checklist >

What Happens When I Send In My Quilt?

Once you’ve finished piecing your beautiful quilt top, what comes next? Let us help you complete your masterpiece and give it the finishing touch it deserves with our machine quilting service right in the heart of Quilt Town, USA. Just send in your quilt to our Machine Quilting Department and we'll send it back to you 6-8 weeks later*, perfectly finished. You can even have machine stitched quilt binding sewn on for you! Our staff of Machine Quilting Heroes finish every quilt project featured in our free quilting tutorials. Learn more about our talented team of Machine Quilting Heroes!

*please add 2-3 weeks for binding services; Priority orders will be received back in 2 weeks from date received in Hamilton, not including additional time for binding services.

Caring for Your Handmade Quilt

Handmade quilts need special care because they can deteriorate over time, and while we can’t make them last forever, we can make them last a long time. The important things to keep in mind are all about providing the right environment for quilt preservation. Learn how to fold any quilt for storage by watching the video below, or find more quilt care tips here!

More About Missouri Star’s Machine Quilting Business

Early on, when we had one longarm quilting machine in our first little brick building, we had a feeling that Missouri Star Quilt Co. could be something truly special. Since that time, in just over a decade, our Professional Machine Quilting Service Department has been expanded and updated with the latest professional longarm quilting machines to meet your needs.

We know how to help you achieve the results you’ve been hoping for. Each quilt tells a story and your quilt’s story is as unique as you are. Preserve memories with Missouri Star’s long arm Machine Quilting Services. We’re here to help your quilt last for years to come.