Our services
Hoop & Bee happily offers the following services:
Longarm Quilting, Binding, Legacy & Memory Quilts, Custom Quilting Projects, as well as offering Workshops & Classes.
Longarm Quilting
“Longarm” refers to the style of the sewing machine (not the style of sewing). The longarm is an industrial sized sewing machine that sits on a very large frame, controlled either by hand or guided by specialized computer software. Unlike quilting done on a home sewing machine, where the quilt moves through the sewing machine, the longarm moves across the quilt. The size of the machine and range of movement allows intricate and complex designs to be created.
Hoop & Bee offers various styles of longarm quilting: Computerized Edge-to-Edge (E2E), Computerized Semi-Custom, or Hand Guided Custom. We can quilt anything from a wall hanging to a king size blanket (108 by 90-100 inches). We do not trim after quilting unless we are binding or it is specifically requested.
For information on how to prepare your quilt top and backing for longarm quilting, please refer to our preparation guide. Please refer to our pricing page for more details on costs. Depending on your location, you may either schedule an appointment to drop off your quilt, or fill out our form to mail in your quilt.
Edge-to-Edge (E2E) Computerized Quilting is a single design that nests and repeats seamlessly to cover the entire quilt top. These designs can be very intricate and are sometimes referred to as an all-over design. Most quilters prefer this type of quilting, not only because it’s an economical option, but because it is often less conspicuous and less distracting from the quilt top’s design. We have hundreds of Edge-to-Edge designs for you to choose from to match your desired aesthetic, or we can create a design pattern just for you using our QuiltCAD software.
Semi-Custom Computerized Quilting is a mix of two stitch designs, typically an edge-to-edge inside of a border. As an example, a complex border with a comparatively simple edge-to-edge on the inside to allow your piecing to really pop, or vice versa to feature a complex center medallion. All quilting should be of a somewhat consistent density to balance the fullness to prevent a “bowl” effect.
Custom Quilting is precisely as it sounds; something one-of-a-kind made with our own two hands, no computer involved, that we specifically design for your quilt–this can be as simple as an edge-to-edge of names or a phrase repeated or as complex as each block having a different species of butterfly in it. This can be called “free motion” or “hand guided” quilting. Your custom quilt can also be a whole cloth quilt, which is a quilt made of two pieces of solid fabric and quilted, making the stitching itself the focus. There is no patchwork or applique work on a traditional whole cloth quilt–just your stitch pattern.
Binding
Like the frosting on a cake, the binding completes your masterpiece. A binding frames the quilt and covers the raw edges left by machine or hand quilting. If binding is your least favorite part of making a quilt–you’re in luck because it’s our most favorite!
We can bind any quilt for you, your quilt does not have to be quilted by us in order to complete your binding. Simply bring in your finished quilt top and your binding fabric, and we will cut, prepare, and sew your binding from start to finish. All bindings are seamless, meaning we do not overlap the ends so there will be no bulky edge, and all corners are tidily mitered. Please refer to our pricing page for more details on costs.
Hoop & Bee currently offers three options for binding:
The first option is that we will attach your binding to the front of your quilt for you, and you can complete the process at home however you like.
The second option is a flange binding, which is binding that includes two fabrics, a main fabric and an accent fabric. The accent fabric will only show a tiny amount and is a really exciting variation on a regular binding. This type of binding can work well with contrasting colors so that the accent really pops or with two coordinating fabrics to extend the design of the quilt. This option allows you to leave the studio with a fully completed quilt.
The third option is that we will attach your binding to the front of your quilt for you, and we will hand sew it to the back of the quilt. This option takes significantly more time, but you will come and pick up a fully completed quilt.
Hoop & Bee does not machine sew on front and back because our owner has very strong opinions about this method. It’s best not to bring it up–or to block off your full afternoon and be ready to hear about it.
Memory Quilts
Please note: this process can be labor intensive, typically taking no less than 4 weeks to complete, so please do not wait until the last minute if you are planning on giving these quilts as gifts.
A memory quilt, a keepsake quilt, or a remembrance or bereavement quilt, are each uniquely designed to celebrate the life of a loved one, a family history, or an important milestone or event. These can be any size, from pillow to lap to king, and can be made in a variety of patterns, from square or rectangle blocks to classic star blocks. Clothes or garments, like shirts, sweatshirts, baby onesies, dresses, medical scrubs, handkerchiefs, neckties, or uniforms, are carefully cut to create the blocks that make up the quilt, which are stabilized using a special backing material (if necessary) to keep them from warping or stretching, and sewn together with a sashing made of quilter’s cotton.
Some memory quilt examples include graduation quilts made from school t-shirts or kids sports uniforms, celebrations of coming-of-age made of outgrown baby clothes. Keepsake quilts can be created from travel or Aloha shirts, race shirts, or band merch.
If you are commissioning a bereavement quilt, we know that this process can be very emotional, often complicated, and likely overwhelming–please be kind with yourself and take your time to prepare. Take a lot of time. If you are wondering if it’s too soon after your loss to commission a quilt, the answer is yes. We will be here when you are ready. If you’re unsure where to start, Andrea Funk wrote this article, speaking from her own first-hand experience, with tips on sorting a deceased loved one’s items (including clothing or other textiles) for a quilt.
For information on how to prepare your garments for making into a quilt, please refer to our preparation guide. Unless otherwise specified, Hoop & Bee will longarm the quilt after completion and attach a coordinating binding. You will leave with a fully completed quilt.
Please refer to our pricing page for more details on costs.
Legacy Quilts
Quilts are so much more than just a blanket–they are the love, warmth, and comfort left behind by their makers.
Hoop & Bee’s legacy quilt service is intended for individuals who may have inherited an unfinished quilt from a loved one but do not have the skills or knowledge to complete it themselves.
Our finishing services provide a way to transform these partial quilt tops into a completed quilt, preserving the love and legacy of the original quilter for future generations.
In addition, we offer limited repair services to completed quilts including: consulting, repairing stitching and patching holes in older or well-loved quilts, rebinding, or replacing damaged pieces if you have found similar or matching fabric. We also accept fully completed vintage quilts with bindings for longarming, for quilts that might need additional stitching to be able to be used and loved as they are intended to be.
We cannot do full restorations. Due to the intensive nature of the work we are limited in the number of legacy projects we are able to handle at one time, so please get in touch for scheduling and availability details and pricing.
Workshops & Teaching
Sewing has been around as long as humans have–joining materials is one of the first skills homo sapiens learned to do. The oldest needle we have today is made of bird bone, measuring just under three inches long, and is thought to date back some 50,000 years.
Today, though, sewing looks pretty different, and now there is no shortage of techniques, tools, and machines that we have access to. Jessa, the owner of Hoop & Bee has been invested for many years in bringing equity into this heirloom craft, and works to make quilting easy and, most of all, accessible to everyone.
We are happy to travel anywhere within 50 miles of Easthampton, MA to lead group sewing lessons, youth lessons, or workshops like T-Shirt Quilts or Skills Classes. We will also run a Guestbook Quilt table at an event or lead workshops for creating community quilt blocks.
We are not able to offer classes in our Eastworks Studio until Spring 2024, but you can reliably find Hoop & Bee’s owner, Jessa, teaching a variety of classes in different craft and maker spaces throughout the Pioneer Valley and surrounding area, or as a staff instructor at the Hill Institute.
Custom Projects
After something quilty, flirty, and fun that’s not listed here? We do quilting for hire.
Saw a Cotton & Joy quilt on Pinterest you can’t make but can’t live without? Drew a pattern on a napkin and no idea how to make it?? POMPOM QUILT BINDING??!
Drop us a line–let’s see if we can make something beautiful together.