Every few years Quilts Inc. (producers of International Quilt Festival and International Quilt Market) and Creative Crafts Group (publishers of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine) commission the Quilting in America ™ survey to determine the size and dollar value of our industry. They also look in-depth at 2,500 qualified “dedicated” quilters to learn more about their buying habits. Here are some of the key survey findings:

• Total U.S. quilting industry value is $3,580,000,000 ($3.58 billion).
• Total quilters exceed 21 million, an average of 1.3 quilters per household
• Quilting households spent an average of $219 on their craft in 2010, up 27 percent from 2006. Dedicated quilters spend on average $2,442 per year on quilting for a total of $2.5 billion.
• Dedicated quilters estimate the average dollar value of their “stash” to be $3,677 and their quilting tools and supplies to be $8,542.
• Dedicated quilters own an average of 2.7 sewing machines and 25 percent own more than four machines. In the last 12 months of the survey period, 19 percent purchased a new machine spending $2,679 on the machine.
• Currently 91 percent of dedicated quilters own a personal computer and 73 percent regularly access the Internet. They average two hours per week on quilting websites, 56 percent go online two or more times a day and 28 percent belong to Facebook.

You can read more about the survey, including additional results in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter.

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