Storied art form stronger than ever

Survey shows U.S. has 27 million quilters; industry worth $3.3 billion annually

Those in the business have heard the grumblings for nearly a year: The total number of quilters was dropping…they were spending less…they were dying off…

Well, the news is in, and the naysayers, doom preachers, and Doubting Thomases can zip their lips. According to the recently released Quilting in America™ 2006 survey, the art form with roots in the past and a vision of the future is not only alive, but more popular than ever.

According to the 2006 numbers, there are more than 27 million quilters in the U.S. spending a total of $3.3 billion annually on their passion. This is almost a 100 percent increase in quilters since 1997, and their spending has gone up 35 percent just since 2003!

The Quilting in America™ 2006 survey has been conducted every three years since 1994 and was, once again, commissioned by Quilts, Inc. (producers of International Quilt Festival and Market) and ckMedia (formerly Primedia and publishers of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine). The actual study was conducted independently by NFO Research, Inc. and DP Research Solutions.

The survey also shows that 17 percent of all U.S. households report at least one family member who participates in quilting. It is the most avid -- or “Dedicated” quilters -- who spend more than $600 annually which drive the industry! And while they represent only 4.7 percent of the total number of quilters, they account for 88 percent of total monies spent yearly.

“This is very, very exciting news for me, not only as a member of quilting’s artistic community, but of its business side as well,” said Quilts, Inc. President and fifth-generation Texas quilter Karey Bresenhan. “I just knew in my heart looking at all that activity and all those quilters at International Quilt Festival that quilting was growing!”

Adds Tina Battock, Group Publisher at ckMedia, “The numbers in the data were so positive, that I had to check them over and over again just to be sure they were accurate. So I am ecstatic about what the 2006 report tells us!”

Other bits of information the survey reveals is that the average “Dedicated” quilter is a 59-year-old woman with a college education and a median household income of more than $87,000. She has also been quilting for an average of 13.5 years and enjoys both traditional and contemporary styles.

The majority also have a room in their house dedicated to quilting and sewing, own more than $6,500 in quilting tools and supplies, and spend an average of 2.2 hours a week on quilting Web sites.

“I thought that one of the most interesting things we learned with this survey is how technologically-savvy quilters have become,” Bresenhan added. “From downloading free patterns and ordering supplies to seeing galleries of other’s works and writing their own thoughts in blogs and chat rooms, the 2006 quilter is definitely cyber-sensitive.”

The two-page summary of Quilting in America™ 2006 is now available at www.quilts.com under the “News > Announcements” section. A full report with a detailed narrative, charts, and data will be available for purchase next month from ckMedia at www.quiltersvillage.com.

Reprinted from SQE Professional, April 2007