$5 for Three Comments: Is it Worth Paying for Quilt Judging Feedback?

October 10, 2025

You’ve poured your creativity into a quilted masterpiece, entered a show, and anxiously waited for the jury results.

Accepted!

Next comes the stress of packing and shipping the quilt, followed by the excitement of having your quilt on display for thousands of people to see.

Before the public makes its way into a show, the quilts get judged, and prizes are awarded. But what happens in the judging room? I’ve been fortunate to observe several judging sessions over the years (including open judging with a certified quilt judge at my county fair), but for most of us, our only insight into what quilt judges are looking for is the judging comments we sometimes receive after the show.

Quilt judging is an intense activity with hundreds of quilts being assessed in a relatively short time span. With the amount of work involved, many shows have eliminated judging comments for entrants. This year, I received comments from QuiltCon and the American Quilters’ Society show in Paducah that were included in the entry fee. I also paid for judging comments from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, which I will share with you today.

Shifting Perspectives

I only entered one quilt this year, and it was in the special challenge category. The annual challenge requires all submitted quilts to measure 30”x40” with a vertical orientation. This section of the show travels for two years after the initial show, and its standard size allows the display to function in a variety of settings. Each entry also follows a specific theme for the year. In 2025, the theme was hexagons, and I entered Shifting Perspectives.

Submission Description

What happens when you take a new angle on a traditional motif? This design started by drafting a line drawing of regular hexagons and then using Photoshop to apply perspective to the design. The result is a composition of irregular hexagons, each hand-appliquéd in a color that echoes the background gradient.

Photos for Jurying

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show is juried to determine which quilts will be included in the final show, so submissions require photos of the full quilt front and a detail shot.

The Judging Comments

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show is the first show I have encountered that offers comments for a fee. Most shows either give them to entrants or don’t offer them at all. This year, comments cost $5 per quilt.

This year, the judging comments were on a different form than those from the 2024 show. Since I entered the main show last year and the challenge this year, I’m not sure if all the comment forms were different for everyone.

Read My 2024 GWQS Judging Comments

I think this is the first show comments that did not include the names of the judges. I’m assuming that the same judges assessed the challenge as did the rest of the show. I found that information at the bottom of the form on the website, which lists the quilts in this year’s show. The same information was not on the form listing the quilts included in the challenge category.

Paying for Judging Comments

I primarily paid for judging comments so I could share them with all of you. I want to see more people enter quilt shows, and I believe that transparency about the entire process is the best way to have more new and interesting quilts appear in shows. It’s always interesting to see what aspects of a quilt stand out to each set of judges.

When Should You Consider Paying for Judging Comments?

You’re new to entering shows, and you want to see what judges notice about your specific work.
When starting a series of quilts, getting comments on early works may help to identify areas you need to improve on later quilts.
You have a quilt that you think is particularly well constructed. Sometimes, when you are still honing your technique, it’s easy for a judge to use a “canned” comment that doesn’t often tell you what you don’t know. When your construction reaches a stage where there is little to improve from a construction perspective, you may find you start to receive more insightful comments on design, color, etc.
You just really want to know!