The entry fee is listed when you enter a quilt show, but this price is often the tip of the iceberg. Let’s look at other costs you may encounter when entering your quilts into a show.
Required Costs
Memberships
Some shows require membership in a guild or organization to enter, while others give their members significant discounts on entry fees. If you are already a member of the group, associated membership costs wouldn’t add to the overall entry fee. However, these fees add up if you need to join an organization just to enter a specific show.
In some instances, such as local guild shows, the organization’s membership fee may replace any specific show entry fees. Other shows, such as QuiltCon, require membership in the organization and entry fees for each quilt submission.
Entry Fees
All major and most smaller quilt shows have entry fees for submitting your quilts. Entry fees are the first thing you think of when considering the costs of entering a quilt show because these are the most readily publicized fees. Each show determines its entry fees, which range from $10 to $60 or occasionally more. Higher fees often include the option to enter more than one quilt for a single fee.
As of the time of this post (April 2025), here are some sample show entry fees:
- QuiltCon: $20 per quilt (There is no limit on entries, but a maximum of four quilts can be accepted per entrant).
- American Quilters’ Society (AQS): $25 per quilt for members / $40 per quilt for non-members
- International Quilt Festival (Houston): $30 per quilt
- Road to California: $40 per quilt / $30 if the submission is completed entirely online
- The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show: $10 per quilt
Shipping
Unless you are local to a quilt show, getting your quilt to and from the show is likely the most significant expense.
Shipping to a Show
When you ship a quilt to a show, you have the most control over the costs. Some people ship with the USPS, but most prefer FedEx and UPS’s tracking and insurance options.
Buying a shipping label online using a third-party label (I like Pirate Ship) provides the lowest rates for UPS and USPS, and buying ahead of time on the FedEx website gives you a better rate than paying at the store.
I use UPS with a label purchased on Pirate Ship for most quilt show shipping. My outgoing shipping costs with approximately $1000 of insurance is usually $25-$30, but your prices may vary depending on your location and shipping preferences.
While shipping within the same country as the show isn’t cheap, international shipping rates are sometimes stunning. Occasionally, a show, such as Quilt National, offers scholarships to offset the costs for international entrants.
Ways to save on shipping to a quilt show:
- Ship your quilt with ample time to get it to the show to avoid 2-day or (gasp!) overnight shipping.
- Buy your shipping label through Pirate Ship or another company that offers shipping discounts.
- Use the smallest box that comfortably fits the quilt or quilts you are shipping.
- If you are sending multiple quilts to a show, send them in a single box. (Unless you are concerned about losing all of your quilts if the box gets lost in shipping.)
Return Shipping
Return Shipping is often the most shocking fee when you first enter a quilt show. Although I have consistently entered shows for nearly a decade, I’m occasionally shocked by return shipping fees.
Here are a few examples of return shipping fees and policies:
- QuiltCon: $20 for the first quilt and $10 for each additional quilt
- AQS: $50 per quilt, but you can send your return shipping label.
- Road to California: The actual cost is charged to your credit card at the time of return shipping, and they give the option to have multiple quilts shipped together.
Ways to save on getting your quilt home from a show:
- If you are attending a show, plan to stay for quilt pick-up at the end of the event.
- Send your own shipping label with your quilt if the show allows this option.
- If the show gives you the choice, have them ship multiple quilts back to you in one box.
Optional Expenses
If you want your quilt displayed, the fees to enter the show and ship the quilt to and from the event are non-negotiable, but other expenses are optional.
Tracking Device
If you want the added security of being able to track your quilt from your smartphone, you can sew an air tag or similar device to the quilt. You can often find multi-packs of these devices on sale. Depending on the exact device, you can expect to spend $10 to $50 each.
Make sure the quilt show doesn’t have rules against tracking devices. At the time of this post, QuiltCon does not allow tracking devices, but other shows do.
Appraisal
Many large quilt shows offer entrants an option to have a professional appraisal of their quilt during the show. These appraisals are done by independent certified appraisers. You are not present for the appraisal, and the written documentation is sent to you separately from your quilt in the weeks following the show. Most appraisals cost about $75, but there is some variation between shows.
Judging Comments
Judging comments are standard for many shows and not offered by others. In 2024, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show began offering optional judging comments for $10 per quilt. (You can read more about the comments I received from this show.) I hope this doesn’t become the trend, but be prepared to pay for judging comments if you want them.
Books and other merchandise
Some quilt shows offer catalogs of the quilts exhibited at their event and occasionally digital photographs of all show entries or your quilts specifically. I purchase any publication with my quilts, but this is optional.
If Your Quilt Is Accepted
Some quilt shows offer free admission to the show and some special events for makers whose quilts are accepted. If you plan to attend an event, this may offset your entry costs. However, remember that acceptance is never guaranteed in a juried show.
Once your quilt is accepted into a show, there is also a chance to win awards. Major quilt shows offer thousands of dollars in prize money, and if you are lucky enough to win, you can make money by entering quilt shows. I never recommend counting on that, though!
So, how much does it cost?
Well, it varies. I would say the required costs for an average show are:
- $25 Entry Fee
- $30 Outgoing Shipping
- $40 Return Shipping
That means you are looking at nearly $100 to send a single quilt to a large juried show.
The average cost per quilt can decrease if you ship multiple quilts to and from a single show in the same box. AQS has several shows per year and will hold your quilt between them. This means you can enter 5-6 shows with a single set of shipping costs.
Were you expecting it to cost this much to enter a quilt contest? Is it less than you guessed? More?
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