Sewing success

Buttons and Bolts owner Heather Deegan, of Trevor, finishes a customer invoice at her Salem-based business (Jason Arndt/The Report).

Local shop rises with the popularity of quilting

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

The craft of quilting is booming and Buttons and Bolts of Salem is along for the rise, owner Heather Deegan reports.

According to a 2014 release by Quilting in the America, the industry brought in $3.76 billion, a five percent increase since 2010.

“It definitely is a billion dollar industry, and it’s not as much as your grandma’s quilting as it used to be,” Deegan said. “It definitely is a hobby (while) before it used to be utilitarian.”

Deegan opened her store in a small space in 2013, and following a year, Buttons and Bolts moved a larger location, at 27642 75th St., Salem.

“At about 2013, we were actually located about two miles away, a mile southeast of highways 83 and 50,” Deegan recalled. “We had about a 1,000-square feet there, much too small for us…we had a very tiny classroom.”

In addition to an increase in the size of the classroom, which is taught by instructors from the community, Deegan has added more fabric and tools for customers.

Additionally, Buttons and Bolts has seen an increase in customer traffic due to the higher profile location.

“We have a lot of visual signage on Highway 50, and we are finding a lot of new customers who just happened to drive by and see our sign,” said Deegan.

Quilting is a process
Deegan said quilting is a multi-step process, starting with someone cutting up fabric and sewing it together – a process known as piecing. There are many different fabrics that can be used to make a quilt, for instance, old t-shirts can be a great material, and checking out some t shirt quilt ideas will help those who want to try this out.

After piecing, the quilting begins, with quilters adding layers consisting of matting, backing fabric and stitching together of several layers.

The process, she said, is done through a variety of ways.

“There are multiple ways of doing that, people still do quilting by hand,” Deegan said. “But most people do it by machine.”

Quilting takes an investment of time and money.

“You would probably spend about 40 hours total on making a quilt, so right there, just in your time alone, the value of the quilt is about $400,” she said. “Then you add on to that, the fabric that you purchased, right there, you could look at another $150 depending on the quilt.”

Despite the high cost, Deegan said local quilt shops offer fabric not readily available at big box retailers.

“The quality of the product we carry, it is not your JoAnn (Fabrics), Walmart, Hobby Lobby fabrics,” Deegan said. “Most of these fabrics are exclusive to quilt shops only.”

With stronger quality, she said, the product lasts longer.

“Better quality holds up over time. You tend to see quilts that are made from those sold at big stores tend to fall apart after a few years of use.”

Fabric changes
Buttons and Bolts, which orders fabric a year in advance, rotates every six months.

“There are probably close to 10 to 15 different fabric vendors to choose from,” said Deegan, noting 10 new designs come out regularly.

The frequent changes lead to difficult choices, but Deegan keeps customers in mind when considering new fabric.

One consideration includes geography.

“Fabric from beach themes or flamingoes are not going to sell very well in Wisconsin, but stuff with deer and hunting does,” she said. “We definitely have to keep in mind what customers are looking for.”

Classes offered
Deegan enlists the help of community members to teach classes to instruct quilters ranging from beginners to advanced.

“We actually have an instructor who was a designer, and she lives in the area, so she comes in and teaches classes,” she said.

“We try to find knowledgeable consultants and instructors that can teach us. I am not familiar with every single technique.”

Buttons and Bolts offers both tools and personal services to customers, including literature, rotary cutters, rulers and other supplies for community members looking to start that first project.

Additionally, they have equipment to help customers finish quilting, including a long arm machine.

“They have invested long arm quilting machines, something that we have here. Customers would come to us and have us finish the quilt for them,” said Deegan. “We do that quite often, we actually have about a two-month waiting list.”

Meanwhile, Buttons and Bolts encourages customers to bring in their finished products as motivation for beginners.

“We love to tell our customers to come in and show us their projects, especially if they made it from something we had in our store,” Deegan said. “Simply because it brings inspiration to other people.”

The customers, she said, are her first priority when they are looking for a specific piece of fabric.

If she does not have it in stock, she consults other area quilt shops.

“We all have something different. We all have different tastes,” Deegan said.


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