Estimated 2025 quilting market
The 2025 Quilter’s Survey put annualized quilting-industry revenue at $4.5 billion.
The numbers behind the craft
A practical reference for writers, makers, and quilt businesses.
Quilting data is scattered across industry surveys and government employment reports. This page brings together the most useful recent figures in one place, with a source and date beside every number.
The figures below describe different parts of the U.S. quilting ecosystem. They should be read as a market snapshot, not as a forecast.
Active quilting consumers
The same survey reported an estimated 9 to 11 million active consumers, a range it said had remained steady for a decade.
Respondents new to quilting
Eighteen percent of 2025 respondents described themselves as new to quilting, compared with 11% in the prior year’s results.
Average weekly quilting time
The survey’s average quilter spent six hours a week working on quilts, showing how much time the craft holds in a maker’s routine.
Projects started and finished each year
On average, respondents started 11 quilt projects and completed 9 in a year.
Specialty retail jobs in September 2026
U.S. employment in sewing, needlework, and piece-goods stores was 36,000, up from 34,000 in September 2025.
Average age in the 2026 consumer survey
Craft Industry Alliance reported that Handi Quilter’s long-running survey puts the typical quilter over 60, with an average age of 67. The source notes the survey may skew older because of how it is distributed.
How to read this page
What these figures cover.
The survey results describe people who responded to quilting-industry studies. The employment figure is a separate federal measure for specialty sewing, needlework, and piece-goods retail. Together, they give useful context without treating different data sets as interchangeable.
Maker surveys
The 2025 Quilter’s Survey collected more than 30,000 responses after invitations were sent through participating quilting brands. The 2026 consumer-survey findings add context about the age profile of the surveyed audience.
Retail employment
The federal employment figure tracks payroll jobs at specialty sewing, needlework, and piece-goods stores. It does not measure every business or every person who quilts.
Use with care
Each source has its own definitions, timing, and methodology. Link to the original source when you need to report a figure in depth.
Plan your next project
Put the numbers to work at your sewing table.
Use SewMe’s free tools to plan backing, binding, yardage, and project costs.
Sources and citation
Last updated October 7, 2026. Sources are linked at the individual statistics above and listed here for easy reference.
- Craft Industry Alliance, “The Size of the Quilting Market: Quilting Trends Survey Results 2025,” May 13, 2025
- Craft Industry Alliance, “Quilting Industry Consumer Survey Results 2026,” May 26, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, Table 1A, September 2026
To cite this page: SewMe, “U.S. Quilting Statistics: Market Size & Trends,” updated October 7, 2026, https://shopsewme.com/quilting-statistics.