A quilting guild is an organized group of quilters who meet regularly — usually monthly — to share work, learn techniques, host workshops with visiting teachers, run charity quilt programs, and support each other's practice. Most guilds are non-profit organizations with elected officers, annual dues (typically $25–75), a newsletter, and a yearly calendar of programs and quilt shows. There are over 1,500 quilting guilds in the United States, ranging from tiny rural guilds of a dozen members to large metropolitan guilds with several hundred. The world's largest quilting organization, the American Quilter's Society, lists hundreds of affiliated guilds. The Modern Quilt Guild, founded in 2009, has over 200 chapters worldwide.
Joining a guild is one of the fastest ways to become part of an active quilting community. Most guilds welcome quilters of every skill level, from absolute beginners to longtime masters. Beyond monthly meetings, guilds host charity quilt programs (for Quilts of Valor, Project Linus, and local hospitals), small interest groups (modern quilters, art quilters, hand quilters, traditional piecers), block-of-the-month programs, retreats, and annual quilt shows. If your local quilt shop has a community board with flyers, chances are several of them are from nearby guilds.
Most guilds meet once a month for a featured program: a visiting teacher's workshop, a member's trunk show, a technique demonstration, or a guild business meeting. Meetings usually run 2–3 hours and include show-and-tell of recent finishes.
Most guilds host an annual or biennial quilt show featuring members' finished work. Shows include judged entries, vendor booths, demonstrations, and sometimes a raffle quilt. Quilt shows are a public-facing event open to non-members.
Almost every guild runs a charity quilt program. Common recipients: Quilts of Valor (for veterans), Project Linus (for sick children), local hospitals' pediatric wings, foster care agencies, hospices, fire and flood survivors.
Larger guilds bring in nationally known quilting teachers — Bonnie Hunter, Pat Sloan, Sue Spargo, Sarah Fielke, and others. Workshops are usually paid extras for members, $30–150 for a full-day class.
Sub-groups within larger guilds focused on specific styles — modern, art quilting, traditional, paper piecing, hand quilting, machine quilting. Smaller groups meet more frequently and let you dive deep into one technique.
Many guilds run an internal block-of-the-month — members pay a small fee or commit to participation and receive monthly patterns for a year-long sampler quilt.
Annual or semi-annual retreats where members travel together to a quilting-friendly location (often a Catholic retreat center, lodge, or guild-owned cabin) for a long weekend of sewing.
Most established guilds publish a monthly newsletter with upcoming events, member highlights, and quilting news. Larger guilds maintain a library of quilting books available to members.
Browse quilting guilds and quilt blocks by state. NiftyFifty maintains a state library with regional quilt block traditions, state-specific guild listings, and the quilters who've represented each state in our 30+ years of swap history.
Use the directory above, ask at your local quilt shop, check the Modern Quilt Guild chapter directory at themodernquiltguild.com, or search "[your city] quilting guild" online. Most established guilds have a website with meeting locations and times.
Almost every guild allows visitors to attend one or two meetings without joining. Show up at the listed time, introduce yourself, and observe. Most guilds will welcome you warmly and answer any questions about membership.
If you decide to join, fill out a membership form and pay annual dues ($25–75 for most local guilds; $50–80 for Modern Quilt Guild membership). You'll typically receive a member directory, newsletter subscription, and access to all member-only programs.
Guilds are most valuable when you show up — to monthly meetings, to charity sewing days, to retreats. The members you make blocks with at a charity workshop today are the friends you'll quilt with for years.
After a year of membership, consider volunteering for a small role — quilt show committee, charity coordinator, newsletter contributor. Guild leadership is how lifelong friendships form and how you become a known face in the community.
A quilting guild is an organized group of quilters who meet regularly — usually monthly — to share work, learn techniques, host workshops with visiting teachers, run charity quilt programs, and support each other's quilting practice. Most guilds are non-profit organizations with elected officers, annual dues, a newsletter, and a yearly schedule of programs and quilt shows. There are over 1,500 quilting guilds in the United States.
Browse the directory above for guilds in your state. Other sources: the Modern Quilt Guild website (themodernquiltguild.com) lists MQG-affiliated chapters worldwide; your local quilt shop usually has a community board with guild flyers; the American Quilter's Society (AQS) maintains a member directory of large guilds; searching "[your city] quilting guild" on Google often surfaces an established local guild with a website.
Annual guild dues typically range from $25 to $75 for local guilds. Large national guilds (like the Modern Quilt Guild) charge $50–80 for membership which includes both national affiliation and a local chapter. Special programs (retreats, workshops with visiting teachers) usually cost extra. Most guilds allow you to attend one or two meetings as a guest before deciding to join.
Monthly meetings with a featured speaker or workshop, an annual quilt show (typically in spring or fall), charity quilt programs (Quilts of Valor, Project Linus, regional hospitals), small interest groups (modern quilters, art quilters, traditional piecers), member retreats, block-of-the-month programs, and informal sewing circles. Larger guilds also publish a newsletter and maintain a library of quilting books.
No. Most guilds explicitly welcome quilters of all levels — from beginners who have never made a quilt to lifelong masters. Guilds often run beginner-friendly programs ("learn the basics" workshops) specifically to bring new quilters into the community. If you're new to quilting, joining a guild is one of the fastest ways to build skills.
A guild is a formal organization with dozens or hundreds of members, regular meetings, dues, and elected officers. A bee is a small informal group (6–12 quilters) who collaborate on monthly block exchanges. Many guilds host internal bees as sub-groups within the larger guild. Bees focus on producing blocks together; guilds focus on community, programs, and ongoing quilting education.
The Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 that supports the modern quilting movement worldwide. It has over 200 affiliated local chapters and tens of thousands of members. MQG-affiliated guilds follow modern quilting aesthetics — bold colors, solids, asymmetric design, negative space — and the national MQG runs an annual QuiltCon convention and the QuiltCon quilt show.
Yes. Online quilting guilds and "virtual guilds" have proliferated since 2020. They run monthly meetings over Zoom, host online programs and workshops, run virtual quilt shows, and maintain online communities. The trade-off is fewer in-person interactions; the benefit is access to quilters across the country and visiting teachers you might not reach locally.
Find 8–12 founding members who share your quilting interests. Settle on basics: when you'll meet (typically monthly), where (a community center, library room, or member's house), dues structure, and what your guild will focus on (modern, traditional, art quilts, charity). File for non-profit status if your guild grows large enough. The American Quilter's Society and the Modern Quilt Guild both publish guides for starting a new guild.