Where to Send Quilts and Tops

Where to Send Quilts and Tops
Quilts Beyond Borders has Regional Coordinators (RCs) located across the United States to help volunteers save on shipping costs. RCs are responsible for receiving and storing completed quilts until a scheduled overseas quilt delivery. They also send out tops to be completed by volunteer longarm quilters.  (To help us get those tops most quickly to longarmers, we greatly appreciate if you can send your tops “kitted up” with backing and binding.  More information on kitting up below.)

We generally do not provide RC addresses online for privacy and because the best address to use may vary. Please send an email to us at quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com. We will respond with a mailing address and answer any questions you may have.

When you send an email to us, please indicate the number of quilts or tops you’d like to send and tell us what city and state you live in.  Most likely we will have you send the quilts/tops to the closest RC to you to save on postage, but in some cases where we are actively gathering quilts for a specific initiative, we will have you send them to the person coordinating that initiative.  We will provide the directions as required.

If we have your contact information, the RC will contact you to confirm receipt of the quilt/top.

Before contacting us, please make sure the quilt follows our criteria for size, fabric and construction! Click Here. 

KITTING UP A QUILT TOP:  Kitting up a quilt top will allow us to get it to a longarmer much quicker and therefore more quickly into the arms of a child.  To kit-up a top, add a label (as described above), a backing and binding.

  • BACKING:  The backing should be at least 6 inches longer and 6 inches wider than the quilt top, and should be made of cotton.  The extra length will allow for the quilter to attach the backing to the leaders on her frame and will be absorbed in the quilting as the quilter rolls the quilt on the take-up roller. The extra width allows the quilter to attach her clamps and test her tension.
  • BINDING:  Binding should be 2 1/2 inches wide and as long as the entire perimeter of the quilt top plus 20″ to allow for going around the corners and joining the end to the beginning.

Fold the backing, binding and label with the top to keep them all together.

MONETARY DONATIONS are always appreciated and tax deductible – we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit.  Make check out to Quilts Beyond Borders ($12 will cover the cost to ship 5-6 tops to a longarm quilter).

Thank you very much for supporting Quilts Beyond Borders and the needy children we serve!

51 thoughts on “Where to Send Quilts and Tops”

  1. It’s taken me two years to finish and then find where to ship my quilt. My hubby helping me clean the quilt room when we moved must have been the “neatnick” who pitched that single little piece of paper with the address on it. Anyway thanks to Ann of the International Quilt Festival for steering me in the right direction. Linda Powell Stevensville Montana

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  3. No, we don’t, although we do have some wonderful Australian quilters who have made quilts and tops for us over the years. Some of them come to the International Quilt Festival and bring their donations with them — which leaves room in their suitcases for them to take back other “quilty” purchases they pick up at the Festival!

    If you’re interested in starting a similar group in Australia, I could contact our other Australian quilters to ask if they’d like to be contacted by you. Let me know!

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  4. My name is Vicki and my friend Annette and I just spent 3 days on a sewing marathon. I prepared kits from our “stash” and we just completed 25 quilt tops for you wonderful organization. We are in Dublin and Alameda California and need to know where to send our contribution of 25 quilt tops. We had such a wonderful time sewing and visiting that we going to do this about 3 times a year. I sent 3 boxes in August 2012 but never received a response. I hope they reach you. Please let me know where to mail our quilt tops.

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    • Hi Vicki! Great thanks to you and Annette for making so many tops for us! We appreciate that so much!

      I got really excited when I saw you were from Dublin & Alameda, since I’m a San Ramon HS alum. I’m in Chicago now, and I miss the Bay Area!

      I have you email ID and I will send you the address to send your quilt tops to.

      I apologize that no one got back to you with a response when you sent us boxes in 2012. We’ve grown a lot since then, and hopefully we’re a lot more organized. When you get my email with the address to send these tops, reply and let me know where you sent the boxes in 2012, and I’ll contact the recipient to check. I did look back through some of our old records and saw your name and information in a donor list, so if that was your only other donation, I think that’s an indication that we did receive the boxes. Again, I do apologize.

      Thank you very much for making the quilt tops for us! Regards,
      Carla

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  5. I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this if you don’t accept tied quilts, but I have to ask: do you accept rag quilts? They usually look and feel better and better with each washing, but that’s in my machine, not a washboard. Thanks for your reply.

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    • Kelly, hopefully someone got back to you separately with the answer to this question, but since it’s one that comes up a lot, I wanted to answer your question on the blog. Unfortunately we cannot accept rag quilts. Over time they tend to cause some problems in the washing machines, with thread getting caught in and winding around the mechanisms. Since many of the orphanages we work with have only one washing machine, which would be costly or impossible to fix, we don’t want to put their washing machines at risk.

      Thanks for asking! Regards,
      Carla

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  6. I would like to donate quilts. I have a group and we enjoy making charity quilts. How can I get involved ? We all have tons of gorgeous fabric that would take us a lifetime to use. We would really like to make beautiful quilts to support your cause.

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    • Barbara, we’re all volunteers and we have no bricks and mortar office. We’re a little reluctant to have our personal home addresses on the internet. However, if you send us an email to quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com and let us know what city you live in, we’ll give you the address of the closest Regional Coordinator to you — or if we’re in the middle of gathering quilts for a delivery somewhere soon, we might have you send your quilts to the Regional Coordinator who is coordinating that initiative.

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  9. I am nearly finished with a American Sign Language quilt that I could send. What are the chances of it reaching a Deaf child? The fact that it is “American” sign language will not matter to someone overseas.

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    • Joy, we rarely know if a child is disabled in the orphanages where we make the deliveries until we’re actually there on sight, so I can’t commit that your quilt will actually reach a deaf child. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more definitive answer, but at this time we don’t have any specific orphanages that we work with that have notified us that they have a deaf child.

      Thanks for quilting, and asking the question. Regards,
      Carla

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  10. I would like to send 4 kitted tops (back and binding too) and need an address to send box. Also, I would like to have the tax id number for the tax deductible donation.

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  11. Karen, wondering if the quilts I sent are out for longarm ing? I know it takes a long time to get them put together and long armed. Just wondering. Will be sending more soon…mostly made from men’s shirts (maybe for boys).

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  13. Hi i have five quilts to donate and i need the contact info for the lady in katy tx so that i can deliver them and pick-up more squares.

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  15. Unfortunately we’re a very small group. Our team consists of about 14 volunteer regional coordinators spread across the nation. Therefore we really don’t have local drop offs or any “bricks and mortar” locations. If you send an email to quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com we can give you the address of the Regional Coordinator closest to you, and you can work with her to figure the best way to get your quilts to her,

    Regards,
    Carla

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  19. A our leader was Judy Wood, who has passed away in May of this pass year. Our group was called No Stings Attached. We are still going on her name but don’t have any of the information on where we send the tops and backing to after we make the tops. So if you help with this information that would really help us out. So please help so we can continue on.

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    • I send mine to Noreen Fling in Raleigh, NC, since I live in Georgia. Best, Barb Czples

      On Mon, Apr 16, 2018, 2:31 PM Quilts Beyond Borders wrote:

      > Cindy Green commented: “A our leader was Judy Wood, who has passed away in > May of this pass year. Our group was called No Stings Attached. We are > still going on her name but don’t have any of the information on where we > send the tops and backing to after we make the tops. So if ” >

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  21. I am making a string quilt to donate. I was wondering if it is okay to add origami pinwheel squares – one in each corner. I know you don’t like buttons or other embellishments. But would this be okay? They are adorable, but I was concerned if they would hold up to wear and tear. I have made them on other quilts.

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  22. Hi, I have tried sending an email to get an address to send completed quilts to, but received a message that the email address is undeliverable.

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    • I also sent an email a few days ago and received no reply. I have a quilt ready to be sent out.

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  23. Vivian, I’ve just responded to your note. I apologize that it’s taken us longer than expected. I broke my fibula last week, and I’ve been a bit distracted. I’ll try to be better in the future.

    Karen, where did you send your email? Our email address is quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com
    People have sometimes called us “quiltswithoutborders”, or perhaps the email carrier was incorrect, or there might have been a typo. Please send us another note to quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com, letting us know where you live and we’ll respond to you as quickly as possible.

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    • Labels can be embroidered, or printed by inkjet printers on printable fabric sheets, or written on muslin or light colored fabric with a marker, like a Sharpie. If you print with inkjet, or make it with a marker, please heat-set it with your iron so the ink doesn’t wash out. And please attach it using machine stitching so that it will weather the harsh laundry conditions it’s likely to encounter in the orphanages, refugee camps and other areas where these quilts will be going. Thank you!

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    • Zenia, there’s no requirement to wash them. The Regional Coordinators wash the quilts before we ship them to the recipients. Thanks for asking the question!

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  29. Hi, i live in Scotland and I have several craft groups who make quilts for charities. At present Ihave a large surplus of quilts and would love to be able to send them to refugees overseas . Do you have anywhere in scotland or uk who could take quilts.
    Beth

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  30. Hello Beth. How wonderful that you have such productive craft groups! e’re a US-based charity with no staff members overseas although every year we have people from all over the world who bring us quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. We work with many other charities, churches and missions to get our quilts to needy children and orphans all over the world.

    If you are interested in getting your quilts to refugees, I would suggest you contact Salaam Cultural Museum who takes our quilts to needy children in Syrian Refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Greece and many other places. They may have contacts in Scotland and UK who can help you out. Here’s their website: https://salaamculturalmuseum.wordpress.com/how-to-help/

    Thanks for contacting us and reading our blog. Regards,
    Carla Triemer, QBB President

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  32. Hello Carla,

    I would like to send in some quilt tops for donation that are kitted up for the long armer.

    Is it best to attach the label to the backing fabric before I send it in, or just include it for attaching later?

    I don’t know if the placement of the label will be affected by the longarming process, or how much, or if I put it on/about the correct spot it will be okay?

    Thank you for the info and the help!

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    • Ooops! I missed the other message. Re the label: Just include it with the kit. As you indicated, sometimes it’s very hard to predict exactly where the label might end up if you attach it to the backing before it’s quilted, so please just include it with the kit. And please leave enough room for the longarmer to include her name on the label as well so you can both get credit for the beautiful work! Thank you!

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  34. Hello,
    I am Emily and a beginner quilter. I am excited about learning all about quilting!
    Finished my topper and will be mailing it in.

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  35. I was wondering if you have any organization in the USA that can use the quilts? With all the homeless and the influx of immigrants particularly in the states bordering Mexico and South and Central America there is a greater need here at home than ever. I do believe in sharing worldwide but it breaks my heart to see the small children sleeping in the bushes and alleyways. And the politicians are so busy being insulting to each other, they have forgotten why we sent them all to Wahington.

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