How to Plan a Quilt Shop Hop

A shop hop is a set of independent quilt shops in a region - usually organized by the shops themselves, a local guild, or a regional quilting organization - that team up for a limited window (often a long weekend, sometimes a full month) so quilters have a reason to visit every one of them. If you've never done one, the format is simple once you know the mechanics.

How the passport works

You pick up a passport (a paper card or booklet) from any participating shop, usually free, and write your name and phone number on it. At each shop you visit, staff stamp or sticker your passport as proof you stopped by. Most hops don't require you to visit every shop to participate, but completing the full route is usually what qualifies you for the grand-prize drawing at the end - individual shops often also run their own smaller drawings for anyone who visits, even without a full passport.

What you'll find at each stop

Shop hops exist to drive foot traffic, so most participating shops put together something available only during the event window - an exclusive fabric bundle, a hop-specific pattern, a discount, or a small kit you can only get by showing up in person. This is worth planning around: if there's a shop on the route you especially want to hit for its exclusive, check its hours or expected inventory before you go, since popular hop exclusives can sell out mid-weekend.

Planning your route

Shop hops are usually spread across a whole state or region, so the difference between an enjoyable day and a rushed one is almost entirely route planning. A few things that help:

• Map every participating shop's address before you leave, and group them geographically rather than following the order they're listed in - hop organizers rarely list shops in driving order.
• Budget real time per stop (20-30 minutes minimum if you actually want to browse, longer if a shop has a class or demo running), not just drive time between stops.
• Call ahead for shops you especially want to hit, since hours sometimes shift during hop weekends due to higher traffic.
• If the hop spans multiple days, don't try to do it all in one - most passports don't expire until the event's final day.

Check our events calendar for shop hops and other quilting events happening near you, and browse the shop directory by state or city to find independent shops worth adding to your own route even outside of an organized hop.