Thread: How much to charge for quilting?

I recently purchased a new to me HQ16 sitdown machine for quilting the many quilt tops I have. I have been practicing, but am by no means proficient yet. A friend has a quilt top that she made but is not crazy about it. She said she would pay me to quilt it for her, so I would have something to practice on. She insists she doesn't care how I quilt it, but she does want to pay me. I have no idea how much to charge her. I know LA quilters charge by the sq. inch, but I don't know what that is in my area. I'm in Massachusetts. Can anyone help me with this? Again, I'll be quilting at a sit down machine not on a frame. Mostly likely quilting within blocks, not so much all over quilting.
Thank you. Janet

Originally Posted by feline fanatic

When I first got my LA and a friend let me "practice" on her quilts I only charged her a modest fee a fraction of what most LA charge for a basic end to end design. The going price in the Northeast for an end to end is .01 to .015 per square inch. So based on that charge what your conscience says your skills, time and material are worth.

Thank you for responding so quickly. I forgot to mention that I'm supplying the batting and I have to piece the back also. She forgot to do that.

Originally Posted by feline fanatic

When I first got my LA and a friend let me "practice" on her quilts I only charged her a modest fee a fraction of what most LA charge for a basic end to end design. The going price in the Northeast for an end to end is .01 to .015 per square inch. So based on that charge what your conscience says your skills, time and material are worth.

Thank you for responding so quickly. I forgot to mention that I'm supplying the batting and I have to piece the back also. She forgot to do that. The quilt measures 55" x 68".

I have quilted several tops for friends who wanted to pay, but in each case I insisted on doing it as a gift. They supplied batting though. Once you start charging for quilting it becomes a business, and I'm not ready to go that route yet.