Thread: New Job???

That sounds like it has potential! Lots of people don't care for sewing on binding. I wish I could offer practical advice on pricing. From various pricing discussions we've had here, the method that makes most sense to me for hand sewing, is charging a certain amount per a certain length of thread, as some hand quilters said they did. This eliminates time from the equation, so whether you're a fast or slow sewer wouldn't impact the price. I probably wouldn't use such a service myself, but it seems like there could be a market for it.

This sounds like a viable opportunity, but I agree that you should charge more than $10 per hour for this type of work. This is repetitive action and you can end up doing your hand joints a disservice by working them too much. It's true that quilters in the past spent many hours every day hand piecing, hand quilting, and hand sewing on bindings but these tasks all require slightly different hand motions. Spending the same amount of time sewing on bindings only makes the actions more repetitive. Also, we tend to live longer than quilters of the past, which means there is more time for joint wear-and-tear to show up. Five hours a week isn't so bad, but if you are looking to double or triple that number of hours, you absolutely need to charge more to compensate you for the risk of joint damage (or carpal tunnel syndrome, which is more reversible if caught early but can still involve doctor visits).

Originally Posted by PaperPrincess

Many long armers offer binding, the pricing is usually per inch. If you google 'quilt binding prices' you can get an idea of what others charge for this specific service. Keep in mind that prices may vary by geographic location.
If you do decide to proceed, make sure that you develop some sort of written work order: size of quilt, binding style (if applicable) color of thread estimated cost, estimated completion, who provided the binding fabric etc. When the quilt is dropped off, make 2 copies, keep one with the quilt & the other goes to the customer.
Many quilters do hate this step! It's worth at least investigating. You could get some brochures from local long arm quilters, and offer to work with the ones that don't offer this service.

I agree with PaperPrincess on how to charge ie per inch as being a beginner I would question the per hour rate, you don't really know how many hours were actually spent on it. So having a set charge for per inch and whether you or customer supplies the binding decides the price.

Originally Posted by PaperPrincess

Many long armers offer binding, the pricing is usually per inch. If you google 'quilt binding prices' you can get an idea of what others charge for this specific service. Keep in mind that prices may vary by geographic location.
If you do decide to proceed, make sure that you develop some sort of written work order: size of quilt, binding style (if applicable) color of thread estimated cost, estimated completion, who provided the binding fabric etc. When the quilt is dropped off, make 2 copies, keep one with the quilt & the other goes to the customer.
Many quilters do hate this step! It's worth at least investigating. You could get some brochures from local long arm quilters, and offer to work with the ones that don't offer this service.

PaperPrincess has some good advice. I can only add that you consider charging by the job rather than per hour. You can charge per inch or per foot. That's what I would do. I actually enjoy sewing binding by hand. Good luck

When I started to long arm quilt, I was told to charge $1.25 per foot for binding. When you think of all the work that goes into binding, it's reasonable.

It would make sense to do the per inch charge - because by the hour is just too subjective, thinking as a customer.

I would not pay hourly for a sewing service- I can't determine how fast or slow they might sew.
I would possibly pay by the inch, depending on if the total price was worth removing the hassle of me doing it myself. (I hate binding.)

I would also expect near perfection if I was paying to have the binding done.