Sell? Sell a Quilt????

I would never sell a quilt... too much of my life tied up in them.


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But offers starting at $250,000 will be considered.

tim in san jose

That is a really good question. I have people that will see one of my quilts and ask me how much will I charge to make them one. And I'm stumped. Theres alot of work, time, creativity, and how do you determine a price. Let alone the cost for doing one.

Someone told me once that the basic rate to charge is the cost of materials + labor x 3. (Labor cost is $per hour.) I timidly would figure it for my cakes and candies....always surprised at the price...even more by the payment and return orders. I must however admit, I have never sold a quilt.

If that's the case then my quilts are worth at least $1,000 if not more. But I don't think anyone would spend that much money on one of mine. If I were to sell for profit I would have to buy the cheapest fabs that I could find and cut corners to save time. BUT and and big BUT I don't think I could compromise my personal ethics to create a cheaply made product. I always strive for quality. But that's just me. Fortunately I don't have to sell my quilts to make a living but if you did then that would be the way to go. These are just my feelings.

I would be hard pressd to price a quilt for sale. I simply don't think anyone would pay what I think they are worth according to the time I put into it and cost of fabrics. No one would pay me for 2 or 3 months or more of work that it took to make a big quilt, so I make little ones and give them away. Not a very good answer I am afraid. I have thought about selling baby quilts once I retire because most of them can be done completely on the machine in less time. I sold one once for $100 years ago, but it was probably worth much more. So did I confuse you even more? LOL

Well, here we go................since this is what I do for a living!!!! I worked retail for 26 yrs and also did buying for these stores that I worked for, therefore knowing a little about pricing. Not much, but a little!!
When I price an item that I make, I usually consider the price of the fabric only, then times that by 2 or 3 the amount. These are for my small items such as table runners, totebags,small lap quilts etc. The big quilts that I do, I take into consideration the pattern that I will be doing and consider my time. Thats the hard part because people just don't understand the time to make these. But every year before Christmas, I have at least 1 or 2 queen size quilts that I will have to get done, and they sure make for some good spending money at Christmas! I use my gut feeling on these. Its the hardest thing I have to do.

I do buy alot of my fabric on sale and use Joanns mostly for these types of items. Plus I have to consider the area that I live in. Makes a big difference. People won't spend alot aroung here. Check out my ebay store and you can see how I price some things. Hope this helped a little.

you ladies haven't mentioned the blood ,sweat, and tears.oh believe me i've poked my fingers enough times , you should really take that into consideration to. tia sarah

ergo: with those things in mind......is the cost really too much? Beethoven wasn't paid nearly enough for the beauty of his musical works, nor would some say Michealangelo, even more current artist, say, Charles Russell? If it holds a part of you...value it ...everything else will take care of itself. Whether you sell or gift it...it is priceless, and as we have recently seen with Leslee's quilt, an enduring treasure. Truly priceless.