Originally Posted by Olivia's Grammy
This has been one of the best threads bc I have a LA and have been thinking about using it for profit. I have several questions I know some one here will be able to answer.
Insurance - I am not sure if I understand the reason for this. If something happened wouldn't the person have to prove how much money she had in the quilt? What kind of insurance would you have?
Why would you have lots of quilts waiting to be quilting? I think I would prefer to never have more than 2 or 3 of other peoples quilts due to storage. Couldn't you call and say you are next, bring your quilt.
If you charge .01 psi, is that for simple meandering? If so do you charge more if you add curlyques or stars or hearts?
How much do you charge for binding, machine different from hand?
Do you use your favorite brand of batting or let the customer choose?
Favorite thread?
Do you trim the quilt after finishing the quilting process?
What if the quilt is not squared?
Probably more questions, but can't remember them now. This thread has really gotten me thinking.
Thanking you in advance for the answers.
Just my opinions for the questions above:
1. I have liability insurance in case a customer should fall at my house/studio. I have insurance to cover the machine and all my supplies/equipment in case of a fire or other accident.
2. I have 15 quilts waiting because when a customer is ready to have a quilt done, they will take it somewhere else if I don't accept it. I tell them how long it will be before I can get to it, usually a month or less. If they are in a hurry, I may bump it up before some of the others. If it's a customer who is chronically doing this, they have to wait or take it elsewhere. I keep 2 large totes under my machine and 2 more under my cutting table, where I keep quilts that are waiting. I make slips of paper with each quilt, with the customer's name, date they brought the quilt, and type of quilting to be done, etc.
3. In my area, my prices are slightly lower than average. I want to rely on repeat customers. I charge 1 1/4¢ PSI for simple meandering and simple pantographs. It's 1 1/2¢ PSI for more intricate pantographs, 1 3/4¢ for complicated pantos and simple custom work. It can go over 2¢ PSI for detailed custom work like feathers, loopy fill, ruler work, or circles or cross-hatching with the attachments. I have a minimum charge of $25 for any work done on any quilt, including crib quilts.
4. Batting: I have room to store 3 rolls of batting hanging from the ceiling. I keep 100% cotton, 80/20, and PolyDown, all which I buy from a Hobbs distributor. I sell it for around the same price as the quilt shops and JoAnn's. I tell my customers they are welcome to buy it from me or they can bring their own batting.
5. Thread: I stock a lot of colors of Superior Threads because they run well in my machine. I also have some Gutterman Industrial thread, because they have more color selection, and it also runs good in my machine. Other threads I have tried tend to break. I don't charge extra for thread; it is part of the quilting price.
6. I don't trim the quilt after quilting unless the customer asks me to. I don't do binding unless it's a special case where the customer is having something quilted that she didn't make, and she doesn't sew. I charge 10¢ per running inch and I do it all on the machine.
7. If the quilt is not square, I either charge the customer to square it up or I give it back. I show them what's wrong, and if I think I can fix it, I let them decide if they want to pay me to do it.