Originally Posted by Country Quilter
Originally Posted by Cathe
Don't underprice your work. Promote it as GOOD work, and charge accordingly. If they want cheap quilts, they can buy Chinese imports at JCPenney.
I hope that helps!
Cathe ...this is the part I'm not good at...pricing...I know about the hourly rate and cost of materials etc..... but if somebody could just give me an idea...like say...how much for a 15 x 36 tablerunner....a 30 x 30 wallhanging....a 54 x 54 couch throw... just a basic price would work for me....
I made a queen size quilt for a friend of mine....she bought all the materials and picked out a pattern from one of my books.....it took me about 2 weeks to make the quilt and if I may say so myself ..it turned out pretty nice.....I asked her for $100.... she paid it but did say she hadn't intended on spending that much on the quilt (including her cost of materials which I believe was around $80) she wanted it to give as a gift.
Some people just don't understand what goes into the making of quilts I think.
Patsy, you really need to set prices ahead of time. When I do projects for people (strangers) where I am going to charge an hourly rate, I charge $10 per hour for my time. But I find the best way to do this is to figure out ahead of time how long the project will take and quote them a flat price. That is purely subjective, though, according to the person and the project, because I have the flexibility to do that. :lol: When I am doing that, I provide rotary cutting blades and machine needles. The customer provides every thing else, from thread to elastic and interfacings (for clothing, obviously). I also keep a folder for quotes, and I put deadlines (These prices good until December 5, 2007) and time estimates on the quotes as well!
For finished quilts, I am a little subjective, too. If I HATED making the stupid thing, I charge more. If I need money really badly, I might charge less. If I don't really care if it sells, I start it a lot higher.
On ebay, I usually start simple tablerunners at $40 for the opening bid. Wall quilts in the size you mentioned would start at about $40-$70, depending on what it is. Lap quilts usually start at $75 or so. Some go as high as $150. Not much higher yet.
BUT... I seldom buy new fabric for any of the quilts I make to sell. Most are "used" class samples. Some are pattern prototypes. And for me, the ebay stuff is grocery money and advertising. Lately, I have been making more class samples and have a list of special order projects to sew.
I am blessed with a loyal customer base - not huge, but very helpful. I do more than just quilts - I design and sell clothing and other things, too. I do a lot of mending and alterations for our church family, too. Most of that is my own ministry and I don't charge for it. We have lots of new brides lately, so alterations and sometimes dressmaking is my gift to them. For other people who come to me for that kind of sewing, I charge $10 per hour or some other figure that seems suitable. And I write it down for both of us.
You have to find your own comfort level for charging friends and relatives. I recently did a lot of mending for a young couple at church. They wanted to know how much they owed me, and I told them "nothing. I will probably call you needing help one of these days! I LOVE it when people owe me a favor!" (evil cackle) It seemed to make them very nervous! :lol: