Originally Posted by hopetoquilt
Take the pattern out, show her the fabric requirements and go on-line to show her the cost of the fabric. Go on a site like thousands of bolts and put all the necessary fabric in the "cart" and show her the total with shipping and tax. Don't forget thread and batting. When she sees that it can cost alot just for the materials, maybe she will understand.
This is what I was gonna suggest.
I took a friend to a LQS to have her pick out and buy fabric for a topper. She got 4 half yards a 1yd of 5 different prints and cost just over $20. I thought she would die but she paid for it and now realized how expensive fabric is.