Originally Posted by
pioneerlady
I sold my quilts for awhile, made a good profit. I will not take orders for quilts, will only sell what I pick out. My experience with making a quilt that someone picks out was not pleasant, kept changing what she wanted. Another lady tried to avoid me when it came to paying me. The ones I made and then sold turned out to be a good experience. I keep track of my expenses, even to the thread, keep track of how much time I actually spend working on the quilt, the time it takes to quilt one. The lowest price I charged was $250.00 the highest was 450.00. Honestly, I was surprised how much people will pay for a hand made quilt. you are going to find people who don't appreciate hand made quilts, they won't buy one anyway. Good luck, it's a good feeling that a dollar amount is put on your work.
I've also given away alot of quilts.
I really prefer to keep my
business life separated from my private
personal life. Sewing (and all the related activities) is one of the rare skills that straddle
both areas of my life. I have been keeping them separate for about 30 years now. This is how do I do this.
I work (or had rather) in the fashion/garment industry for pay (rather a pittance). I sew at home for my own use and for personal relationships over the years. My skills are equally used in either case. To live, I must charge a fair amount for the products I make based on my own experience, the prevailing market allows, and what is now offered on online shops as well with similar products. Does it work? It did until the market crashed with the recession, bargain hunting mania, and of course others undercutting through ignorance and/or desperation. So my services waxes and wanes with the resulting demand (or lack of it). Right now, I decided that the best road for me is to keep my skills hidden at home until the day arrives that labor and materials costs will be fairly paid for by the consumer. It will probably be a
very long wait. I rather just sew/quilt at home & go back to a paper stamping government job before I accept
slave wages & giving the store away ever again.