Not Sure What To Charge
 

I'm making three flower girl dresses for a wedding and it's been so long since I did this, that I'm not sure what to charge for them. Any advice?

oh golly, costs first and then at least $50.00 or perhaps $75.oo per dress if very fancy. good luck on that though.

She's already purchased all the dress materials and notions. They're very simple dresses, though. More like sundresses since it's a beach wedding.

First of all, I no longer make clothes. I have no idea, think maybe ii would have been better to discuss your charge before. Good luck.

Keep track of the time it takes to make them then figure out a per hour cost for making them. Time is money in my book.

She told me beforehand that she would be fine with whatever I charged. I just want to make sure that I'm being fair in my charges and not short changing myself or over charging her. Each dress has a lined bodice and a satin hi-lo skirt with a sheer overlay.

I agree with keeping track of your time. Sometimes it feels like a job takes forever but it doesn't, but more often we spend more time on it than we realize. When you have a final tally, hopefully you can figure a price that makes it feel worthwhile for you both.

Think about how much she would pay for a store bought of the same calibre and go up from there.

I would charge at least $25 a dress. If they are simple and she has paid for the material, I think that is a fair price.

You'll never get an appropriate amount for your time, so if this is family or friends and you have been lassoed into it, I would do it as a wedding gift and make it clear it is their wedding gift. If I do things like that that I DO NOT want to make a business out of, I tell the recipient not to tell anyone where the item came from, as I DO NOT want referrals! For me, I would rather do something like this a gift rather than be insulted with an extremely low amount ($25/dress). I made an middle school dance dress from a metallic fabric for the daughter of a friend of mine. I spend a lot of time on it, and she said she would pay me. She is fairly well off, so I assumed (wrongly, as it turned out) she would know the value of an hand crafted dress. But when it was all finished, she paid me $35! After that, I have practiced saying "Oh, I wish I could - I just don't have the time!" But, at the end of the day, what you charge is up to you. But if you truly have a choice, please don't undervalue your time!!