Making Money Quilting
09-26-2007, 10:22 AM
#32
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 6
Well I'll throw in how I do it. Since I appraise,restore, buy, sell and consign only antique quilts on ebay and on the web. It is usually a very individual case by case situation.
Restoration of a whole quilt-I provide the antique fabric from my time period antique stashes, I provide all the cotton thread and I charge by the square foot if a quilt is 6 feet by 6 feet I charge $20 x 36 which equals $720 which is about how much a well maintained 19th century quilt would cost
If I am only hand quilting say an old antiquefamily quilt top it is $10x36 which equals $360 about the going appraisal value of a newly quilted antique fabric quilt
If just the binding needs replacing on an antique quilt-once again my antique fabric,thread etc but I charge by the linear foot $20
I also advise clients if I am presented with a one patch in shreds that restoration for value is not worth it, I can restor it for sentimental purposes but the cost is the same
Now I didn't just come up with this out of thin air I got the idea from a girl friend who was raised in an Amish village and has left now. She's an excellent quilter and resides in upstate New York now. She said that when she was young about the age of 6-10 yrs old she would make quilts for the community and for sale and they charged $5 per amish yard of thread used on a quilt. Now, an amish yard is from the tip of your nose to the length of your extended arm to finger tips. We know that a 6 yr olds amish yard is smaller than an adults and that the amish make very tight little stitches. See the hitch here. More yards of thread,because its a short yard and tight stitches. Alot of thread went into the quilts she made as a child hence the higher price. Nowadays most amish quilts are designed and pieced by amish but then shipped to asian countries for the hand stitching to be done there and shipped back to be sold in Amish villages. This is how the overhead cost stays low.
Restoration of a whole quilt-I provide the antique fabric from my time period antique stashes, I provide all the cotton thread and I charge by the square foot if a quilt is 6 feet by 6 feet I charge $20 x 36 which equals $720 which is about how much a well maintained 19th century quilt would cost
If I am only hand quilting say an old antiquefamily quilt top it is $10x36 which equals $360 about the going appraisal value of a newly quilted antique fabric quilt
If just the binding needs replacing on an antique quilt-once again my antique fabric,thread etc but I charge by the linear foot $20
I also advise clients if I am presented with a one patch in shreds that restoration for value is not worth it, I can restor it for sentimental purposes but the cost is the same
Now I didn't just come up with this out of thin air I got the idea from a girl friend who was raised in an Amish village and has left now. She's an excellent quilter and resides in upstate New York now. She said that when she was young about the age of 6-10 yrs old she would make quilts for the community and for sale and they charged $5 per amish yard of thread used on a quilt. Now, an amish yard is from the tip of your nose to the length of your extended arm to finger tips. We know that a 6 yr olds amish yard is smaller than an adults and that the amish make very tight little stitches. See the hitch here. More yards of thread,because its a short yard and tight stitches. Alot of thread went into the quilts she made as a child hence the higher price. Nowadays most amish quilts are designed and pieced by amish but then shipped to asian countries for the hand stitching to be done there and shipped back to be sold in Amish villages. This is how the overhead cost stays low.
09-26-2007, 11:23 AM
#33
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 203
This is very interesting about the Amish quilts. I didn't know that they are being sent off to Asian countries to be quilted. To me this is not a homemade quilt and would not be one I would want to purchase. I have a dear friend who is 94 years old and still makes quilts the old-fashioned way by using a quilting frame that hangs from the ceiling and hand stitches and quilts all of hers. She made me a lap quilt from feedsacks and I will always treasure it.
09-26-2007, 01:05 PM
#34
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 8
I had no idea about Amish quilts either.
The way I price my runners are; price the fabric used at retail fabric price(whole yards), the cost of thread(whole spools) and double it, I buy at wholesale or @ 40-50% off only. I make samples out of retail priced FQ's.
I am trying to make some ahead and sell at Bazaars this fall. and I am going to try Ebay.????? Maybe
I dont think you make much money unless you pay less than retail, something you can make very fast, doing more than one at a time, or custom jobs. I see small wall quilts made out of a panel and not much machine quilting trying to sell for $50. I dont think they are worth it.
I sell some quilts and tablerunners, I have made clothing and wedding dresses for others. When I made wedding dresses it was 15 yrs ago and I charged $5 for every yard of fabric and they usually brought there own fabric. I used to work in a dry cleaners where I got asthma. So I adapted her pricing. And then when I did clothing, 5 yrs ago, I raised the price per yard to$8-10 and charges for extra stuff like zippers, belts, snaps, ect. I think alteration people charge way too much, those who have to rent buildings. I understand that they have to pay for the rent and insur. That is why I do classes to teach others. It is the "IN" thing to do and so many young people are interested. It is sad that there is no "home ec" in school much. But I guess the upgrade in machines is too much. I am trying to gather up some machines and teach and after-school class for kids.
I do enjoy teaching. I am hoping to make more money as word gets around.
The way I price my runners are; price the fabric used at retail fabric price(whole yards), the cost of thread(whole spools) and double it, I buy at wholesale or @ 40-50% off only. I make samples out of retail priced FQ's.
I am trying to make some ahead and sell at Bazaars this fall. and I am going to try Ebay.????? Maybe
I dont think you make much money unless you pay less than retail, something you can make very fast, doing more than one at a time, or custom jobs. I see small wall quilts made out of a panel and not much machine quilting trying to sell for $50. I dont think they are worth it.
I sell some quilts and tablerunners, I have made clothing and wedding dresses for others. When I made wedding dresses it was 15 yrs ago and I charged $5 for every yard of fabric and they usually brought there own fabric. I used to work in a dry cleaners where I got asthma. So I adapted her pricing. And then when I did clothing, 5 yrs ago, I raised the price per yard to$8-10 and charges for extra stuff like zippers, belts, snaps, ect. I think alteration people charge way too much, those who have to rent buildings. I understand that they have to pay for the rent and insur. That is why I do classes to teach others. It is the "IN" thing to do and so many young people are interested. It is sad that there is no "home ec" in school much. But I guess the upgrade in machines is too much. I am trying to gather up some machines and teach and after-school class for kids.
I do enjoy teaching. I am hoping to make more money as word gets around.
09-26-2007, 02:41 PM
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Becky
Posts: 706
I made a queen size rag quilt for a wedding gift and charged 200.00, plus fabric and batting cost. It turned out real nice. I made a lap size rag quilt, special order, I did it with old blue jeans and red flannel and charged 85.00. I really like to design my own and have gotton very positive feed back on my own designs and creations. I just finished making 2 quilts that I designed for the fall, that my son is going to post on e-bay. I made them 50x70, alot of applique. I'm also designing a Christmas quilt, I want my son to wait till I have that done before he puts them on e-bay. I'm asking for 150.00 for each of those. I know they are worth that if not more. I kinda look at it if they don't sell they will always go to my family as treasures that I leave for them. I'm not giving my stuff away anymore. I spent alot of years, time, effort, and genuine care in designing and creating my quilts, they are my babies. They are part of me and I'm proud of them.
09-26-2007, 04:26 PM
#36
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 6
There is a great article I read about the amish and asian quilt connection at the quilters newsletter website www.qnm.com
it is in this Issue No. 387 November 2006
Vol. 37, No. 9
Reading this article confirmed for me what my friend Sarah told me.
I agree the shipped quilts are taking advantage of low wage labor and I would not buy one either. General American's in the age of Walmart, do not value American handcrafted quilts But you should see how many are valued that are 100 or more years old. They want them all to look new again because they have real value! So all of you current quilt makers know in your heart that your current new quilts will live on for at least 100 yrs ahead of now and unfortunatly they will THEN be worth alot of money
it is in this Issue No. 387 November 2006
Vol. 37, No. 9
Reading this article confirmed for me what my friend Sarah told me.
I agree the shipped quilts are taking advantage of low wage labor and I would not buy one either. General American's in the age of Walmart, do not value American handcrafted quilts But you should see how many are valued that are 100 or more years old. They want them all to look new again because they have real value! So all of you current quilt makers know in your heart that your current new quilts will live on for at least 100 yrs ahead of now and unfortunatly they will THEN be worth alot of money
09-26-2007, 04:49 PM
#37
Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: rock hill south carolina
Posts: 74
:D Yes I got the sitre. It sure was an eye opener! I just loved it. I did not see any bids on these . Have you actually sold on e-bay?\
It seems like so much fun. As ya'll may have noticed I'm now chunkymamma There is someone I know who is using kikicol- my cuz..
It seems like so much fun. As ya'll may have noticed I'm now chunkymamma There is someone I know who is using kikicol- my cuz..
09-26-2007, 05:00 PM
#38
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 6
yes I sell and have a store on ebay its called Alley Flos' Antiques
named after my great grandma Alice and grandma Florence
It is alot of fun selling on ebay I average about 10-20% profit on my items
but I like the hunt part of the items if they sell they sell if not I give them away to charity or friends. Its a nice part time hobby
named after my great grandma Alice and grandma Florence
It is alot of fun selling on ebay I average about 10-20% profit on my items
but I like the hunt part of the items if they sell they sell if not I give them away to charity or friends. Its a nice part time hobby
09-26-2007, 05:38 PM
#39
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Pinckneyville, IL
Posts: 3
I do machine quilting for people. I use an Elna 7200 Quilters pro Sewing Machine. I built me a 4X8 sewing table and put the machine down in the table. I charge$30.00 to machine quilt a baby quilt following a pattern, and $75.00 for a queen size following a pattern or free motion. These are the prices for these two sizes to give you an example of how much I charge. To bind it by machine, I charge $15.00 for a queen size. By the time I press, sandwich it together, and then sew it, I don't make a whole lot hourly wise, but I enjoy doing it. If I charged more, I would probably not have that many jobs. I furnished the thread, they furnish the rest. Am I way off on my price? To do a queen size quilt, it takes a lot of tugging and pushing to get it under the throat. I don't want the expense of a long-arm. I think I would rather move the quilt instead of the machine.
09-26-2007, 05:47 PM
#40
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 9
oy! A queen size on a sewing machine -- I'm not sure I would ever recover. There are some mid to long arm machines out there that are affordable. But the question here is making money quilting -- yes, you are charging too little if you are in it for making money. If you want some spending money and love what you are doing, then I'd say you are about right on. You won't make money doing it for the prices you are charging. At least that is my experience.
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