Boy, did I open my mouth
 

I agreed to make a quilt with cowboy/western theme for my landlords wife. :shock: Haven't given her a price as yet but did ask how old the boy was and what size bed he had. She said that he was five and had a twin size bed, but she wanted something like a full size for as he got older. Looked at fabric and pretty much made up my mind about what to get along with a pattern. Cost for all material and batting between 250 and three hundred dollars. Don't know what to charge for labor. Wasn't planning on a full size quilt though. Thought I could get off a bit cheaper. Any suggestions on what to charge for labor before I throw a price at her and put her into shock? :)

I'm still in shock over how much it costs to make quilts. The twin size rag quilt I just made used 3 layers of flannel. It is a gift and I know they have no idea of the cost involved. If I didn't love doing it, I just wouldn't even consider it.

It is VERY hard to make a quilt for a customer especially if you haven't done it before. Custom work is the hardest to do. You must make sure she OKs the fabric and the pattern. Try to save your customer money, checkout where you can get the fabric on sale. Pick up the batting and thread at JAF with some 50% coupon. Watch for sales. Hope she is not expecting this for Christmas. You do NOT want your landlord being upset at the estimated cost of the quilt. Keep the pattern simple. I always love the BQ2 pattern. You can piece the top in just a couple of days. Good Luck.

I highly recommend having the landlord shop with you and have her pay for the fabric. Then the actual price for labor will look a lot smaller because she is not paying you for the fabric. Hope that makes sense.

Around $500.lots of good info in previous posts. Search for them.

I second this. She needs to give you a deposit, and this is a great way to do it. Whatever you do next, please put it in writing!

No way would I make a quilt for someone else. I think from what I've read on here, it could turn into a nightmare.
I make quilts and decide whom gets what. My quilt my decision, on color, pattern, etc.

tell her a months rent.
it's more than worth it, and she'll value it more. good luck

Excellent suggestion Lynnie! If the landlord thinks that's unreasonable, it gets you off the hook quickly.

I've found that once a customer finds out how expensive quilts are to make they are no longer a customer. I went through this just this year. Two different customers backed out after I e-mailed them the websites where I intended to buy their fabric. And as you all know, most of the time quality fabric is cheaper online. I learned a couple of years ago, not to put much time or effort into a quilt until the money is my hand.