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.

I posted about my recent experience making a T shirt quilt for a stranger. For some reason the site removed my comments. It was a T shirt quilt and a real pain. The general public has no idea what goes into making a quilt. I used a high thread count sheet for the back and used the fitted sheet cut in strips for the sashing etc. She provided the T shirts but I had to stabilize all of them before I could use them. I was able to assemble it and machine quilt it in a week. She was thrilled and gladly handed over the $150 we had agreed on. She gave me a 50$ deposit when I picked up the shirts. She said she would keep my number as she had another child in sports. LUCKY ME!!

Wow! I don't think that I've ever paid that much for materials for a quilt! First, to cuts costs, you might want to rethink your materials. There are a lot of great sales going on at the online stores, so you might check those for fabrics. Also, EBay has a lot of vintage fabrics for sale with a cowboy theme, s/a prints, denim, bandanna, etc. You could also use some of your scraps and just fill in with the novelty fabrics to cut down on costs. There's always a batting sale out there somewhere too.

As for labor, I would charge her a straight, per hour fee...whatever you think that your time is worth. Personally, I wouldn't do one for less than $15/hr., unless it was for a family member or close friend. Those would be for free, of course.

What I hate is when people ask me to make a quilt for them and then get insulted that I would "dare" charge them for it! I usually just make quilts for my family - don't ask them what they want, I decide what I want to make for them. I don't make quilts for strangers. I refer them to people in my guild that are "professional quilters". There is absolutely nothing wrong with charging for making a quilt, I just don't want to do this. JMHO...

Good luck with your project!

Anita

I totally agree. I have made many quilts for family members and friends. They never knew about the quilt until I showed up with the finished product. It makes for a happier experience for all.

Personally what I would have done, is have her buy ALL the supplies, then give her a price on YOU making the quilt, also make sure that you get at least half of the quoted price as a down payment.

I always get the customer to buy own fabric and tell them my cost. I am usually making bags for other quilters so no problem with cost.
Don't know why people with a block on bags .

Most definately have your landlord buy ALL fabric, batting & thread. Decide what you want to charge. I think a month's rent would be just fine. Bartering is a wonderful thing. :thumbup:

I agree with Lynnie. A month's rent sounds reasonable and they will know the value of the quilt.

I'm reading a lot of good advice on here. I really like the suggestion that she shop with you for the fabric. Purchase the batting at the same time. Have her supply the coupons for JoAnn's (if she has them). Have her purchase the thread too. She'll keep any extra material and thread. How much do you pay for rent? Would it be feasible for you to charge a months rent for the quilt? Your time, and expertise?

I do not agree with using your scraps to 'cut down on costs.' That could very well drive up your cost for the quilt, as you once probably paid $8-10 a yard for that material. A quilt of that size can easily cost $250-300 if you're using LQS quality fabric.

I would give her the pattern requirements and have her buy the fabric, batting and backing with a little extra of each fabric. She can buy it over time if she wants to use coupons. Once she has all the materials you will make the quilt. $15 an hour sounds fair. I have had a couple of people ask me to make a quilt for them, when they find out how much fabric is, even with coupons, they change their mind. She probably has no idea how long it takes to make a quilt. I would give her an estimate of the number of hours it takes to make a quilt that size, telling her it may take longer than the estimate.

I agree this sounds like a great idea!

Hopetoquilt...your suggestion to have the customer shop for fabric with you is probably the best idea I've seen put forth on this board regarding custom quilting! It makes so much sense. As a matter of practicality it may not always be possible but it sure would put to rest most opportunity for "sticker shock" or almost any misunderstanding of costs involved. Thanks for posting.

I'll be watching this thread as have just been approached about making a quilt from scratch to be finished by early March. This lady obviously doesn't have any idea what goes into making a quilt plus she wants it queen size in toile fabrics which I have none. I'm sure when I throw a price at her she'll reconsider having it made plus I just don't know if I could finish it in time due to health issues.

lol. there is some good advice here! I definetly would discuss supply costs and labor up front. $250 is a lot not including labor. get at least 1/2 up front; and have her to pay the balance in full when you complete the project.

whenever someone asks me to make a quilt, always throw out around $500. If they don't die from sticker shock, then we talk specifics. Most people don't get passed the price. I've been asked to make a t-shirt quilt and I immediately throw out $300. When they balk at the price since they're providing the shirts, I tell them to look online and that's the going price.

Yes, it is a "for real" thing that people just do not understand the cost (and time) involved in making a custom made quilt. Some really good advice has been offered here; my favorite being have her go shopping for fabric with you--and if possible, take along the pattern that you will be using which will show her the yardage, etc. to provide you with. And be sure that she likes the pattern--some folks cannot picture the quilt in their preference of colors (that is, if your pattern is set together in a different color scheme)--I have had this happen to me recently in a custom made quilt order--she gave me full license to make whatever I wanted to in her color scheme. I agonized over that for a month before I could even start to select colors and fabrics. But she got the quilt last week, called me tickled pink with her quilt, and the check is in the mail......

I made a t-shirt quilt for a friend's son. It was 20 t-shirts and that turned out to be almost a queen size quilt. There were sashings, bindings and cornerstones, the t-shirt stabilizer, the batting, thread and since I didn't have a machine that FMQ'd I ended up buying a newer machine for $140. which I love! My friend bought all the fabric, thread, and the stabilizer which we ended up needing a lot more than we bought and I had the batting already. I think she spent close to $80. It was a really big quilt when it was done, and I wouldn't make another one that big again on my small machine. In return, she gave me to give to my daughter who was moving into her own rental home, a washer/dryer, a cabinet full of Disney library VCR tapes, a portable color TV w/a built in VCR player, and a 6.5' tall solid wood bookcase. All of these things she gave me were in storage and she didn't want them anymore. Everything works perfectly. I think we both got a great deal.

Thanks for all your input. I think that I will give her a look at the prices of the materials and the patterns I have picked out. I can say that my mouth will be in check the next time I am asked. This has had me stressed out for days!

What is a BQ2 pattern, have not seen it mentioned before.
Thanks

I agree. This way she won't be so shocked. She will be thankful and appreciate your consideration.

I agree...people have no idea how much it cost for fabric!

What is a BQ2 quilt pattern?

I'm sure BQ2 pattern is very common, but I won't sleep tonight if I don't ask. What is BQ2? Thanks.

I want to know too, couldn't figure that one out.

I looked it up on Google and it appears to be an abbreviation for Big Quilt. It is a big block quilt that is found on Maple Island Quilts. It looks like a traditional pattern with a contemporary twist, to me. Hope this sets you at ease. :-)

I totally agree with leatheflea. Most people have no idea what even the fabric costs, much less the time, so I begin by saying it's very expensive, before I suggest on-line sites. I won't start without an agreement on the costs and fabric or the fabric costs in hand (including batting and backing). I have done several queen sized commissions in the $1,100 to 1,500 range. BTW, I just got some darling cowboy fabric from fabric.com.

Yikes you really did it! Non quilters have no idea the cost of our materials. Just be up front with your landlord. Honesty is the best policy I say! They probably think you can make one cheaper than they can buy at Walmart.

Brain freeze here. What's a BQ2?

BTW, I agree with the others. Have her go with you for shopping and have her pay for the fabric. Then put in writing what you both agree on for the labor, etc.

link to BQ2 pattern: http://www.createforless.com/Maple-I...pid127711.aspx