I would think that the reduced weight of the quilt if a nice poly (not fluffy) batting were used would be an advantage.

Good luck with this. I think you may be able to save some money on supplies, but durability is extremely important on a quilt used by teenagers and young adults, and it is important to keep that in mind when making these decisions.

We can talk all day about quality work, what people should pay, what louts those cheap folks are and how we/she could/should/would do it. But it comes down to.....she's not selling the product she has. No one is buying at the price she is asking.

She has three choices: She can quit trying to sell her t-shirt quilts and find something else to do. She can look for a new audience for her product (Is there an audience for a high quality t-shirt quilt?). She can modify her product to meet the local demand.

If it takes 26 hours to complete her quilt, then at the (not too extravagant) wage of $10.00 per hour, she starts out with a $260.00 quilt. To that, add quality materials, then equipment and equipment upkeep (long arms don't come cheap), and already you're up to at least a $400.00 quilt. $400.00 for a quilt is a lot of money for most people.

You have to have a product you can produce for a price people are willing to pay.

Being in business for yourself is not easy.

bkay

I found that Marshall Dry Goods has a wholesale division.. I have bought fabric from them for my Quilts For Kids chapter. its not my favorite fabric, but its good enough. Plus as many have said the Tshirts are to the star of the show. I have also found buying my batting on a roll saves money - its like 1/3 of the price of when I buy the packaged batting

I also make t-shirt quilts for others and find that most think that since they are supplying the t-shirts, that the quilt is basically very cheap to make--not to mention that some think that I work for free! I charge 9cents/sq inch--yes, that does add up--but even buying materials at wholesale,etc, it adds up. And quite frankly, these are not easy quilts to make! i find that most people will want what becomes a custom layout in order to get all the shirt logos desired on the quilt--which takes time. I do stabilize the shirts as they are easier to work with and quilt for me.

Sounds like you have done your research on the area competition. So you need to think about what YOU want to do--is lessening the materials quality ok with you? Or in anyway reducing your prices? I have decided for me that I stick to my price--it is after all a custom quilt and I can live with the potential customer telling me they will look elsewhere--actually I have given a couple of possibilities for another quilter. Or suggested they may want to to prep shirts, piece top and bring it to me for quilting and binding. But in my area, my price is typical with a couple of exceptions. One thing I suggest you NOT do is pay yourself less for labor--I just finished 3 memory quilts for an acquaintance and did not charge enough (but always stick with my estimate quote)and am kicking myself big on that!

I would think that the last thing to skimp on is the stabilizer. I've only made a few t-shirt quilts for my own kids and the stabilizer was essential for the knit fabric. Sometimes the knit fabric was cheap and the stabilizer kept the quilt together. I would be really upset if I paid whatever price for a quilt and it became distorted after just a few months and even worse after a wash. I cannot replace the ruined meaningful t-shirts! I'd be really steamed at you my trusted quilt maker.

I think you will hurt your reputation in the long run by putting out a cheaper, inferior product that will not hold up. There are other options out there for those who do not want to pay for a quality, wellmade quilt.

I just saw Mary Mulari on Sewing with Nancy making a T-shirt quilt. She makes a rag style memory quilt. She cuts the shirt to a 12.5 inch square and layers it with pre-washed flannel, stitches a big X from corner to corner, then sews together rag-style. I like the look of this, and it certainly would cut down on your labor time. You can watch the show here
http://wpt.org/SewingWithNancy/Video...overs-part-one

Don't cut costs ... teach them about the quality of the materials they are getting. I would not lower my standards and my reputation and make something cheap.

DON'T SKIP THE STABILIZER. I've seen T-shirt quilts made without it. You wouldn't want it.

I would not skip using the stabilizer. Especially with using cheaper tee shirts.