Cheaper T-shirt Quilts?
 

I make t-shirt quilts and use premium materials. Kona cotton, Warm and Natural batting, printed quilting fabric, stabilizer, etc., but people don't want to pay for a nice quilt, they want cheap.

So, I have decided to offer a lower quality quilt, but still offer quality quilts for those who are willing to pay for them.

I need some advice on cutting costs. I selected a poly batting instead of the cotton batting, muslin fabric for the back instead for quality quilting fabric, I'm going to be using just a plain cheap 100% cotton for the sashing - found at my local fabric store and skipping using the stabilizer, also longarming the quilt in a bigger standard pattern.

I just worry about quality. Should I? I mean you get what you pay for right? I'm just giving them a choice. Thoughts?

As long as they know the situation, and still approve, go ahead with the cheap stuff. But do not give them a break on your work making it. That part is not cheap...so don't let them think so!

I agree. Most people wanting a t shirt quilt will probably not know the difference anyway. Give them the different options with the different prices. Let them pick. Sadly, most people don't know the difference between a quality quilt and something from Walmart.

That's a good idea. They want to see the shirts, not the good Kona, backing, binding, quilting etc. And most muggles don't know cotton from poly anyway.

Two things to consider before making a decision :
1. In my experience, inferior quality materials are often harder to work with, and it takes longer to create a satisfactory product. So you may save money on the product but your time has value too.

2. Do you want to risk damage to your reputation when buyers are unhappy because the inferior item doesn't last very long?

I would not want to skimp on stabilizer. Have you made t-shirt quilts without it? I think AStitchintime above me is correct that inferior materials are going to translate into more time investment on your part to get a passable end result.

Another idea to consider -- if people are reluctant to pay what you need to charge for quality materials in a tshirt quilt, what if you offer them other cheaper alternatives-- pillow covers, smaller wall hangings, throws with tshirt motifs foundation pieced to fleece, even baby clothing or hats made from special t-shirts. Keep the actual quilt a quality item, but make cheaper novelty fun things that those who can't or won't spend on a full quilt can enjoy.

I would find other ways to cut cost such as buying wholesale.

I just won't deal with cheap people. Problem solved.

You can't buy a Mercedes at KIA pricing.... what reputation do you want to have? I would not compromise my work ethics in good conscience. The labor is the same...the "scrimping on materials" will not make a big dent in the overall scheme of things. Want leather seats? You pay for that option!

sandy

Nope, I wouldn't cut costs at all. They are what they are, if you are making a quality product and spending your time, then the buyer should be willing to pay for your services. I always refer people to Campus Quilts.com or .org (I can never remember which it is). It puts into scale what quilts cost. Just because they know you they shouldn't haggle about the price. After all, you are a custom craftsman with a custom product.

Won't skipping the stabilizer make it much more difficult to work with?

Have you costed out the difference? You know how much of everything it takes, so make two lists. List everything, even the things that don't change, like the thread for the long arm (only way to see how much you could save on material). Compare the two lists of your costs. You may find there's not a whole lot of difference in the two lists. My guess is less than $40.00.

I don't know if this is a viable idea or not. What if you had them prep the tee shirts? (I've not made a t-shirt quilt, so all this is conjecture.) If they think it costs too much money, give them part of the labor (and costs). Make up a tutorial on how to cut the shirts (or copy one off the net) , what kind of fusible to buy and how to do it. (anybody can iron) Make sure they make the squares large enough for you to square them up afterwards to your standard size.

You could also have a standard pattern/color for the sashing, binding and backing. You could have a standard number of t-shirts, so everyone is the same. That way you would have less waste. I think you could buy 100% cotton from some where like Marshall Dry Goods pretty cheap. It won't have as nice a hand, but handles just fine. They also have some of the really wide backing stuff, so you save that construction time. You might even have enough scraps from the backing to do the binding.

If you don't do anything special, by that I mean everything on the "ABC" quilt is standard, you might be able to make some money and sell some quilts. The rule is STANDARD - nothing different and no hand work. You'll get bored with it, but that's about the only way you can make any money. If they start to do the, "could you just add this?" or, "can we make this red?". You say of course you can, but it will no longer be the "ABC" quilt. It becomes your custom "XYZ" quilt and costs "a little" more.

It's just an idea. It might not work. It might, though.

bkay

I completely agree with this. Especially if you are not stabilizing your t-shirting it will be a difficult project, taking the fun out of it for you. I would suggest waiting for your clientele to build up for your better quality quilts.

Maybe make a cheap version of your quilt as a test? That way you can see what it's like to make and if it seems good enough to sell. You could also show it to people (if your sales are local) so that people will understand exactly what they're getting. If they see both versions side by side and know the prices of each, who knows which they'll choose.

Would using interfacing but eliminating batting work better than the other way around? I've never made a T-shirt quilt and may not know what I'm talking about, but I would think the interfacing could add some of the warmth and loft lost from the batting.

Yes! I don't like to be around cheap people. They are on my ignore list.

I don't think that the quality of your product would be much effected using a nice quality poly batt. As far as the fabric substitutions, I would make my purchases at Connecting Threads. Their non-sale price for wide backing is about what you would pay for a yard of quilting cotton at an LQS. A couple times a year they have it on sale for way way less. I stock up. I would also recommend using their blenders for sashing. As long as it fulfils the batting requirement, a looser quilting pattern would be fine. I wouldn't skip the stabilizer, however.
Using the above adjustments, I would price one out. I have to believe that your time is the biggest cost and except for spending less time long arming, you may not save all that much.

I would worry that two different styles would affect how people view the quality of what you're doing. That can be hard to explain and u might lose business if someone sees the lower quality but hears the higher price

It takes me 26 hours to make a queen sized t-shirt quilt from start to finish. I do purchase my materials wholesale, but people do want different patterned backs which I usually order retail, since I don't need a whole bolt. I have only been able to sell one quilt at the price I wanted. The other two I sold, I made barely anything.

I don't have any orders. I cannot get people interested in my quilts, even though I get wonderful reviews on my work. I have a hobby, where my friends have drawers full of t-shirts from different races, but will not pay $15.00 a block for a premium quilt.

There is a local lady who is making lots of quilts. She said people don't want stabilizer on their quilts. She uses cheap materials and stays busy and makes money.

I am making a throw quilt now for a lady, and she did pay what I asked.

I did iron some cut shirts to see how they would sew together and I think it's doable. Just press them in my t-shirt press first.

Thanks for all your input!

Talking means little to customers who don't quilt. I would show them a quilt made out of your cheap selections and a quilt made out of your premium selections with price tags attached. No surprises.

The cheapest event tee shirt I've seen for sale or for a team is usually $20- $40 dollars. Why is asking $50 per quilt block too much? It's not and I won't make one for less and neither will any of my guild members. Quality fabric, stabilizer, thread, batting, and custom machine quilting. Yes Ma'am $50 a block. If someone says that's too much then we offer to teach them how to make one at guild sew days if they joined the guild. One guild member makes more teaching how to make tee shirt quilts on Saturdays then when she was making them herself.

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.

The T-shirt quilt is about the memories. You can not sell quilts and recoup your costs, much less make a profit, if you purchase premium product at regular prices. No one will pay that cost because they don't understand the costs. You don't have to buy Kona but I would not suggest something as thin as a Symphony solid. Purchase a Country Classic ON SALE and when you have a 20% or 30% off total purchase coupon. This can bring it down to $2.50 per yard. Same thing with your interfacing. As far as your batting and backing go, I made one quilt that I had a perfect cotton that I really liked for the backing and it felt a bit thicker, so I used flannel for the batting. Got it at $2.79 per yard and a 20% off total. It made a delightful and warm blanket. For quilting, I tend to echo whatever is on the shirt and do a decorative stitch winding down the sashing - very quick and easy. Remembering that your time is also your cost. But, no matter what you choose to do, you get it IN WRITING BEFORE you start. If the person is balking at the beginning, it will not end well. Because they are supplying the shirts, I have made them for as little as $60 in materials - then figure in your time.

I recently make finished a tshirt quilt for someone. She provided the shirts, fabric for the backing and a interfacing that was not what I have used before in a tshirt quilt. Well, to put the quilt together using her fabrics, for both the front and back (they back was tshirts too) and I did some quilting on my home machine, she thought $150 was too much. It goes to show you, that they do not want cheaper, they do not want to pay for your time to make the quilt. They think that our time is free, but I have to say it is not. When I had my quilting business, I would charge $15 for sewing or putting the quilt top together. I also charge that for cutting and putting the interface on the tshirts. It took me over 20 hours to cut, prepare the 24 shirts for the front and back, then to sew the sashing and borders on. Then it took me over 5 hrs to simply to quilt in the ditch. I was not please with what I did. But she got what she paid for. I do not know how else to put it. So be careful, the cheaper quilt could ruin your representation. I will not be doing any more quilts unless they pay me full price. sorry.

My cousin makes t-shirt quilts like rag quilts. She used the front of the t-shirt on the front and the back of the t-shrit on the back. Sometimes she does batting but mostly not. They don't rag like the flannel does and she does not match the front and back fabrics. She does use a light weight stabilizer on the front piece. The quilts turn out cute and have enough weight for warmth in the SF bay area.

I made t-shirt quilts for about 10 years. I hardly ever stabilized. Usually only with a very thin shirt. I had a plexiglass template for the shirts. I made all the squares 16". Cut the side sashing at 16", so if the shirt grew or shrank I could adjust it. I marked the rows of sashing as to where shirt and sashing should be. I used a low loft batting cause quilts aren't supposed to be fluffy. I carried all the standard colors for backing and sashing. If they wanted something different, I would tell them they could go get it and tell them how much to buy or if I bought it I would quote them retail price of the fabric and then hopefully I could get it with a coupon. I also did pretty much echo quilting on the shirts and a squiggle like pattern on the sashing. Never once did I have a complaint and mothers returned for other kids in the family. I would quote my low end and then tell them we can do THIS for this much more. Maybe suggest a lap robe for less money.
I hate to see you guys call some people cheap. Of course there will always be someone trying to get something for nothing, but in today's economy, some people can't afford to have a quilt made and are quite surprised at the cost.
My quilting machine was all hand guided and people were surprised that I didn't just turn on the computer and let 'er rip. So maybe some gentle education would help. I also would take payments, but they didn't get the quilt till it was paid for.
Also if you take credit cards, that helps some people afford the quilt. I still use the SQUARE.

Thank you all for your input.

I did put together a cheaper quilt today, I just have to add the binding. Sewing without stabilizer went better than I thought it would. I think it turned out okay myself. Of course the other quilts I have been making are much nicer, in my opinion, but many just cannot afford them.

Here are some photos. The first one is what I have been making...the next two are the economy quilt.[ATTACH=CONFIG]567791[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]567792[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]567793[/ATTACH]

The less expensive one looks fine. Of course, I prefer the sashed one. I hope it works out for you and you make money and have a bunch of happy clients.
bkay

I like this idea. Make the price less by making a smaller product rather than giving options on the quality. I would be concerned that the cheaper materials aren't going to wear as well and you might get complaints down the road. Or worse, they complain to friends, but not to you.

Does the unsaved one have any stabilizer? If not, did you have problems with stretching?

The first one, with the sashing does have stabilizer. The second one, without sashing does not. I was careful not to stretch the t-shirts when sewing them together and used my walking foot. On the longarm I also was careful to just smooth out the t-shirts and not stretch them. It was much easier then I had imagined it would be.

I agree with this!!!! Don't compromise your skill and reputation. That will speak louder than any explanation you give.