From Don-isewman--?? for everyone
 

I have a ???, for everyone. I'm want to know, what a cost should be charged to make a person a quilt. This person did furnish 5 different colors. This will be a lap size quilt(roughly 20 blocks).Here is some ideals, I had in mind for a cost.--#1-me looking for a pattern.-#2 cutting the peices.-#3 pinning the peices together. -#4- Time(labor) to put the quilt together. I in my head thought the amount of $150.00, but am I too high, or should I go to a lower cost. I dont want to do this for nothing. I'd rather be makeing me /family/grdkids a quilt. Thanks for any info, members. Don-isewman

I just made a baby quilt, 52x64, $180. I did 86x86 for $300. Most quilters charge your cost times 2.5 . You will still not get what you've put in it, if you figure in time.

I can't answer for your area, but for me it would be too much. Most people around me don't understand all the work involved in quilting, and just have a fit when I give them a price. Some areas can get more money and I sincerely hope yours is one of those areas. If you aren't comfortable with what you can get, tell the customer that your time is valuable too and you would rather not make their quilt. "NO" is always an option. I too, would much rather make quilts for me and the family. I had a family friend ask me yesterday about a price for a full size quilt. I told her it wouldn't be less than $350 and possibly more depending on pattern and final size requirements (those extra thick mattresses can turn a full size into a queen size). She hemhawed around and finally told me that was too much. Not a problem, I don't work for free for anyone but me!

I think $150 sounds like a fair price for a throw size.

I don't think your too high, if you can check homemade quilt prices in your area.

Don
I will be watching your post, as I also have been asked/commissioned to make a quilt. Size 70X95. He has asked for all outdoorsy animal prints. I do have LOTS. I can't seem to settle on a pattern tho, so am going to go with a D9P. He has told me the cost is NOT an option. But I am still going to hold it to about $300.00 - $400.00. What do you think??? Too much too little?? Some of the fabric I have had in my stash, but I have had to pay for it @ sometime.

Thank you for bringing up the subject.

Billie G

Tell the person before you start and make sure they are okay. It sounds reasonable to me but then I am a quilter...lol.

$150 for a unique hand-made product - sounds like a steal! Check Etsy to see what others are selling their quilts for ... some baby​ quilts are $100+

Most throw-sized quilts on etsy go for a minimum of $200. If they're not willing to pay you for your time and talent, I wouldn't do it. If you just calculate the time you spend, at $150, you're only making about $10 an hour- seriously? Quilting is too labor-intensive, not to mention that you have to know what you're doing, to give away, u less its friends and family or charity, and you don't mind.

Thank you lady's to have answered my ???. I made 2 blocks with another color I had here at home. Took the 2 blocks down the other day or so. to have her get a ideal. She wasnt sure when I showed her what I thought, of at the time. Brought, back 1 block, and pinned the neutral color she wanted, on to a pattern, I'm useing,(ellens star). Pinned rectangle, triangles, and sq's on a quilt block. Took it to her this morning, before I posted this note, and said this is what you will get.Make a long story short, she(we). wasnt sure yet. I told her another day-another time. Thanks again lady's. Don

IMHO, your pricing is fair and even a bit low, IF you are only making the quilt top. But, I know the labor and time involved. You will find that most people have NO CLUE what is involved in making a quilt. I will tell you of the pitfalls I have come across when people (mostly family members) that want a quilt. First the mind set is "Geez it is just a little bit of sewing what's so hard with that?!" Oh if only we could explain! Then there is also the "Big deal, cut fabric sew it together. A monkey to do that!" Really? Then go hire a monkey! (don't forget bananas are expensive)
Now, regarding your particular situation. #1-the pattern. Find out from the customer what they have in mind or their idea of the finished quilt. If they have no idea, you find 4 or 5 patterns within your skill set and have the customer choose which one they like. I guarantee if you choose the pattern, the end customer will not like it! PERIOD. Oh they may appear to be elated with the top, but later down the road eventually it will be said, "Well, it really wasn't what I was wanting..." (don't believe me? Wanna see my tshirt!) I am not trying to discourage you and please don't take this post to be so. I am trying to help you AVOID pitfalls that I have experienced. (and I attended HARD KNOCK HIGH for many years)
People don't understand WHAT goes into making a quilt. They don't realize how long it takes too:
Prep the fabric
Organize fabric
Measure
Cut
PRESS
Square up blocks
Matching seams
etc, etc, etc
As I said at the beginning of the post, your pricing FOR THE TOP ONLY is fair if not a bit low. If your customer complains that the price is to high, DO NOT WAIVER from your price. Just say something to the effect of there is more work behind the seam lines than is realized and after consulting with others you have found your price to be a bit low but doable. If they still complain about pricing you can always say, "Well, I will be glad to discount the price IF you can come help me with some of the work involved." That is what I did with my nephew and he is now my biggest fan of my quilts. He had a friend of his ask about his quilt. The friend wanted one. My nephew very quickly popped up and said, "I know exactly how much work is in a quilt. Buddy, if you have $1,000 I'll take it to my aunt as your down payment!"

I think $150.00 is a very fair price!!!!

I quoted a guy $1200 for an extra large king size DWR quilt....he's still telling me this year that he "can't afford it just yet"...told him fine, I don't work for zero profit on purpose....if he waits much longer the material cost will go up and he'll still have a problem...LOL!

just her undecision would make me pass on the deal. I believe you have already spent too much time making samples to show and still appears to not satisfy.

I just have one thing to say......CONTRACT

Check online (I think it's called ETSY?) to see what quilts are selling for - and if you have any shops in your area that sell quilts. Use these numbers, plus your expenses to come up with a fair market value!

I think if your price figures the fabric and the above fabric was furnished, Don's price is fair. I have found that most people do not want to pay what something homemade is worth.

Most people I have found can't tell the difference between handmade and offshore. Here in Canada, anyone can walk into "The Quilt Store" in any mall and pay $69 for a king size quilt. I also do stained glass as well as quilting and have given it up due to offshore stained glass lamps selling for 1/10th the cost of handmade. sitting at a craft show and having people tell you it's beautiful but overpriced ended it for me. Make sure the customer knows and agrees to the price beforehand or you could end up with bad feelings all around.

I think your price sounded very reasonable. I agree with Hollice - her indecision would cause me concern.

I used to do English Smocking and tried to sell Hand Smocked hand made dresses and bonnets all with french seams etc. No one wanted to pay the price for quality hand made items back then and it has not changed. I was asked recently to do a quilt by a relative of a friend - I passed on it just for this reason.

I think the level of your expertise should have something to it as well. A new quilter might not produce as expert a quilt as someone with more experience. So far I haven't gotten into selling quilts, just quilting for love mostly. I've been quilting for 15+years, sewing all my life, but still don't consider myself a professional.

I think that's a reasonable price. I get $500 for a tee shirt queen size and anywhere from $350-450 for a full/queen scrapy quilt

Unfortunately most people think you quilt for "fun" and so don't need to charge much for your products. I decided a long time ago that I would not do any "custom" work for anyone, just make quilts and projects for family, friends, and charity. Then we have no misunderstanding. Non quilters have no idea what fabric costs, or the hours you you spend on the work you do and get huffy when you ask a fair price for your work. It's one thing to quilt because you want to and quite another to quilt because someone wants you to do it and doesn't understand the process at all.

Excuse me, am I nuts, or did you not specify that the person wanting this quilt made had purchased the fabric herself? If that was the case, I think $150 was a bit high for a lap/throw quilt construction.

I give a number high enough they never ask again. Made my daughter a purse. Her MIL loved it and asked how much, without blinking an eye, I said$300. She never brought it up again. A lot depends if you sew for fun, family or income.

That is what i do as well, I have had people ask about my celtic knot french braid quilts and how much it would cost. I tell them it starts at $1500 and goes up from there depending on various factors

The one I did for my brother took the following:
$250 materials cost
took me:
2hrs to pick fabric (french braids are very time consuming on selection stage)
2hrs to wash and prep fabric
3hrs to cut
10hrs to embroider
4hrs to piece
2hrs for quilt prepping (ironing backing/top, squaring up etc)
5hrs to stencil
10hrs to quilt
4hrs to bind
That is 42hrs @ $20/hr = $840 labor costs

so now we are at $1100 for just labor/materials.......and that is if I dont want any profit.

I use $20/hr because this is a skilled "job" and when I tutored I got paid $20/hr, so when I quilt I get $20/hr

Most people when told how long it takes to get from "idea" to finished product and how many steps, are ok with the prices, but most cant pay. I refuse to undercut my skill by charging pennies for quality work. I dont get many commissions, but that is ok with me. People want walmart prices and Designer quality.

I would break it down like that, labor + materials and then add a little for profit, show the people what they are paying for, they may surprise you.

I also agree with those who say if she is hemming/hawing about design, walk away....she will never be happy and is hoping you will drop your price to what she feels she wants to pay. You dont need that stress. YOU deserve to get paid a fair price for quality work, She cant buy a Mercedes for $2000, she shouldnt expect to get a quality hand made item for less than a fair price either

Wow! $350 is really inexpensive, especially for a quilt of that size. I charge around $300 for a lap/crib sized quilt. Queen sized quilts are $700 and up, depending on the number of pieces and the difficulty of the piecing. I factor in my time and charge $10 an hour. I am skilled labor, after all (truly, $10 is low). I mean, my goodness. Fabric, batting, and thread for a full-sized quilt can get as high as $250. For the 25-35 hours or so you're spending on shopping for fabric, planning the quilt, piecing it, and quilting it, you're only charging $100 more? That's like $3.50 an hour.

If people are going to under-value my time and skill that much, they don't deserve a handmade quilt and I point them to Walmart.

Don (isewman) - For a lap-sized quilt, you should charge at least $200 for pattern choice, cutting, piecing, and quilting. Even though they gave you the fabric for it, it still represents a lot of your time and your effort, not to mention time lost making quilts for family or yourself. If they truly value handmade quilts, they will think that's a fair offer.

I think you made an excellent decision, Don!!

Dina

I made a red white and blue star quilt for a fund raiser someone came up to me and asked me if I would make a king size one for her. I said sure minimum of 500.00 plus material. He never brought it up again. :-) Would love to make some for money but you know we don't make quilts for money.

In my area, people just drop their jaws when you quote them a price - I recently was asked to make a table runner. When I figured in all the costs of materials, time, etc., I came up with a price of $75. This was to be all custom to match her fancy dining room. Her answer? "I could just pick one up at Home Goods for $12.99." My thoughts are unprintable!! lol!! I won't take any orders from anyone - just not worth the aggravation!

Don, you said she bought the fabric for the quilt? Did she also buy for the backing, batting & thread? I have sold several quilts, but my prices are low for this area. The way I figure it is the total cost of supplies & double that plus add 20% to that. I also require non refundable half down before I even start it. That way, at least the supplies are covered if they try to back out. I have never had anyone back out so far. If someone ever brought me the fabric, what I would do them was to figure the cost of that fabric & go from there. I don't think the $150.00 is to much. I would be on guard, though, since she is already showing signs of not being satisfied with what you have already shown her. It would be best, if you decide to go ahead with this project, to make her chose the pattern too. That way, if she is not happy with how it turned out, you will be able to say you picked the pattern & fabric. Since you have already made a few samples & she is not happy so far, require at least half down before even starting her quilt & be firm about it. You have already spent valuable time making the samples for her.

Good morning Don,
I had someone ask me recently if I made quilts to sell. I just told them 'no' because I don't like deadlines and folks don't want to pay what the quilt is worth in material and time. The someone happened to be my cousin so she just might get a quilt as a gift but the fabric and pattern will be my choosing and no deadline. Be sure to factor in the time already spent in blocks you have made etc in giving her something to choose from. That's part of the process too.

I am going to place the items I make on a shelf. If a relative (close friend) admires one in particular, they might find themselves the owner of a new quilt. This way I don't have to worry about being disappointed or worried if they like the quilt.

Word does get around that Don Wiseman will 'make you a quilt'. Do you have a response ready?

Happy quilting!

I made a quilt last year for a lady that has a beauty shop near me. It was a queen size with University of Kentucky logo fabric). She asked how much I would charge and I told her $125.00. She was okay with that. It took me weeks to complete the quilt, sent it to my long arm quilter and when she delivered the finished quilt she told me I could have gotten $1,500.00 for the quilt. Whoa! I was shocked! When I delivered the quilt I told the lady that "her" price was $125.00 but that I was advised the quilt could have sold for $1,500.00. She didn't seem to care that I had underpriced the making of this quilt. There were several ladies in her shop at the time and they oohed and ahhhed over the quilt but quieted down when I revealed what the quilt should have sold for. Why do people that our time isn't worth anything? They expect to be paid at their job, so why shouldn't we? May not be a job but it is still our time and money involved.

THANK YOU- THANK YOU TO EVERYONE with a answer on make a lap quilt(20 blocks) for this lady friend. She had her 5 fabric's, but not a background fabric. The fabric she had, I could of cut out certain size sq's, or certain size rectangle. Yes and no to charge her $150.00 may of been a little high. But doing her a quilt top, to me I wasn't doing it for little cost. I would rather make quilts for my family & grdkids. And after, I mentioned $150.00, to make her a top, she changed her color's of wanting. Again THANK YOU LADIES for your knowledge & thoughts. Don-isewman

I agree with Holice.

Thank you, for this thread! It is always a point of frustration for me..(prices) I look around and I could make more at McD's with kids wages than people will pay for art that is so much work!! /took me lots of years to make my art work skill where it is.. When people watch me paint..make a pattern..etc. one question usually is "how long did that take you?" couple min on some things but a long time to learn how! I usually ask them what they do and how long did it take them to make or do what they do.cost of material-time to make it.interesting study!! love the QB!

Sounds good to me.

When they supply the fabric, I do it on an hourly rate of $8.00 per hour and if there's a cost for machine quilting, they pay that as well. $8.00 per hour isn't much, but I get to stay home and do something I really like doing. So it's enough for me.