First Craft Show. NEED HELP!
 

Ok so at the beginning of Nov. my church is holding a craft show and I'd like to open a booth with some of my quilts and my mothers upcycling projects. I have one problem...

I have no idea what kind of price to put on a quilt. I would love to make some money on this, so I would actually like to sell something. Meaning I guess I don't want to have astronomical prices, but I don't want to sell myself short. (no pun intended) I've never sold a quilt before, I've always just given them to friends and family.

Any advice?

Add up what it costs you for all the supplies ... fabric (front, backing, binding, etc.), batting, thread, basting spray, and anything else.

How long did it take you to make the quilt? ... including shopping, cutting, piecing, quilting, binding, etc.
What is your time worth per hour?

Add them all up ...............

I've heard that at craft shows, quilts don't usually sell because they are too expensive. Wall hangings and table runners are something that people will pay for because they are priced pretty low. I gave my SIL two small quilts and not a nibble, but my wall hanging and table runner sold right away. People said the quilts were too expensive for a craft show. JMHO and experience.

craft shows are generally good for small items, quilted table runners, placemats, totes, potholders, ect...people don't often expect to spend as much as a quilt costs at a craft show- especially Church craft shows. if you really want to sell some items you would be better off making small items you can reasonably price and sell many of. other good sellers---aprons, walker totes, pillow cases, shopping bags, small wall hangings. ask some of the people who have participated in the past to see what seems to sell well. I've found items under $20 seem to sell the best; $5 items really sell well.

I hate to agree that quilts don't sell well at craft shows, but that has been my experience. I helped my sister at a booth once, and it was so disappointing to see folks admire her fine work and then say it was all too expensive. And she didn't have items priced high. For example, a tote bag was priced $15. Her quilts were priced less than it cost to make them.

It was fun being with my sister all day, but it was still a sad experience. She won't do another one.

My advice would be to have a lot of lower priced items.

Dina

I am also sorry to have to agree with everyone else. Small, less expensive items are what most folks are looking for at a holiday craft show. Small gifts for their child's teacher, co worker etc. If you have the room, however, I would display one of your large quilts. Possibly in the back of the booth. It's eye catching and who knows, there may be that one person looking for something larger. Also have cards available and/or a book so if someone is interested in something larger you can contact them.

Unless you can make a quilt for under $20, it is unlikely to sell.

I think your best bet is something like the tissue package covers. Something small that costs about $5.

Are these quilts already made? or are you making them special for this show? If they are made already them put this in the show and price them for your cost of materials.( I think my labor is free!) What have you got to lose? But if you are making things to sell then as the others have said make small things like wallhangings or table runners. Check what others are selling their stuff for and price your stuff accordingly. Also check etsy for prices. Make/price something for " show special" and also mark items with price and then write "sale" in red with new price. We all love a deal. Also what you make/sell also depends on the type of show. In smaller shows like church shows items may not sell as well as if the show is a larger well known show. Sometimes it is worth doing 2 different shows since the stuff you do not sell at one can be used at the other. Good Luck!!!!!

If these are quilts that you've already made, then only you can put a price tag on them. The amount of time and money that went into them is irrelevant, since it's already spent. Just ask yourself how much money would be acceptable to you. You might have a quilt that cost $100 in supplies and 40 hours of your time, but at this point in time you would rather have $75 than keep the quilt. Price accordingly and the quilts will probably sell. If you try to break even or make a profit, they probably won't sell. Generally speaking, only other quilters are aware of the time and expense involved in making a quilt, and other quilters typically don't buy quilts - they make them! (I know there are exceptions.)

Did a craft show one time - I had all baby items, receiving blankets with crocheted edges, burp clothes with embroidery, etc. Not one thing sold - Won't go through all that again. I like to sew what I want when I want. Don't like to sew on demand!

These are quilts I already have. Most of them are child/throw quilts so not as expensive as a normal bed sized quilt. I also have some doll quilts or lovey blankies. I'm guessing more of my mom's craftsy stuff will sell, but just wanted to put a couple of my quilts out anyway. So many of my friends and family members have been having babies lately that I got in the habit of buying cute kid fabrics and making child size quilts whenever I could. I have 3 or 4 at that size right now that are unspoken for.

I used to do a lot of Bazaars, especially at Christmas time, the one thing I sold the most of were those little Crayon book totes that held each crayon individually on the outside of the tote. They always went fast. I did sell one quilt one time, but the lady that bought it, had a booth next to mine.

I did pretty well with potholders that were the colors of some local sports teams. Also key fobs and luggage tags were popular, all low priced items.

In my 3 years of going to craft shows I would agree that with. My potholders and small baskets go much quicker than the table runners and wall hangings. Seems like anything under $10 or so goes quicker. I do take some of my quilts just to display and I get some custom work from that. Good luck. Even if I don't sell anything its still fun to visit with everyone

Good luck!!!

Small inexpensive items sell much better. One year I made "mice" out of a piece of sweatshirt material and put a piece of a leather shoestring on for a tail and one lady bought one and then returned and bought all I had for her kitty. You just never know what is going to be the best seller! Pot holders, place mats, wall quilts, grocery bags, dog toys, baby bibs, receiving blankets, knit hats for newborns, but the item our guild sells best is table runners. I made purses from baby and little kids overalls and shortalls and they were a hit also Lined them and trimmed with colorful fabric and yoyos. Fabric postcards sometimes sell pretty well.

I agree. If they are already made, and you get the cost of your materials back (including thread and batting, etc) you can then make some more or just recover your money spent. If you want to make a profit but still sell something, just mark it up "$50" or whatever you want. I enjoy making quilts. I make rag baby quilts for some of the girls at work and tell them how many hours are involved in making them. Then I tell them they will have to pay for the cost of the material plus $15 or $20. Some of them who appreciate the time involved in making the quilt have given me more but at least it is more than I had before I made the quilt. Just my humble opinion.

As a vendor I sold things $15 and under and I did well. And I made sure I had a business card to give them if they wanted something they could call or email. Got good feed back from that. Maybe a quilt is to much at a craft fair, but when they go home the brain is saying I really love that quilt and you just might get an email sale. Years ago doing craft fairs I sold cheap ,never included my time and sold volume. Other crafters couldn't understand how I could make so much money. ( I had a following, they all looked for me. In todays age email these people when your next fair is and directions and you could also built a following. If you look at an item and ask what would I pay for it, add a dollar or two so you can say look I can see you really like it and price is an issue I give to you for and knock of a dollar. Remember everyone loves a BARGAIN! Have a Pad on table and your business cards tell all who come to your booth if they would like to put their email down and you'd let them know date and place of next fair you'll be at. Good Luck you got some good feed back which should help you get started.

I agree that small items are easily the most likely to sell, but if you REALLY want to make a quilt, you might consider a raffle. That way, people wouldn't be spending more than $5 for a ticket. Many organizations do this with a lot of success.

Ditto what QuiltE said. Also by putting a price on a quilt your family and friends will probably look at the quilts you made for them in the past with a much better light, knowing the amount of money and labor (of love). Happened to a friend of mine. She did exactly as you did and are about to do. The quilts are much more appreciated and respected and the word was spread. She quit a job that stressed her out and eventually rented space and sold her quilts and other crafts. She has retired from the booth space and now does commission and family. Good luck!

It's always a roll of the dice as to what will sell at craft shows and what will not. Having "donated" hundreds and hundreds of baby quilts, table runners, placemats, etc., in this area I can sell a baby quilt for $35-$40, placemats $25-$30 for a set of 4, and $25-$35 for table runners, generally. Last fall I had my own booth at my church's holiday fair, I sold mostly table runners, some placemats, but surprisingly I sold 11 out of the 14 Bow Tucks bags for $35/each. This year I may not sell as many, but some things I can give as Christmas presents, or set aside for another year. If the church is in an upscale neighborhood, you can probably add $5-$10 each and sell them quickly. Figure out your costs as others have explained below to give you a more accurate pricing range, but a lot really depends on the area of the fair. Good luck. If you make good, quality items, they should sell.

I've sewn for many, many years have made lots of table runners and placemats, and I can't imagine how you could sell a set of 4 placemats for $25! It takes at least a half a yard of fabric for each placemat, so thats almost $20 right there, and batting, plus binding fabric, thread and the time to put them together. And a Bow Tucks bag for $35 - I've made several and they take hours to make - with all the quilting, pockets, etc. You can't be making anything for your time! I feel very sad that you think those are fair prices for your work!

This is all good information because my friend is doing her first craft show and this will be important to know. Thanks!

Great thread. My Mom wants to do some craft shows...I'm going to let her know.