I am not surprised that the general public has no idea what goes into personally making a quilt. My brother-in-law has made some gorgeous wood furniture including a dining room table. I would absolutley love having him make one for me, but would never ever ask. I have no idea what materials cost, nor how much time is involved or his time is worth. But that is because I view his work as being produced by a craftsman, not someone who had wookshop in high
school. What surprises me is that quilters continue to be surprised that outsiders have no idea what goes into their craft. And they never will, unless they try themselves.

When you can buy a queen sized "quilt" at walmart for a song and a dance, it sets the expectation that all quilts should be that cheap. That's why I only make quilts as gifts for people I deem deserving.

I value my time and I would not give it away. Your quote was low. We get $.015 per square inch just for quilting in this area and $.30 per linear inch for binding (finished by hand) that doesn't include thread, batting or fabric, nor your time to make it.

I wonder if someone asked to purchase a piece of his hand-made furniture, and he quoted a price in the hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars, would that person then gasp and retort that they can get that furniture at Walmart for a fraction of his price?

My husband and I had this very discussion a couple of months ago, and when I made the same point, my quiltmaking vs his woodworking, he thought about it for quite a while and agreed that people would balk at paying quilt prices but not woodworking prices. But why is that? Is it because people are truly ignorant of how much work goes into making a quilt? Or do we somehow, even in this day and age, still place a lower value on "women's work"?

My first thought when I saw the title of this post was, "probably!"

And with some people, it truly is just ignorance of what goes into making a quilt. My husband once asked me to make an Ole Miss themed baby quilt for a coworker. He followed the daily progress as I made it. When it was done, he said, "Wow, I never realized how much work went into one of those!" I've been married to this man for 25 years and making quilts for more than 10, he just never really paid that much attention.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if people are just trying to get something as cheaply as possible or if they really have no idea what they are asking. On the other hand, sometimes it's obvious.

And to answer your other question, was your quote too high? IMHO, absolutely not! The reason K-Mart and the like can sell them so cheap is because obviously the materials are not good quality, but mostly because the poor folks who make them are GROSSLY underpaid. This man is asking you for CUSTOM work. Custom is never cheap.

With so much bedding from over seas being sold as 'quilts' Americans expect the same pricing. I think the population of folks willing to pay for quality is shrinking. A foreign quilt may not last as long but people buy what they can afford today, looking for longevity in any product is becoming rare due to the economy and a throw away society. You should not come down in your price. Customers like that could be difficult throughout the process. What if he were one of those people who try to not pay in the end because 'it did not meet their expectations'? You have to at a minumum get your costs back. Just mho.

Your quote was not too high. If you can get all your materials for $75, you are clearly shopping sales. I have $200 in fabric (top, back, binding), batting, thread in my last twin size quilt. If you also had to send it out to a quilter, the price would be much higher than this.

Interestingly, my husband makes our furniture because it is much less than buying it. Now, we aren't going to get Walmart furniture, but we found a nice storage bed at a furniture store for about $3,000. He is making it for about $200 (one fewer zero!) and two months of weekends. But once labor was added in, selling it would be very difficult; I think people really would balk at the prices. However, one main difference is that furniture, even from Ikea, is fairly expensive, where most people see "blankets" as not too expensive.

We have found though that pen turning is one of the few "craft" areas that can make reasonable money. DH can sell a nicely turned pen for $50-$75, which compensates him well for labor and materials. Anything people make someone will say "you should sell those!" but somehow no one wanted to pay $300 for knitted socks or $500 for a twin quilt. The pens are the only things where this has worked out.

No you are not to high! Most people do not understand!!! I guess if they want bed in a bag that is what they should buy.

you quote was too low IMHO I would have quoted him like 350. Its a bed size quilt not a wall hanging