Hawaiian Appliqué
 

The husband of a couple we are friends with is Hawaiian. He would like me to make him a quilt made of blocks of a traditional Hawaiian appliqué pattern. He would pay for the fabric but I would be doing all the needle turn appliqué and quilting the quilt. What would you charge for doing something like this? Does $1,000 plus quilting and binding cost sound reasonable? Would Kona cotton be a good fabric choice for the background fabric or would you suggest something else?

All hints and helps appreciated. This really means a lot to him. Evidently it is traditional to sleep under a quilt made by someone who cares for you when you are ill. He has no family members able to do it. He's not superstitious, it's a tradition he would like to honor. A purchased quilt is not the same thing.

I think it would depend a lot on size which you didn't mention except for the fact that he'd be able to sleep under it. Also to me it would depend on how good of friends you are with him and his wife. $1,000 sounds like a lot to me with him paying for the fabric but then I've never done applique before so I don't really know. And I think Hawaiian applique quilts are extra special so it would be hard to decide. I'm sure someone who does quilting for other people will have answers for you.

I think it would depend very much on the size and how intricate the applique pattern is. Do you have a choice of patterns or has he selected one?

If it's blocks you're going to do, why not make one and figure out how long it took to applique that one block, and then multiply it times the number of blocks plus piecing.

Hope this helps.

I think it is very sweet of you to do this for him. $1000 sounds reasonable - depending on the size. I recently met a woman at my LQS who was making needle-turned Hawaiian applique blocks for a king size quilt, she's been working on it for 2 years. It's an amazing amount of work. I'm also a little confused about the pricing - you said he'd pay for the fabric but you'd be doing all the applique and quilting, then you said $1000 plus quilting and binding. So the cost would actually be more?

What a coincidence! Just today I was talking to a lady who is from Hawaii as well as her husband. In the conversation I mentioned that I quilt and she told me that they always wanted a Hawaiian quilt but they could never afford it. She said that in Hawaii they sell for several thousand dollars. If she is right, I don't think that $1000 is too much. Do you research, check the Internet. From what I heard Hawaian quilting is one of the most difficult techniques to master. All the power to you and good luck.

Sorry, it's to be queen sized.

I made a Hawaiian applique quilt using blocks from Nancy Chong (Pacific Rim Quilt Co.) - it's here.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...lt-t72844.html

These were needle turn applique, but not especially time consuming because the blocks were large, the patterns were fairly simple, and there is no layering of fabrics. Although Hawaiian applique is traditionally quilted by hand with echo quilting, I did the echo quilting on my longarm. It's a fun type of quilt to make, and much easier than the type where one applique fills the entire quilt. I think the price is fair, unless you're doing hand quilting, in which case it would cost more. Be sure to post your project when you're done!

I just googled Hawaiian Quilts and found one site with several large patterns. One green one was fairly simple, but most are very detailed. I'd think a beautiful batik would be the best bet.

Before deciding on the background fabric, try to get samples of Moda Bella and RJR solids as well as Kona solids. Not only the colors, but the hand of the fabrics can be quite different. Also be aware that Kona Bay and Kaufman Kona are two different manufacturers (Kona can refer to either). I find Kaufman Kona to have too "meaty" a hand. Have heard that Moda and RJR have a softer hand.

Your quilt is beautiful. Any one of your motifs could easily stand alone as the center of one big block/quilt.

I just recently completed the top of a king-sized Hawaiian quilt; it was one of Nancy Chong's patterns. I worked like crazy on it and it took me only about six months to complete the applique. Now, I finally have backing fabric and need to quilt it. It sounds to me like $1000 is a good price, unless you decide you hate the process. If you don't find it soothing and fun, it will be tedious. Also, because of the size, it is not a portable project. I would do it, sitting with DH, in front of the TV watching sports--I think I went through football, basketball, and baseball seasons. I used a batik for the applique and a white-on-white for the background. To me, it is gorgeous. However, because I have dogs who are allowed on the bed, I don't have a clue where I'll use it!?! when I started the work, I said that I would never do another. By the time I finished, I was looking at patterns for the next one.

How did you do yours? The quilter I met had 25-30 individual blocks, her version was portable because she could work on one block at a time. It was gorgeous, too. She did batik applique on top of batik background. It was VERY colorful!

Did you do your Hawaiian quilt on one giant background?

Hi Silver Needle - I have done some Hawaiian applique - Pacific Rim is a good place to look. Vicky Flemings book "Hawaiian Applque" is good there are more books out there - check Amazon.
Your pricing seem right...but if you have never done this before do NOT choose solid colors for the applique part - batiks or a small print hide a lot of small errors (which you will make) and choose a block that has a lot of rounded corners instead of points ( unless you are good at needle turning pts). This takes a lot of time and you have to work on it everyday to finish it. Unless you love hand quilting have it professional quilted in an echo pattern. I can not remember the name of the video but I checked it out at the public library it is a great video (an hour long) on hawaiian applique. Good luck -- they will love it when it is done. Oh yeah, the Ulna fruit ( Breadfruit) is a traditional one to make for a first quilt.

the traditional Hawaiian quilts are solid on solid background. The echo quilting would be time consuming in handwork. the ones i saw while i was over there, had the quilting very close together (1/4-1/2"). Obviously with some batting that wouldn't be necessary, though i probably wouldn't go beyond 3/4" just because the quilting is a big part of the design feature.
There is a wonderful series on Hawaiian quilting that has the patterns available from the Bishop Museum Bookstore in Honolulu. I'm willing to bet you could order one or more of the 4 books of patterns.
The Breadfruit pattern is traditional for prosperity and isn't too hard. Or as you said, you could do a series of the simpler ones in patchwork, which isn't something i have seen done before.
you can also order patterns for pillows from FabricMart in Honolulu, several of those could become quilt focuses.
i now have several patterns from their and two of the books for the Bucket List of quilts before i pass on list.

As I have done a Hawaiian applique block, I feel $1000.00 is a good starting point. I think the size should determine the final price point. It will be a work of Love. He will charish it for ever. The Kona cotton should work fine for the background and the blocks. Also remember that the quilting should be spaced from the tip of your thumb to the first knuckle about 1 inch for the echo quilting. Enjoy the process. Luann in CT

the close quilting is also a tradition. The women worked without a hoop and measured the lines of echo quilting by their finger.

as for how I appliqued such a ginormous piece (about 108x108), I would fold it up, then pull out the section I was working on and maneuver my left hand underneath however I could. Obviously, the borders were relatively simple. But the piece is heavy so I'd need my lap and couch to support it.

I am a computerized (Intelliquilter) longarm quilter. I got the impression he would not be disappointed if it were machine quilted instead of hand quilted. I have done some echo quilting around appliqué and it turned out well.

Vicky is a member of our guild. She sometimes fuses and machine-appliqués her work. You might consider that method for a time/cost-saver.