How hard is it to get started quilting?
 

Hi all,
New to the forum, and to quilting in general.
I just had a question I've been discussing between myself and my wife that i was hoping to get a more expert opinion on.
How hard is it to get to the point quilting and sewing and embroidering where you can make some money? Not enough to live off or anything, more of a supplemental income type of thing.

I ask this because recently (about 2 months ago) my mother passed away, so we inherited all her possessions. Among those items are her sewing machine and all the material thats shes collected. It appears to be a nice enough machine, husqvarna viking designer diamond, and a bunch of accessories and fabric stuff.
We're currently in the middle of going through her items and selling some to help cover the funeral costs since she didnt have any burial insurance or anything. From what I've researched, the machine itself seems to go fairly regularly for 1500 plus on ebay. With the other items I figure I could get another 500+ from ebay sales. That 2000 total would definitely help with some expenses, but at the same time I'm planning on starting college again soon, which will take a few years. I plan on going full time and finding some way to make some money on the side, either a parttime job, or possibly quilting.

I imagine it would take quite a bit of time to get to the point where I know enough to be able to start producing halfway decent items.
How long do you think it would take to be able to make enough to be able to justify not just selling the machine?

Thanks for any all replies.

If you are just now learning to sew, it can take years to become proficient enough to make any money. In general people do not want to pay very much for home-made items. You will be competing with items made overseas. Also, if you want to sew custom items for people, then you will be at their mercy in what they expect and if you can deliver those expectations. Quite often on this board people want to know about setting up a booth at a craft fair and what sells - because it really does change from year to year and locations. Several years ago a friend of mine lived in the Portland area, she was making quillows and sold them for $60.00 at a local store that sold them on consignment. After the shop got its cut, then the cost of materials (fabric, thread, and batting) I think she told me she made about $10.00.

quiltingcandy is so correct. It is very difficult to sell any craft item and make a decent amount of money, and quilting is no different. People nearly pass out when they're told the cost of fabrics, batting and backing needed - before you even start cutting - so you won't have many customized quilts to make. It seems it's mostly the middle man who sells the stuff us home-crafters buy, who make the money.

With the embroidery machine, you may be able to make some items to sell at markets, babys' gear, dolls clothes, table runners, doileys (though I don't know if anyone buys them these days). I still love white linen like mum and her family used. But you will need to have a real interest in doing these things. The embroidery machine is a real learning curve for a non sewer, and if you need to create designs ( digitising) that's another issue altogether. Another thought - if you can learn how to put names etc on work shirts you may be able to create a small business there, those and monograms may be in demand depending on where you live.

You would benefit getting in touch with a store that sells your machine brand to get lessons on your machine, also the digitising program for the computer if they sell them. Perhaps your mum had one? Embroidery machines are a marvelous toy when you know how to use them.

I do wish you luck, and sorry for your loss.

First, so sorry for the loss of your Mother, I know this is a difficult time for you. I agree with quiltingcandy, it will take some time to become proficient enough to make items for sale. Like any other hobby, your skill level will depend on your ability and desire to learn, and time to practice, and practice, and practice some more. Other factors to consider is the market for handmade quilts and other items, it varies from area to area, competition from other quilters in your area, and your ability to produce items people are willing to buy. Making quilts and other handmade fabric items involves hours of time as well as materials and skill. If you plan to be a full time student, how much time are you able to invest in making quilts?
Not trying to discourage you, only suggesting that you look at the bigger picture of trying to make any money from quilting or sewing. I think you will find that most of the people on this forum, quilt/sew for the love of the process, the satisfaction of just working with fabric and thread, and creating something beautiful and/or functional for family, friends, or self.
Finally, I would also suggest you do a lot of research into quilting, the process and business of it, and how to make money from it. A google search would be a good start. If there is a local quilting guild in your area, you could contact them and see if they could help in any way. A quilt shop would also be a source of learning. Again a google search would be helpful. The local guild might also be a source to sell some of your mother's supplies, save on shipping, you could ask.
Wishing you the best of luck in the future.

Sorry about your mom. I don't sew to make money so I am not the one who can answer your question. If you think you would enjoy learning to use your mom's stuff that is justification enough for me for you to keep everything :) Plus I can see where your mother would smile looking down at you using her items

I completely understand if you could use the money from the sale of the items as well... but I don't know that selling could be done in a timely fashion. In my experience eBay is great for established sellers who have put in the time to build a customer base... I love buying from some of them :) But if a seller has no reviews and its their first items to sell... I won't ever buy from them (again - I had a bad experience in the past)

good luck

I'm very sorry about the death of your mother, but I have to agree with others on don't count on making enough money to supplement your income. People don't understand the time and cost that go into making a quilt or the likes. If you'd like to learn how to sew/quilt simply to learn something new, then I'm sure your mom would love to know that her "supplies" would go to a good "cause", otherwise I would just try either selling for what I could get or donate to a worthy charity.

Learning curves are always dependent on the participants. I used to have a little sewing school. We had teens who made and sold their first quilts. We found a demand right away- summertime, touristy town, beach quilts that were fun to make so they made them in a few hours, an available long arm, simple quilting and they sold like hot cakes.

First, sit down with the machine and hopefully the the owners manual thread and some plain fabric. Learn the machine. Try out different stitches, techniques described in the manual and see if you enjoy the process.
Success is dependent on your enjoyment- desire to do it.
Then put together a simple patchwork quilt, maybe something you could use as a car quilt or picnic quilt. Start to finish - still enjoying the process? If so, jump in. Look around, see where there might be a demand...I don't know where you are but ( cowboy) seems like maybe western themes might be desired, or, going to college, dorm quilts are always in demand.
Do you have time to dedicate? After school, homework, family time. Do you have the discipline to spend ( down time) creating, instead of watching tv or veging out?
People ask my husband how it is I work full time, plus a second part time job and still create good, home cooked from scratch meals, keep up with the house and make many great quilts?...
he tells them I am always busy. I never just sit & do nothing. If I'm awake I'm doing something. Time management is important, organization is important, the desire is most important. Only you can answer your question.

I have to agree with most of the posters. Making money on hand sewn items is very hard to do. If you want to keep some of your mom's stuff, do it because it's what you want. If you need the money worse, sell them. It will take a while to get to where you are good enough at quilting to sell things and even then, the money isn't very good. If you want a job that you can make money while going to school, delivering pizzas can be very lucrative. Good luck.

If you really are interested in sewing I would keep the machine because you are not going to get what it's worth and if you really like quilting and sewing it's a big investment you don't have to make. I do agree about selling things you really have to know a lot about what sells and how to keep cost down

Thank you all very much for your replies and condolences. I was kind of afraid it might take more time than I have to learn it quick enough. She made a few quilts and things for my family and newborn, and I always thought they seemed pretty complicated. I think for now I'll just put off selling the machine and stuff unless money issues become a bit more pressing in the hopes that I'll get a chance to sit down and learn some things later. Like some of you mentioned, I think she would like the idea of her sewing equipment being put to use. Selling the stuff was one of the first things I thought of doing early on to try and cover some costs, but the more and more I spend time in the room she worked, the less I want to sell it.
Again, thanks for your replies, and I hope in the near future to be able to spend more time in these forums to learn somethings about quilting.

I am sorry for your loss. I also add my agreement to all the other posters. IMHO the only people who can make any amount of money at quilting are those that discover a niche market and are able to take full advantage of it. We have one member here, her screen name is Bree. She has posted at her success in selling custom baby quilts to new grandparents who want something extra special for their new grandbaby and getting several hundred dollars for them. But the key here is how to market to your niche market about your services. I would think it is easier to get more for custom items if you live in an affluent area.

Others have made supplemental income making T-shirt quilts or memory quilts out of baby clothes. Again these items are very specialized and people are really paying you to preserve their memories more so than a quilted item.

With these types of items quality and good workmanship is critical. It will only take one or two bad reviews to give your startup business a fatal blow. Obviously it would take some time to get to that level of expertise but some people achieve it quite quickly others will sew. embroider and quilt for decades and never get there. So there is no set time on how long before you can make money at it and for that matter if you ever will. Edited to add that many of these people also invest in classes to learn techniques so there is another outlay.

There are many success stories in the quilting world. Many of them are really successful, not only because they are very talented at what they do but they are also very good at marketing and self promotion on social media, be it blogs, facebook, on line tutorials etc. All of that takes a lot of time. You say you plan on returning to college. If you plan on doing well in school and maintaining a high GPA I can guarantee you that your studies will take a big bite out of your spare time, leaving very little to production and the much needed self promotion and marketing. So unless you have an innate talent for sewing and machine embroidery or digitizing patterns I suspect you are much better off selling the items you inherited and finding a part time job while you are in school because you will make a lot more doing part time work, even work from home jobs like processing medical claims then you ever will making and selling handcrafted items.

Thank you for your reply and I believe youre probably right. After thinking over all the things I already have on my plate, and have to come, I doubt I would have enough time to dedicate to the craft to make anything worthwhile.. I've also been notoriously bad at repairing ripped clothes by hand.. Just the other day I tried to patch a pair of jeans before work and had to stop because I was afraid I would just start punching the needle out of frustration.. that probably wouldnt end well on my part. Also with a 15 month old baby and planning on working on an engineering degree. I think it was mostly just a pipe dream and a way to try and convince myself to try and use my moms equipment. I still may at some point, but will likely be for my own peace of mind rather than a money making project.

Bananacowboy, Oh yes, engineering will definitely be a demanding major! Definitely put all your energys into your studies and I am sure you will be very successful.

You remind me a lot of a member we used to have here. His name is Eddie. He hasn't participated in a long time but you may find inspiration at his blog. I believe he is also an engineer had two young children (though not as young as yours!) and he joined the QB back in 2009 around the same time I did. I think at that time he had not been quilting for very long but when he got into it, boy did he get into it! He belonged to a guild and he eventually ended up buyng a longarm and quilting for others. Here is a link to his blog
http://arkansasmanquilter.blogspot.com/

If you don't need the cash right away, definitely hold on to your mom's machines and stash as you will only get a fraction of what they are worth. You may find quilting to be a much needed escape from real world frustrations as so many of us here do. And make no mistake, quilting is fun, mending clothes is not! :D

I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you are able to take a class in your area to give yourself a jump start on quilting. Many of us started out that way. But, if you have time before you start your schooling, perhaps you could buy one of elenore burns quilting books to get a feel for it. She is really a good teacher and her patterns are simple enough for a beginner and will teach you a lot of ways to do thing right. She is on line if you want to watch a free video or check out her books. Quiltinaday.com I think would be her link.

Mother's are so special, I am so sorry for your loss. Are there any quilt stores near you? Do they offer classes? You may want to try a beginning class with some of her fabrics and machine and see if it is something you would like to do. It is so much better to do something because you like it and by using her machine you could feel closer to her even though she is not here on earth.

My condolences on the loss of your mother. It looks like you've made your decision & I think it's a wise one. If you ever do decide to give the quilting business a try, I strongly recommend connecting with your local Small Business Association. They can help provide critical (usually free) advice... but the one thing I think that was most helpful to me was to plan to work at least 70-80 hours a week & to have enough in savings to live off of for 24 months while you build your book of business.

Good luck with your studies & your young family!

I am so sorry for your loss.
I have a designer 1 embroidery machine. Keep in mind this is a home machine and I love it for personal use but I have done some logos for people which I also have the software for that cost an extra $2000.00 or more . It is a very long learning curve to learn to digitize and become good at. where people are willing to pay a higher price to a shop with the big professional machines the only want to pay very little to a home business. You have to use a high quality thread and stabilizer and have several size hoops. If you mess up on a piece of clothing there is no way to repair it and that's a loss. In other words the home embroidery machine is meant for personal home use and not for a professional business.I no longer do embroidery for pay, only for friends , relatives and myself and very much enjoy that. Right now I'm making a double wedding ring quilt with embroidery in center of each ring. my advice is use it for fun and enjoy but not to make money.

Since you time is limited, maybe your wife can learn to do the sewing for money if money is the point of learning how. You have all the supplies so no up front cost to you.

You are years and years away from earning a living making quilts, if ever. Just the savvy needed on purchasing the materials at cost, the skills required and the know how of where and how to sell. But, you can earn some money making other items to sell. Learning how to make tote bags (grocery bags) on the cheap - BUT SEWN WELL -will not only help you learn, but is also a big seller now because of the bans on plastic bags. You can go from these to placemat sets, table runners/centerpieces and onward to bigger items as your skill advances. But, where are you going to sell them? You need to put in the legwork and check out all the local weekend craft fairs. What sells in your area? How much do they sell for? How much does it cost for the table/booth space? You have to do the homework before you start. When my kids where in college, I made them tote bags for various classes (hoping they could keep their stuff organized ?!?!?!). Some of their friends saw them and asked for some. This might be something to do in spare time at school. The messenger bags were a big hit. And I made a cushioned removable sleeve for their laptops that fit into all the bags. You will not get rich, but you might make some spending money. BUT - it is a job and must be approached as such. You can not expect to whip out a shoddy product, set up a table and sell out. Don't want to discourage you (I sell a lot of product), but want you to be realistic about it.

So sorry about the loss of your mother. I lost my Dad a couple of years ago and I know how hard it is.

I hate to have to agree with the others on this thread, but making money sewing and quilting isn't a viable option for most people. I've been lucky enough to sell some pieces, but I'm an art quilter and that's a little different. My experience is that a lot of people think that hand sewing has little value, and machine hand made items even less. It's a shame.

However, I have saved a fortune by being able to sew. A sewing machine can pay for itself when you think about all you can do with it. I've made custom drapery treatments for my house for about a fifth of the cost it would take to buy them ready made. My son always had the coolest Halloween costumes, and even my dogs have matching coats. I also made quilted sofa covers for two sofas, recovered our patio furniture cushions, and made several sets of pillow covers. That's just in the last six months. Many community colleges and adult education programs offer inexpensive or free sewing classes so it's not too difficult to learn. I think you will find that learning how to sew will save you a lot of money down the road, and give you a lot of satisfaction as well.

I think taking classes and workshops makes a huge difference.