Machine embroidery costs/help?
 

I made a few quilt labels for close friends a few months ago. Well now one of the gals came to me asking if I'd embroider 22 labels for some quilts that she and some friends made for a retreat lodge.

She said that she wants to pay me, but I have no clue of what to charge. What would be a going rate to tell her my cost? Is there anyone that does embroidery for profit of "break even"? Do you charge per stitch, hoop time, by the hour, or all of the above? It would be 10 words "Made for____ Family Retreat Name, City, State, and year" These would all be the same, but 22 of them. I was thinking I could do 2 inside the larger hoop and only hoop 11 times.

ANY ideas or comments would be lovely! Thanks

I bought some simple ones about 10 years ago and I was charged $6.00. It depends on what you think is fair for your time and how good a friend this is. Depends also the economy where you live. City folks sometimes have more accessible cash then rural areas.

A year or more ago I attended a class about setting up an embroidery related business where they stated the going rate was the cost of materials (stabilizer, thread, material, blanks, etc.) plus $1.00 per 1,000 stitches. Don't know if that would be of help or not - most people have no idea how many stitches are in a typical design and the charges would add up pretty quick.

Interesting to know about this and I've wondering too in case I ever wanted to sell embroidery blocks, etc.

I don't live in the US so a different money value. A friend has a business doing logos on caps, workshirts etc, and I believe the cost here is closer to $1.60 per 1000 stitches, so perhaps Cactus Stitchin gives the best price

Do you have to reset each label or are they all exactly the same? $10/each IMHO. IF no resets. Hooping time etc. Should be accounted for.

Sandy

I have no idea, but the first thing that came to mind was to be sure you charge an initial set up fee for designing and creating the label.

I have seen $5 per hooping plus $1 to 1.50 per 1000 stitches. Don't cut yourself short - thread and stabilizer costs plus your time and wear on machine. Hope this helps.

I have a friend with a quilting business in Blaine. They charge $5 per hooping and then an additional charge depending on the stitch count and possibly thread changes. A design with 1 color stitches out much more quickly than one with 10! Remember that your time is worth a lot. Think of all you could accomplish if you weren't watching the machine and changing thread all day. Just because it's your hobby doesn't mean you shouldn't get paid well when you do it for others. Figure out how many hours it will take and be sure you get at least $15 per hour.

Not that I plan on doing it (I don't have an embroidery machine) but have always wondered what one would charge. I thought of all factored costs and how you would have to make a profit also.