Question About Pricing
 

I've had many people ask me for prices on my quilts. I've seen so many quilters charge by the hour, but each quilt is so different. I'm not looking to get rich off of this, but I do want to be fair to my time, as well, or else I'll never have time to do anything for myself or as gifts.

So, I decided to come up with a base price for each size, and if someone wants one with a lot of hand work, like a red work quilt, then I can add on a separate charge for out-of-the-ordinary hand work. So, my question is this: What would you charge for the following sizes? And what would you charge for the out-of-the-ordinary hand work?

Small Items (Table runners, table toppers, etc.)
Crib?
Lap?
Twin?
Full?
Queen?
King?
Hand Work Charge?

How about $10/hr + fabric & batting costs? How long does it take you to do each of those different sizes? I know this is the low end of pricing but just the fabric cost is going to make most of the quilts out of the price range for most people. As we know, you can go to TJMaxx and get a quilt for $50 or less depending on the sales. It would easily cost $400 for you to make a quilt for someone if you were going to charge by the hour. Comparing that price difference is going to make folks stop and rethink their craving for a homemade quilt. You do need to think of quiltmaking from the business perspective if you're going to sell them. Good luck!

Visit (Quiltsforsale.ca) and browse the different type/ styles/ sizes to see what they are charging. Many quilts are sold through that site! One of their guidelines is to charge by the square foot- $20 per square foot for fairly basic pieced quilt, up to $30 a square foot for appliqued, or more intricate work. It's just a guideline, place to start.
Another formula is:
Time + materials = Cost
Cost X 2 = wholesale
Wholesale X 2= retail.
There are many formulas used to determine what is fair to the individual seller. Location matters, what might sell for $1500 in one place may sell for $300 in another. Good records are needed and deciding what is reasonable/ fair to you. Don't short change yourself. Remember you might pay a plumber or mechanic $50 an hour - expecting $20 an hour for quilting is Not unreasonable.
I've been charging $20-$25 an hour for 15 years and have never had a problem getting it. Be up front & honest from the beginning

I don't know how many quilts you made and don't get your heart racing because when most people ask the price, they go OH. People who don't quilt see quilts being sold on QVC and HSN and don't realize the time it takes nor how much fabric is costs. You should keep a record starting now to see how long it takes you to piece and quilt. Strip piecing goes a lot faster than working with HSTs. I could make my Avatar quilt in 20 hours. It is a very simple quilt to piece and to quilt. I use to sell my quilt in some pricey Mission Veijo craft shows and let me tell you, if I would at least had put out a tip jar for all the compliments I got with my quilts, I would had a little more retirement cash. No regrets.

i start at $1000 plus materials and i know i am working for far less than minimum wage.

aileen

Pretty much all my quilts are baby/lap with extensive hand appliqué work. I finish my bindings by hand. I do at least some design work on them, but some are completely original. After getting feedback from professional resellers, I wouldn't sell for less than $700-800. My goal is to get in some shows so I can regularly ask $1500+ per quilt. People sometimes think that is far too much to ask for a quilt... Until I tell them I think they're getting paid too much making $1200/month (accounting for supplies, depreciation & overhead). They come back that even Wal-Mart workers make that. I am SURE I am worth at least as much as a Wal-Mart greeter.

Supplies/Overhead + $0.05/sq in for quilting + $10/hr minimum + 2.5% = price

Yes, that means some baby quilts that are $1200 or more. So far people are willing to pay to wrap their little one in quilted love. A good quilt will last to college & we all know stories about someone taking their baby quilt with them to college. So, yes, I price them like a nice piece of furniture because they will last that long and be loved more each day.

Glad to see the Quilting Market adjusting to support the true, appraised value of beautifully designed & constructed works of quilt art.

As a side note, the one in my avatar is my nephew's & I'd only ask $225 for it.

My quilts appraise for $900 to about $1250. The last one was hung without a price and the boss sold it for $650. Never even got a picture of the finished one just the top

That's terrible, Debbie. That quilt is stunning. Unless they really botched up the quilting, I'd think it was worth at least double that. Someone will get much enjoyment out of it, but it's too bad that you weren't properly compensated for your beautiful work. It's sad but true that we need to look out for ourselves & other artists to make sure our work is properly valued at the time of sale. We've made a lot of progress, but still have a long way to go!

You'll get dozens of "it's not worth it" replies, but I sell my quilts. I charge roughly 3x material cost of the quilt top.

I charge £40-45 for table runners
£70-80 for baby 32" sq quilts
£150 for small throws
£220+ on larger sizes.

Bear in mind I make smaller than average US sizes as in the UK smaller sizes sell better. Our tables aren't as long either so my table runners are about 35" in length for example.

[ QUOTE=ibex94;7296152]How about $10/hr + fabric & batting costs? How long does it take you to do each of those different sizes? I know this is the low end of pricing but just the fabric cost is going to make most of the quilts out of the price range for most people. As we know, you can go to TJMaxx and get a quilt for $50 or less depending on the sales. It would easily cost $400 for you to make a quilt for someone if you were going to charge by the hour. Comparing that price difference is going to make folks stop and rethink their craving for a homemade quilt. You do need to think of quiltmaking from the business perspective if you're going to sell them. Good luck![/QUOTE]

How in the world can you compare a quilt someone has made to a quilt made by someone to a quilt from TJ Maxx? There is a huge difference in the quality of the materials and work. If someone wants a hand made quilt, then they are going to have to pay for it and $400 is not unreasonable and probably low. I would probably double or triple my costs, depending on the difficulty of the pattern and quilting.

My longarm quilters charge .01 cents to .02 cents an inch plus they charge for thread and batting. That's what they charge for a pantograph. For custom work they charge .03 cunts an inch plus thread and batting.

Check with other long arm quilters in your area. Each area of the country charges differently. This will give you a clue as to where you can do your charges. Longarmers usually have a schedule of what they charge for each type and size of quilt. If your potential client then checks with other places they will know you are being fair in your charges. You also need to know what kind of batting they are using as some less expensive battings are not consistent in thickness and can cause problems if you are densely quilted. if you provide batting and backing that will add to your total charge.

I donated a quilt to a rescue with a lot of hand work to go to eBay. They thought it would get the most exposure. They got $699. Personally I was disappointed as there was lots of hand work on the 4 appliqued Boxer faces. I don't sell my quilts.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]528891[/ATTACH]

I am sorry to hear that your boss sold your quilt for such a low price. I can't imagine that she/he would not have consulted you first.

My price is always the same. 4 x the cost of supplies at retail cost. The 3 1/2 covers my tools, power, wear and tear, and labor. This is for any handmade item that I feel I want to sell or if someone asks me. If I had to sell items I would adjust my cost to sell more.

Do you have a quilt shop near you that sells their finished quilts? That will give you a starting point. I made a quilt for a charity. My sister bought it for $200.00. I easily had $400. materials in it. (lovely metallic enhanced Christmas fabric.) My local quilt shop recently sold their store sample (with just red and green prints) for $600.00. I am so sorry the charity didn't get the $600.00 but my sister got and heirloom for a song. I told her to buy some insurance for it!

Why not take one of your quilts to a certified appraiser and pay the $50 to have it appraised, that will give you a much better idea of value and an idea of what to start charging. The first quilt I had appraised was only 72" square, in a show & didn't even merit a mention- the appraisal came back at $3,700 ! ( insurance value) I sold it for $2,750 and the person who purchased it bought 2 more for that price. People ( even non- quilters) are willing to pay for a quilt they love! I had about $500 into making the quilt.

think all of us have had experiences where a donated charity auction quilt did not garner the $$ we know it was worth--had that happen twice, so no longer make quilts for purpose--rather just put a donation into the "kitty" for the charity!

As far as charging-- charge 9cents/sq inch for T-shirt quilts--and plenty of people change their minds and look elsewhere--but that works fine for me--lots of other quilts to make.

My suggestion would be to visit one of the gals web sites that quilt for a living here on the board. They break it down to the complexity of the design and price per square inch. Then they add the batting and thread.

it is impossible to keep up with all your time and the cost and amount of fabric used so I GENERALLY start with $75 sq. yd figure length times width in inches, divide by 1296 (inches in a yard) times $75. then I consider any discount I may want to give or if it was a real PIA I may add more to it, but that's where I start. and yes I have a lot of unsold quilts that are made to my taste and may never be sold but when someone asks me to make one that's how I explain my pricing, if they mention WM or TJM I say then go buy one there and you can have one just like thousands of other people. very few people have backed out.

I suggest you go to http://huntersdesignstudio.com/ew-worth-it-2/ and read the articles. She has pricing forms that are very helpful.

This is a very good article with great information/ explanation. I am the same way she is- I do not ( low- ball) myself. And I do not have problems selling my quilts. Commissions/ special orders are always discussed and agreed upon before a single fabric pulled or cut - including my receipt of a 50% non- refundable deposit. Quilts I make with no one in mind just because I want to make it I show off & someone (9 times out of 10) asks. "Is it for sale? I love/ want that quilt". The last one almost caused a fight. ( not literally but...) A lady had asked about the quilt, I told her what I wanted for it, she asked if she could think about it. I told her of course, I had no one else interested & still needed to hand stitch the binding. Couple days later it was done, she asked if I still had it- " yes" I went to get it, show it finish, another lady walked in-- oohed & awwwed asked about it, first lady said I think I'm going to get it- she wants ($$) for it- second lady said.... Heck, I'll give you +$100 for it! First lady's face fell. I laughed, & responded... If you want one I will make you a new one for that $$+100. Her response was- that's great, I want mine a little more personalized anyway. First lady went to the bank & brought me back the $$ before anyone else could get in on this....
I have had people request that I know are unable to afford one of my quilts- I am honest with them- and sometimes they wind up with one gifted to them down the road. I would rather give one away than lower the worth/value/ cost of my quilts.