quilting for the public
 

i have a situation someone at my job is asking me to make him a quilt he may want more than one if it turns out well. he wants it lap size. he also wants it made out of his grandmothers dresses. she ran a restaurant for 30 years and wore cotton dresses to work every day. they had a family friend who was going to make them but she passed away a few weeks after the grandmother. ive only made 1 quilt to order and it was for a friend and i didn't charge him anything he just paid for the fabric batting and quilting. i just piece i don't quilt my own. he keeps asking me how much id charge but i have no idea what to say as ive never quilted for money before. im kinda at a loss as to what to tell him. i don't know if hes wanting a simple quilt or something more elaborate or if hes aware hed have to have it quilted.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
carla

You could pick a cost per hour and tell him that. Then give him an idea how many hours a simple top would be and how many a complicated one would be. Then explain that he would have to pay to have it quilted. And buy the backing and the batting. Maybe you could find him the name of someone who can do the quilting.

I think you should talk to him more to find out what he is expecting and if you are comfortable with your skills to produce what he wants. Perhaps show him some of your work and ask him to bring you pictures of what he is thinking. Since the fabric is his grandmother's dresses, they may have a lot of meaning to him and the last thing you would want is to have him unhappy with the quilt after you cut them up. Whatever you do be very clear about what you can and can't do. As for price, there is another thread on this site in the last couple of days about what to charge, so flip back a couple of days and review all those comments.. I have never made a quilt for pay so can't be much help, sorry.

If you want to do this, then figure out an hourly price that you're happy with, estimate your hours and materials, and take it from there. But if you don't want to do it, don't feel obliged. If you google "memory quilts" online, you can find listings for people who make them for a living. You can refer your friend to these listings, and offer to help him decide which one would be best for him.

You should first figure out the time you believe it will take for you to piece the quilt, then contact who you use to quilt your quilts find out the cost and add this to the cost then add an additional cost for binding the quilt...your *customer* will be expecting a completed product. If this is not something you are able to provide there is nothing wrong with being honest and declining doing the project.

The only thing I can add is that since he may want more than one if this one turns out well, make sure that you're happy with the amount you'd get for your time and effort. And remember, you won't be working with new fabrics but with fabrics that may have issues such as worn or stained spots that need to be avoided while cutting, plus they'll likely need to be heavily starched for precise piecing.

I think that the price you quote includes everything that it will take to make the quilt plus labor, he expects (rightly so) a FINISHED product...not a honey-do list.

Keep it a simple pattern since it will be scrappy.

sandy

Boy, this is a tough decision. It is hard to estimate the time it will take you without the experience. Being that this is going to be a very sentimental quilt to him, I might just want to try to find someone else with more experience. Good Luck.

Definitely agree on a price before ever picking up your scissors! Get everything in writing and no less than 50% paid in advance (nonrefundable). And most importantly....do not give the quilt until entirely paid for. Don't sell yourself short on time either, if you think cutting the fabric will take one hour, charge for two because you will find issues in dealing with fabric already sewn into garments (all the garments will have to be washed, dried, pressed and starched.

Do NOT under any circumstances do this if you are feeling any misgivings. It will turn into a definite chore, and you will probably end up overwhelmed. There is nothing wrong with telling him that you don't want to do it. I understand that he would like to have the quilt made, in memory of his grandma, but most people have no clue about the time and effort that goes into a quilt, and most people want high quality for low dollars. If you do decide to go ahead and do it, I would show him pictures of patterns that you feel comfortable doing, and make him choose which one he wants. Make sure to follow all the other tips given, and if you do it, post pictures. Good luck, whatever you choose.

This statement more than anything gives me cause for concern. What would happen at your work if he is not happy with your final product?? Will it create tension? I think, unless you are 100% confident in your skills and can provide a finished product, you should probably refer your coworker to someone else. I think the fact he works with you is asking for trouble if he isn't happy with the finished product.

Since you are sounding very hesitant, I would do as another poster recommended and help him find someone who does memory quilts on a regular basis.

If you are really interested in doing it, then start by deciding on an hourly rate that you feel is fair - and compute how many hours it will take you for each task - then get the estimate from the long-armer and add those, then add the time in for binding - and pad it with a few hours in case things go screwy - you can always refund unused hours if you decide that you overestimated by more than you are comfortable.

It sounds like a neat project, but not one that I would be comfortable doing personally.

Cheers, K

Don't forget to figure in extra time for disassembling the dresses!!! I'm working on turning 30 of my grandmother's handmade dresses into quilts for the family and it took me about 2 weeks to get the dresses all disassembled. It's a lot of work and dresses tend to not have seams that are on the straight-of-grain (all the flares and tucks) so you can't just rip the seams out like you can with some shirts.

I think im gonna pass on the project I think I could do it im just not confident my work would match up to someone elses idea of greatness. as many of you mentioned its harder to use clothing that may have stains or worn spots, than regular fabric. I also have enough projects already planed to finish out the year without adding more to it. I have 2 okc thunder quilts, at least 1 maybe 2 baby quilts and a dallas cowboy quilt and a little girl quilt to do in the near future so atm I think im booked up. theyre all for family and friends and I think I just prefer it that way.
so ill talk him on mon and tell him im just a little too busy right now. I work full time so its not like I have a lot of time to quilt anyway and the lady im going to send him too does great work and sews for the public all the time and shes about to retire from her regular job in about a month and will have way more time to devote to her sewing.
Carla m

I think you made the good decision. Too many times we try to be nice with others and we forget to be nice with ourselves! You seem to have enough projects already and quilting for me, has to been fun without adding more pressure.