I generally budget about $100.00 for the Boutique at quilt shows. I am a sewer and quilter, but I am also very busy, going to school full time, working part time and commuting 10 hours a week.

I have bought a couple table toppers/small quilts that were about 3 feet square, I used one on an old leather ottoman to give it some colour, the other I use on the bias across my table. I paid between $40 and 50 each.

I tend not to buy placemats, those I can easily make, but more because I have lots and an pickier about colours for them. I do not buy runners because I have a very narrow table and they do not fit.

I do buy needle cases, pin cushions, a ruler holder etc, jewelry bags (you know the ones that open into a circle with little pockets and have a draw string to make a pouch. Those are too fiddly for me to make and the price is always right, they make a great gift for a woman.

Same here. I did one craft fair and my experience was the same as yours. I brought my things home and am saving them for special gifts.

As others have stated, it is difficult to sell quilts to quilters.

Some years ago, I made 24 Dolly quilts for our church bazaar. I put a price of $4.50 on them. ( this would be losing money if I had a business). They sold 4. I brought the rest home.

Hmmm--the idea of doing up a kit for a table runner (with one's own written instructions of course) is very interesting. Especially for those of us who have a large amount of fabric. Of course you would need a sample (or two in different colour-ways). I could see myself being more drawn to that kind of thing. Plus you would not have to factor in the time and effort of making it yourself.

My sister is a prolific quilter and has a table at several craft sales a year. She has found that the best sellers are $20 or less. Small bags, hot pads, microwave bowl holders, simple totes, smaller seasonal wall hangings. She always tries to have a basket of $5 items too--especially if they can entice a kid. Once, she made a bunch of very simple bags--just french seamed pouches with handles--and put in colouring books and small boxes of crayons from the dollar store. She called them 'busy bags'. They sold like hotcakes! I think you have to think outside the box sometimes.

Great comments! I agree with many of you! Yes the public has no idea about cost of materials to make an item and many quilters would rather make it themselves than pay for it.

In our area, depending on where the show is and who the host group is, the monetary return to participants for submitting items ranges from 0% (being a straight donation) to 20, 40, or 75% - these are for quilt guild related shows and presentations.

Yes many times it is easier to just give the group a donation to help them out instead of spending hours making things to sell but in the spirit of things to help and to promote the guild to the public/community and possibly attract new members I often find myself contributing.

I agree with Onebyone and GingerK that an attractive presentation of items can be a key factor to getting quilters and crafters to buy.
Some of the things that we tried were wrapping items in cello wrap with pretty ribbon such as a placemat or snack mat with a matching coffee mug, casserole covers or wraps included a casserole dish, teapot covers or mug holders included a small giftbox of cookies, etc. Although it increased cost many sold as they were gift items ready to go.

We also had many shoppers ask for the pattern for these items but in a post show review we received a bit of a backlash from the "real" vendors that we were intruding on their sales by selling the patterns. The patterns were fairly basic and developed or designed by members who had EQ and were not copies of any pattern makers or designers thus avoiding copywrite complications. We also received some criticism from vendors for offering kits.

We did find that the best sellers and money makers for guild related events were donated quilt/sewing magazines and books. The table and displays for them were always crowded with buyers. Prep for this was making sure that each and every magazine or book was absolutely complete with no torn out pages or sections missing.

If anyone has any other suggestions on pricing or ideas about particular items please share!
Any suggestions on ways on how to make them attractive to a crafty/quilting oriented shopper?

Having done art and craft shows in the past we found it isn't worth the time and money. Most people are "looky lou's" and don't want to pay what an item is worth in time and materials.

I bought some pincushion/thread catcher things at a craft show. In fact, I bought 14 of the them at $5.00 each.

The pin cushion part is filled with sand, and the bag part is designed to hold the bottom part of a 2-liter soda bottle.
The bag part is also lined with plastic.

They would also be good to put on a night stand when someone has a super-runny nose and it's too much effort to toss the used tissues into a wastebasket.

They also work well to hold a remote for the TV.

The only way I sell items at these shows is if they have applique. Applique sells, even if I am selling quilts by the block.

If you walk into a fabric store and buy fabric (even if a bit on sale), you will not be able to recoup your money. The only way to make a profit is to buy supplies very cheaply. Example - I rarely spend more than $5 per yard for fabric (valued up to $14 per yard). I make and sell many, many fold n' stitch wreaths and the average cost to make is $7 (2 fabrics and interfacing). I sell them for $18 - $24. I buy at super sales, clearance areas and the day after a holiday. Last year on Dec 24th I purchased 2 loads of christmas fabric. Both cost approx. $85 and my savings on the receipt said $270 and $275. I buy interfacing by the bolt at 50% and then use a 20% off total purchase. But, if you just want to make a few and are getting your feet wet, list the cost of all your products and times it by 3. Go on etsy and see if you are in a generally good cost range. You can always put up a sign saying 'special event pricing' or just be a 'good guy' and give the buyer a deal on the spot. Even if you don't make a profit, the learning experience and the feedback from the people is always helpful. I do a couple local events that I know I won't sell much just to get the feedback. Most important - HAVE FUN!

One thing I forgot to say, get the folks to your table. By that I mean make it different. Practice a set up at home. Use a piece of colored solid fabric (or a sheet) and sit some little boxes or containers under it so that your items are at different heights. A flat table is often sort of boring. You want folks eyes to linger. If it is a holiday event, maybe add a tiny tree or a bowl of colorful ornaments, spread some tinsel around. And, everyone will stop by if you have a bowl of hard candy for them to dig thru!