I have three employees retiring in two weeks. I made each of them a throw. When another employee asked if I was giving a monetary gift, I said no, I was making a quilt.
You would have though I had three heads. I figured out the cost:
9 fat quarters - $18.00
Backing - $15.00
Borders - $5.00
Batting - $11.00
Thread - $2.50
Total - $51.50

Per quilt plus time. So, I think that is generous gift.

I average around that too. I try to keep the cost around $60, but sometimes it's around $100.

And yes, our time is priceless!

I don't even think of the cost, I am usually making one to give away.

Quilting is a necessity of life for me...kinda like eating.

I don't really keep track of how much I spend to eat...I eat to survive...and the same goes for quilt....

I figure $100.00 for the top. This does not include backing, batting, thread. You need 8 - 10 yards per top (depends on pattern) multipled by $10.00 a yard, which is now getting to be wishful dreaming. So another 6 - 8 yards for the back ($60 - $80 bucks) This is for a queen size top. Smaller top = less fabric = less expense. If you send it out to be quilted there can easily be another $100.00. So $300 + batting and thread. Not a cheap hobby but a labor of love

I understand the cost of hand made quilts,but bieng on a very, very,very fixed budget, I refused to pay the cost of the high price fabric since every thing i do is a learning process. I keep all my reciepts. At the end of the year I plan to add-up and see how much I have spent on quilting. I do the same thing for my gardening hobby.

most of the time i dye and print my own fabric.

it costs me about $2.25 to make a yard of fabric.

batting costs about $2.50 a yard.

thread for piecing and quilting about $4

needles for piecing & quilting about $1


i typically make a 60x60 quilt with binding and waste - lets just say its 2 yards for the top and 2 yards for the back.

4 yards of hand dyed fabric at $2.25 = $9

2 yards of batting at $2.50 = $5

thread & needles = $5

total for a 60x60 quilt = $19


if i use some commercially available fabric too the hand dyed fabric would be $4.50 and the commercial fabric would be around $4.50 a yard so $9 changing to total to $23.50.


them i sell all of these quilts to support me and the family.

I just finished a quilt for my son's college roommate. It was a braid quilt, so I collected black and whites for almost a year. I kept receipts tho, and unfortunately just looked at them. Fabric, thread-$186, Quilting,batting-$250. I used all of the leftover black and whites to piece the back. Call it a strong 50 hours of sewing.
I think I could have done without ever knowing the total! After all is said and done, I'm not sure I like the kid that much!

For me, it's a hobby. I don't know of a (fill in the blank) who keeps track of her hobby expenses.

I do know that so far, I'm giving quilts as gifts and I would have spent $50-$100 for a gift. I am a new quilter and have been buying clearance fabric to "practice" with so I don't have a significant expense in fabric. I have also purchased some wonderful fabric on this board at a decent price.

So far, the two quilts I'm completed were LA quilted, so I did have that expense but overall, I know both would be under $100.00 spent to complete, including LA.

HTH!

How do you make fabric?

and for $2.25/yard? Do you weave your own and then dye it? Using wool or cotton? I've never met anyone who actually made their own. I've used a loom before but made a scarf--in college for a textiles class.

Or do you buy unbleached muslin (for how much) and dye it? Or do you have a source of undyed fabric?

I hope you have time to answer because this is a fascinating topic to me. I do enjoy all things textile!