A friend sent me this:
TRUE COST OF MAKING A QUILT QUEEN SIZED, Machine Pieced, Hand Quilted MATERIALS: Fabric 12-16 yards @ $9per yd. $108 - $144 Batting $25 - $40 Thread $8 - $16 Total Money Invested $141 - $200 LABOR HOURS: Piecing 20 to 60 hours “Setting” (designing your quilt) 10 to 20 hours Quilting 100 to 750 hours Total hours invested 130 to 810 hours TOTAL COST Paying $1 per hour (Would you do this type of work for $1 an hour?!) Materials $141 - $200 Labor $130 - $810 Total $271 - $1070 Paying minimum wage $7.25 (by law in 6/2009) Materials $141 - $200 Labor (130-810hrs) $942.50 - $5872.25 Total $1083.50 - $6072.25 Paying skilled labor wage $20 per hour (Don’t you consider yourself trained and skilled in this craft?) Materials $141 - $200 Labor (130-810hrs) $2600 - $16,200 Total $2741 - $16,400 ....what about the costs of using your sewing machine? Maintenance, depreciation...oh my..so much else we could all be adding in! Anyone want to comment with an estimate of how much you spend (not counting your labor) for various sizes of quilts you've made in 2010 or 2011? |
At these prices I should be framing my quilts, not using them.
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And when you tell a customer $2,500. for a king, you get the standard answer, "I'll think about it and get back to you."
In 30 years of making quilts for sale, only ONCE, has someone said to me, "that's all, after all that work!" Thanks for sharing your calculations, it will certainly help me to stand on my price! |
This has often occurred to me (and here in Aus we can easily pay more than 20 dollars a yard for quilting fabric), but I don't look on quilting as work, so I do not charge my time in that way.
I certainly would not be selling any quilts I make though, because then I would start to think about my time and what it is worth and then I would just start to feel bad about the whole thing. If I keep the quilt or give it to someone I love, then the payment for my time is knowing they like it. Plus, I put a lot of effort into making things unique, so I know I have something no one else has in the whole wide world- pretty special. If I keep it, I get to enjoy it and show it off, and that is worth more than any money to me. |
People wonder why items are made overseas. If they had to pay for items made here in the USA no one would have money left.
I quilt for the love of quilting. |
I spent nearly 600 hours hand quilting a 42 x 48" wall hanging for my daughter--it is reversible.....think I could have done a quilt in that time--it was very intricate!
The charity quilts I make are quickies, so I can make more, but the embroidered quilts I am about to sash and finish finish will have about 1000 hours of time in them... |
But, don't we feel good about providing something from our heart for our family? I realize there is a great sacrifice for our talents but the rewards are everlasting
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my quilting is for a hobby, and enjoyment not a paying job.
I figure my quilts are priceless. |
I quilt for my own pleasure and can't imagine anyone wanting to pay that much for them. But, they're not for sale anyway. Interesting calculations though
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I agree we do not count the cost of providing love----but when you tell someone who "really wants a quilt" the cost, they usually turn white and decline! :>)
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