I am redoing a full-size quilt for a friend. It was an old quilt top that she found which had been in her family for quite some time. Here is what I did:

1. I took the entire top apart since there were some really old blocks. There were over 480 blocks.

2. Trimmed the blocks to make them all the same size.

3. Attached these blocks to muslin - to make them sturdy.

4. Completed a new quilt for her. (Sewed, machine quilted, binding - used muslin backing and polyester batting).

Now my dilemma, how much should I charge her? Anybody out there got any ideas? I sure would appreciate any response.

Thanks y'all.

i would figure the cost of materials (new cotton backing- batting) then figure out how much time it took.
i charge $20 an hour just for sewing.
add what you have into it...then adjust to make the cost fair to you and to her-
some people base pricing on (triple the cost of materials) some charge straight time- some use a combination of both.
this really should have been figured out before you ever touched the quilt.
when someone brings me a quilt for repair i start by looking it over and discussing what exactly needs to be done; estimate material needs- guestimate a time frame and agree on a price.
i always guestimate a bit on the high side- then the customer is happy when they get it back at a lower price then we agreed on.

Thanks for the reply. This is my first time redoing a quilt. Now I have a better feel for this from a "seasoned" quilter. Thanks again!

You've put a lot of work into it ... and honestly, most will have no comprehension as to how much time you put into it.

Value ... priceless! Whatever they pay you will be far less than what your time and effort is worth.

Sometimes there isn't enough money in the world to pay for the value of a job. I did something similar (repair an old quilt) which is a job I hate. It was made by a mother who had passed away and the daughter couldn't bear to part with it. It was in bad shape and I had to take it apart, resew and retie. Thank goodness it was tied and not quilted! I asked her to make a donation to my favourite charity and left it at that. If a price wasn't agreed upon before you started, it will be tricky to set a true value on all your work.

I like your idea a lot.

Thanks for everyone's input. I believe I've learned a valuable lesson from all the responses.

Have a figure in mind, WRITTEN down and agreed to before even getting out your old sewing machine.

This will be a very tricky thing to do, please let us know how it turns out.

I think seriously how much I like a garment of my own before mending it. Can I replace it cheaply, do I really love it and does it fit and make me feel good? As for doing that for others just because I was dumb enough to mention sewing, I don't even start that!! The word might get around.

If you enjoyed this venture and would like to restore more of them, I would suggest a DVD class by Nancy Kirk, Omaha, NE. She has been a quilt restoration specialist for years and often offers classes in person. You can buy a recorded version of the class online at her website. There is much to be learned regarding the proper techniques for a proper quilt restoration. Hint...she charges by the square inch!

The value of a service reduces drastically AFTER the service is completed (from the customers point of view).

This is what us accounting people tell the sales people ALL the time ... they never listen, but still expect us to collect the value they've placed on it after it's in the customers hands and he's saying "how much??".