My aunts friend has commisioned me to make her a quilt. I'm going to use the Illinois Block, only way enlarged, to make the quilt.

The cost of the materials, 5 fabrics, thread, and batting come to 107.37. It is all from Connecting Threads.

the quilt is 80"x80".

I'm charging her 150.00

Is this too much or too little?

I am taking her money situation as well...

How long will it take you to make it ? How are you planning on finishing it ( quilting wise) ? Does the pricing you have include the backing ?

Yes the backing is included. I figured 5 and half yards would be enough since the fabric is 45" wide.

I'll be binding it, and probably tieing it off. I'll see if thats okay with her first though. If I did quilt it, I'd have to find some one with a long arm, who doesn't charge a lot, which is hard now a days.

She wants it by next month... I know that it will probably take me a week or two to get it done... Unless I have to find someone to bind it.

I think you should get more for your time and talents. Maybe $200.00

a pricing policy that I was given a couple of years ago for custom quilts was $15 per finished square foot. That includes cost of material, labor, quilting, etc. If customer provides the fabric, pattern, etc, you make it a little lower. If the quilting or piecing is really complex, you can price it a little higher. If you calculate your size of 80 X 80, that comes out to about 44.4 square feet multiplied by $15/sq ft that comes to about $666 for the whole thing. From that figure, you alter the price as you see fit. Hope that helps.
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I think the pattern you have chosen would be a good one for stitching in the ditch. You could do that and save the expense of a longarm quilter.

Are you charging $150.00 apart from the materials? I would charge at least $500 for your time and talent. You will regret making this for so little money. If you calculate how much you are getting paid per hour, it will come down to pennies. Your time is worth much more than that.

i would go with 200 at least also. especially if you sid yourself. If you go with total price of materials and time I would make it maybe 250 or something. it just depends on why you are making it for her and her situation. you should do what feels right.

She asked me to make it. I told her that she would pay for the materials, cause I don't have that much to go with to begin with, and that she would pay me for my time. She said fine. she gets disability and ss.

Thing is, I could really use that 50 dollars right now... Should I ask her to give me a down payment of 50 and then she can worry about the last hundred later?

So she is paying for all the fabric and then paying you $150.00 on top of that ?

Even with the informal rate of 3 times materials, it would be $325. That assumes you pay for the materials, of course.

See I am the type that no matter how long it takes me as long as someone else is paying for it I do it for them at no charge. But like I said thats just me. I feel this way about a lot of things in life, cake decorating is one of them. As long as someone else is paying for the stuff that I need to hand them a finished product I will do it at no charge! But I will not put ANY money into the project.

I love a few of my friends kids so I keep the little buggers just for the sake of spending time with them....see where I am going. I say if YOU are ok with the 50 dollars that you charged her then its fine. If you feel like you cheated youself then maybe next time think about what your charging before you commit to a price! Good luck, can't wait to see the finished quilt!

you bought the fabric?

My understanding:

1) The client has purchased all the fabric and batting for an 80x80 quilt

2) You are planning to charge her $150 to make it - she doesn't have much money

3) You want a down payment of $50 now for your labor

Is this correct?

She probably is already suffering from sticker shock!

I think at this stage of your career, $150 is a fair price. You will get some experience without any financial outlay of your own -

if my understanding of the situation is correct.

So do I.

NO NO NO!

She is paying me 50 dollars to make it.

The cost of the material comes to 107.37.

So - you have allowed yourself $42.63 for making this quilt. ?

Sounds about like what I've done a few times.

If you've made the deal/commitment/arrangement, I think you should honor it.

But no reason to make a similar arrangement again. This may be one of those "learning experiences" that one only has to do once. :|

Still, do the best you can on it - she may have rich relatives and friends!

I will definitely do my best. Nothing is set in stone yet, I have to discuss it with her first.

I think I would have her pay up front for all the supplies , then maybe pay you half of what your labor is when you are half way done .

Pricing has a lot of factors. If you are doing this to help her out and maybe make a little extra money, but you're not concerned with the "business" of it, you are doing it more for a friend, then I say if you are happy with $47 profit then that's fine. As someone stated I will often just charge for materials for someone I know and love. However, if you want quilt making to be a business, $47 for the time it will take, especially for the block you have chosen, is very very low. That is a pretty complicated block, I would imagine it will take you 20-30 hours to finish the whole quilt at least, that means you are making maybe $2 per hour. while you most likely won't make $30 per hour from her, what you have charged seems very low. Most people use a rule of thumb to double or triple the cost of materials. If you tripled it, that would be about $10 per hour, which is better. It sounds like this woman can't afford that much though, so you have to decide what you feel comfortable with. Just remember your time is worth more than a few bucks an hour if you are making quilts as a business.

Cheers!
Rachel

I could do that... that could work... Thanks for the idea sharon.

I'm not doing as a business, for now. She is a friend, and she offered to pay me for the time. And She knows I don't have much, so she offered to buy the materials too. I may do it as a business at some point, but when I have more experience.

good luck

That is a pretty progressive project for a novice...especially on a time table! If you are willing to do the project for her at that price, you may want to see if she is able to give you more time...I hate to see you frustrated early in your quilting journey. Have you warmed up that machine and turned out any small projects yet? Your kindness is admirable, but if you are willing to give of yourself like that...maybe she can work with you on a more flexible time frame. I, too, am a novice quilter, and don't want to see you stressing more than enjoying being able to do a really cool favor for someone like this! Good luck on this project!

Another thought is, put all of the items that you will need on a wish list and send that to her and let her place the order at Connecting Threads. She can either have it shipped to your address, or deliver all of the stuff to you with maybe a partial payment. At least you will not be out the expense of the materials up front. Please discuss with her the options for having someone else quilt or bind it if this is beyond your skill level at this time. She would be getting a great deal if she only paid you $50.00 just to piece the top.....don't get caught having to pay for someone else to have to work on the project with you, as I am pretty sure that they will not be as generous with their time as you have been in your kindness. An 80" quilt is a big undertaking...make sure that you are both on the same page with the type of quilting that will be done. Doing FMQ or even SID on a top that size for a first project is a big undertaking. (Please don't throw the sewing machine out the window...LOL!) As a novice quilter, I often think of turning my machine into a boat anchor....LOL! Good Luck!

Andy323 makes some very good points. You said the quilt is 80 x 80. That is huge and would be very difficult if not impossible to quilt on a home machine. You might want to discuss hiring a longarm quilter with your client. ;-)

You mentioned possibly tying rather than quilting, and given the time frame you are working with, I think that is going to be your best option for this situation.

I agree that asking her to provide the materials (or cost of materials) up front is also wise.

Having done similar projects (costume design/construction) this is a workable way to do it. I also did not "charge nearly enough" but for me that was OK, because I knew I did not feel right charging more at that time for that project.

Another time for another project...we'll have to see, would always depend on the situation.

I think what you are doing is great! BUT, I shy away from such requests, they do give you experience, but take so much painstaking work. I can see from the pattern it is not a simple block. I sew for myself and my kids. I do find when people start paying for a quilt, even if it is a very modest price, they start getting very picky and unappreciative. This actually can be applied to any hand work.

I'm confused. I thought you bought the fabric from Connecting Threads and paid for it yourself and then you were going to charge her $150.00 when it was completed. Is that right? If so, I say you are not charging anywhere near enough but I do understand that you are taking her financial situation into consideration. If you paid for the fabrics you are not out of line in requesting $50.00 before the project is completed. I have only sold one quilt and I only charged her $50 for making it simply because she insisted on paying something for the time it took. I purchased the fabric and she paid me for it.

only do miminimal quilting, stitch in ditch like other person suggested. They will love it. You need to do what project, time, money etc calls for.

This is good to know.

You really need to get 20% of what the materials cost. That would be around $200.00-250.00. I wouldn't take any less. If she has the money to buy the stuff, she has the money to pay you for your time. Is it handquilted or machine?

Sounds like you're really only charging her $43. Or is $150 on top of being reimbursed for the cost of materials? It depends on how you feel about not making very much money. If you're just doing to as a favor, but want her to feel like she's paying you, that's fine. I often do things and don't charge very much, but tell them - DON'T TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU GOT THIS! - so I'm not inundated with "jobs" from friends of friends of friends who want a quilt made as cheaply as the one they heard about! :)

If you are quilting it you are not charging a lot. I don't know that block, so don't know how difficult it is. You will be spending a good solid week making, quilting, and binding it. If you have to pay a quilter, that could cost 60 -100 plus, depending on her. Decide if you are doing this for a friend or for profit! :)

In my opinion she's paying you to do a certain thing and will pay for that thing, it should not matter her money situation. If you want to cut her a deal because you like her, so be it, but her financial situation has nothing to do with what your time is worth. If someone who doesn't have a lot of money goes to the grocery store, they pay what everybody else pays. why should you bedifferent? Like I said, if you like her, charge less, but do it because you'd like her if she was rich too

I don't thin k you have charged enough

I don't thin k you have charged enough :-)

I think this is a very rational way of thinking. It's exactly what I would do in the same situation, unless I happened to be a professional quiltmaker. Then the whole situation changes.

I've been told that you charge material plus 3 x's that for your time and labor, which would make it about $450.

If I recall correctly you will be preparing to start college in a month. I hope making this will not add unnecessary stress for you. I wish you well in whatever you decide.