I don't sell my quilts. I give them away to family, friends and people I don't know. We think our work and time are worth so much. It would be impossible to charge what some of us think it is worth. People would not pay that much. My time is spent making quilts for the love of making them. Seeing someone appreciate my work is enough for me.

Thanks for sharing your quilting info with us. You've inspired me to do the same. I know each quilt will be a little different, but it is interesting info to know.

Jan- You're absolutely right. While I've read many threads on this same topic, I just today had my first "customer" who wanted to purchase my Blooming Nine Patch. Since she's a good friend, I gave her a "point-of-reference" as to what amount of fabric & price per yard, batting, and thread and then said that since I'm new (but somewhere past new-bee I think now), that I would low-ball my labor for her. The B9P took me over 40 hrs to complete, and I gave her a fixed price of $50 over the cost of materials, which still brought the quilt in at just under $200. Yes, do that math, and I gave her a labor cost of $1.25/hr.
I don't plan on doing this for a profession; only enough to make back my cost plus a little. I enjoy making them, so don't consider it "work" and therefore, the fixed-price-for-a-friend works...FOR NOW. Fortunately, she has a relative who quilts, so DOES understand what goes into them, but I'm pretty sure that even the $200 price shocked her.
If and when I ever get to a point where my quilts are more precisely pieced, I'll price higher, and will always provide a Time & Materials invoice to my customer with a copy of the yardage requirements for the quilt.

Edit to add: I never ever intend to intentionally 'undercut' those who are selling their quilts at a higher (and definitely more REALISTIC price)...I'm only factoring in my 'novice status' into my current pricing. I do hope to reach a skill level where I can price my quilts competitively and not ruin the market for those of you who are already WAY better than me at this.

@ Irishgal- You were smart to do a journal. It gives us a better idea of what we're really putting into our quilts.

I keep a diary of how many hours I sew. It's not so I can figure out how much a quilt is worth. In my case it is supposed to be an inspiration to me to do more each month. I was in a lot of pain and had surgery last year so I was unable to sew as much as I liked. I am feeling better now, but I just need motivation.

I may take some classes from a LQS or go to quilting meetings to get inspired. I didn't get out much last year. Prior to that, at one LQS, that moved to a different city, there used to have a BOTM meet that I loved to go to for the "show and tell".

I did find out by tracking hours that I spent about 60 making a double size pieced quilt. I only kept track of that one because it was an exchange for a wooden bowl and I wanted the information handy in case he asked. I tried to keep track of everything including shopping for the fabric, materials, etc.

I work slow, and enjoy the process, so no one would be able to judge how long it takes by me. The above quilt had 3-D elements and was quite a challenge, I don't think it would normally take anyone that long to make a quilt that size.

I wonder if you could use this diary to place a value on a quilt, so it would be covered under your homeowners or renter's insurance in the case of disaster? I lost all of my quilts and homemade crafts (and everything else!) in a fire in the 1980's. They allowed me absolutely $0 for my quilts, and nothing for my stash either. But if it had been documented: Hmmmm. . .

The quilt is a wedding gift for a cousin. The front and the back. It's a pretty simple 9 patch squares alternated with solid pieces like a irish chain.

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The only reason I kept the diary is to see how long it takes me to make a quilt because I work full time and only have time to sew on the weekends and sometimes at night. I didn't keep track of the cost of the fabric and batting, but I think the entire quilt might have cost me about $135.00. I only started quilting last year and I only make quilts for myself and for my family. I don't really plan to ever sell anything I make.

what a neat idea, I might try this on my next quilt, you have me curious too

I am working on a twin quilt top and have been logging my hours out of curiosity and I just finished the top only and to date 31 hours! Boy was I surprised.

Last year, for tax reasons, our guild began to require us to turn in the hours we spent on our charity projects. Before that I was grossly underestimating how much time I was spending on "simple" quilts. Time goes fast when you're having fun!