What I learned by keeping a diary making my last quilt
 

I learned that I spent 32 hours and 2 minutes making the quilt between March 31 and April 22. This total includes the time I took to wind bobbins, clean machines, wash, iron and cut fabric. It took me 19 hours to just make the top. The quilting only took 4.5 hours because I only cross-hatch quilted it with a walking foot. I used two different machines, one for piecing and one for quilting and binding so I used 5 bobbins for piecing and binding and 3 bobbins for quilting. The quilt turned out to be 60" x 70" and that's about as big as I can make on my DSMs. I saved my diary for future reference. I'll never again wonder how long it will take me to make a quilt.

Thank you for doing that. Now I won't feel let down when I don't live up to the "Simple quilt. You can make this in an afternoon" exaggerations I hear all the time from not only quilt pattern makers, but video instructions on You Tube.

Thanks for the info. I think I will keep a diary of my next quilt. Sounds like it will be interesting to know how long I take to make one. I am pretty slow.

Thanks for the information.... I am working on a project now and I am tracking $$ and cuts.. you have inspired me to track the hours as well. I have missed some, but I can "guesstimate" the interfacing and cutting times. It will be interesting to see. (The $$ really add up and scare me sometimes)

And that's why we can't make money selling the quilts we make. If you were willing to work for $10 per hour, that would be $320 for labor alone. Now add fabric, batting and thread and no way we can compete with "bed in a Bag" from the local home fashion stores. About once a year I make a quilt on commission and that's only for someone who knows up front what it will cost and is willing to pay knowing the quality of work/art they will get in return.

this is very interesting information. thanks so much for sharing

Wow! I would be afraid to know exactly how much time I waste each day:) Of course my 5 cats and beagle do not consider hours of walking, petting and brushing wasted and I agree with them :) But the time I sit in quiet meditation watching flowers, tree and grass grow......

My friend tracked her costs for an heirloom and was amazed at how it was building up. Hundreds of £. She never had a final amount because she started part wAy through. Just buying beads,lace, thread etc. .

This could be incredibly valuable information to have when/if it came time to price your quilt for sale. If you didn't even charge for materials for the quilt, would you be willing to work for less than minimum wage - about $7.25 as of 2009 - making your income from the quilt $232? I personally wouldn't do it for less than $12-15 per hour for labor, or $384-$480. And that doesn't include fabric, batting, thread, and other supplies!

You can see from this one example how too often we undervalue our work! :eek:

Jan in VA

Well I have done a cost and time tracking on a few of mine and I don't think I'll do that again it was scary.
I rarely do commission quilts for this reason. People don't want to pay the price. I have so many I want to make and give away, I really don't even want to do commission quilts. It's a waste of time even going over it with someone, Because they never will understand the quilting process. I wonder if a true time video would have them understanding it.

What that is so interesting. I am surprised at the small amount of bobbins you used. I am making a quilt top right now and I've already been through 3 and I'm not even a quarter of the way done. I guess it all depends on what you're constructing. Thanks so much for sharing your info.

If you haven't kept track of the time you invest in your quilt you will be surprised. It may seem like you only work a few minutes but it is actually a couple hours. Time just flies when you're having fun!

I have a digital kitchen timer that counts down, as usual, and counts up, like a stopwatch. Every time I'm in the middle of a quilt, I think to myself, "Next time I'll use that timer to keep track of how long a quilt takes."

So far, I've never remembered.

Tate

I'm working on a sampler quilt for a former student of mine who is now grown and stationed in S. Korea. I've thought of making a diary of the hours invested...just so he knows it's not a Bed in a Bag sort of thing. I thought I could make the label into a pocket and slip the diary in there.

What a clever idea! I think I'll try that.

Cyndy K

I love this idea! I have been capturing the process by taking photos along the way (I've only made 3 quilts so far), but having a record of the hours I spent on each would make me even prouder of the accomplishment.

Michelle

Interesting!! And it varies so much, at least for me, based on the quilt...OBW's take me FOREVER, I can't even guess how long. I should start logging...I'm only maybe 20% done with the top and I've already spent many hours.

Never say never! When you are in a bad financial situation selling a quilt to make a little bit of money is something you hope for. I had a baaaad job that paid peanuts when I was a refugee, but it came with a good meal and that is what sealed the deal for me. This is not to say that we should undervalue our work, but you never know what life brings.

That's very interesting. I think I will have to try it.

I just started a project binder with plastic inserts where I have made notes of the pattern, fabric swatches glued to a page (Elmer's school glue of course) and completed quilt size but I did not think about tracking my time and costs...

I like your idea and will capture more information when I do my next project. Thanks for sharing.

I would like to try to do this sometime, caculate my time in a quilt.

My friend that does sewing alterations and repairs gave a good suggestion.

She has an electric clock, the old fashioned type, not digital. She has it pugged in to a plug bar, sets it at noon. Every time she starts on the project, hit the power. When she leaves the room, turns it off. Easy way to add up the time without grabbing a pencil and writing down the time.

Gosh, I wish I'd tracked the hours invested in my current quilt. I spent more than an entire day pressing and cutting. Each of the 30 blocks has 31 pieces. The pinning and pressing alone takes a lot of time. Thank goodness for Netflix. I watched all of Ken Burn's The National Parks series(12 hours), plus several other documentaries while pinning and pressing. ( I pause the TV while actually sewing.)

Those quilt in a day references are never accurate. They really just mean "Top in a Day - maybe". I have a few patterns where I can make (cut and piece squares and assemble) a top in 8 hours, but not a lot of patterns are that easy to assemble. The only time I can make a "quilt" in a day - cut, piece, assemble, quilt, and bind - is when I do a mini quilt. And sometimes even those are too detailed to do in a day.

Keeping a diary
 

I'm a new quilter and have used a diary to keep track of the process: each sewing session, how many blocks I did, when the top was finished, when the quilting was done, how many yards of fabric used, etc. I also have a section called "What I've learned" where I list things I learned how to do and mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

I leave the first page of the composition book blank and use it as a 'table of contents', because I also keep track of tips I've read here, neat websites, charts for figuring out yardage for borders and backings.

It's a bit messy because I also have sketches of possible settings and diagrams of blocks, but it's a lot of fun to browse through it and see my progress. And keeping track of blocks as I finish them keeps me motivated because that allows me to see progress even at the beginning.

I recently did a T=shirt quilt for a school. It took me 14 1/2 hrs to do. It was only 40"x50" and nothing special. They don't understand when they want something made for donation what they are asking.

that's great info for documenting what a quilt SHOULD (and is) be worth if you were selling it. At $8 an hour (low balling wage) it would be approx. $256 in labor alone!!!

The cost alone of material is what makes me collect plus-size clothes at thrift shops and estate sales. Also buying remnants at the fabric stores. My cousin in Florida says she will do the quilting for me but you better bet, I will pay her. I have always paid or bartered this for that also.

I will be starting a new quilt soon for my daughter. I think I will track it, time and $$.

Very interesting subject.

Quilting is my 'therapy' to 'mellow' me and gives me pleasure (most of the time). Now if I had to go to a therapist to help keep me mellow. For those 32 hours ~ I am pretty sure it would cost big $$$, more than what the cost (labor & supplies) of the quilt.

This is interesting. I love seeing all the comments on time and the value of your quilt. :) But what I want is to see pictures! :) Pretty please?

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!