I like the way you said that. Soon sorts the wheat from the chaff. I prefer to make for friends as a gift.

Crafters used to use a formula of 3 times the cost of materials. So your materials are $45.00 get that paid up front then the cost to make is $135.00 for a total of $180.00

The way I price mine is estimate the yardage for top & backing plus batting & thread. When I estimate the yardage, I use the higher price for fabric, but always tell them if I can get the fabric on sale then the price will be a little lower. If they don't like my prices, then they can buy all the materials themselves. Then I double that price & add 20 % to that. I also insist on half down ( non refundable) before even starting the project. That way I am not out anything if they decide not to finish paying for it. I have never had a problem with the rest of the payment as they don't want to lose what they have already invested in it. Always insist on full payment before handing over the quilt.

Wow, what ever happened to the fact that you love to sew? My baby quilts I make I charge $20.00 to a friend at work whose family is always having babies. I have more than enough fabric that will probably still be around long after I'm gone, my quilts are usually 45" by 45", sometimes a 45" x 36" or 40" and I just made a quilt for someone who needed one for a baby shower I charged her $30.00 and I thought that was a lot! My fabric sources come from all over, estate sales, rummages sales, thrift shops, quilting shops, shops going out of business, people getting rid of their fabric, sometimes it's even just given to me!

Gorgeous quilt.
peace

EDIT: $100. 00 easy, just to start.

Just because I love to sew doesn't mean people should be allowed to take advantage of my work and skills. My nephew is a wonderful graphic artist, but that doesn't mean he should give his work away for almost nothing. I have a friend who is an electrician, but I don't expect him to do work on my house simply because he enjoys it. I WILL pay him, whether it be money or some kind of trade. I think "how much to charge" is a fair question. If you can get inexpensive or even free supplies, that's great, but my time and knowledge are worth something too.

People open quilt shops because they love the craft...maybe fabric should be free!!

They ask "how much".....give them a fair price that includes cost of materials and cost for your talent and TIME. If you want leather interior in your new auto....you pay for it!

Sandy

That is the most precious baby quilt I think I have ever seen. The colors are wonderful and your design is just perfect.

When I am asked to make a custom piece (of jewelry) I ask for half the cost up front. Why not do the same with quilts etc?

Not sure I agree with only charging if it's your business. It's not "my business" but I do a lot of quilts for other folks who can't or don't sew. I don't charge by the hour -- but by the heart.

But I keep thinking about folks that do want to go into a business. They have to start somewhere, somehow and would certainly hate to dissolution them. Hey, if fast food workers can ask for $15 an hour why can't a quilter ask for $10? :) Time is time.

No, no, no! $85 is NOT fair! Your skills are valuable!! And we all know that not only is it hard to judge what that's worth, it's also hard to ASK for. But if it were me, I wouldn't let it go for less than $200. ( I'd probably ask more, but I'd want to make some money, not just break even) unless you want to give it away, but keep in mind, if you don't ask enough and the orders start coming in, it will be hard to regroup and either stop or ask for more. When I've made things and felt that I'd not made enough ( either because I was not confident or brave enough to ask for more), it really made me mad. So when someone asks me to make something, I really ask for enough that I will be happy with it, not worrying about whether the customer thinks its too much. Just sayin'

When I began machine embroidery, my DH said - oh, we should do this for a hobby business! So, we did - and it almost turned me against doing any more machine embroidery! Oh, the stress of doing it for other people who don't understand the time element and the deadline stress. After a couple of years we gave it up due to his health ---- and now I am back to enjoying machine embroidery and wanting to learn to do quilting. Think long and hard about whether you want the stress of meeting someone else's expectations and their remarks about "why so much $$" ? I want to do it for the enjoyment of it.

When I first started quilting, a dear friend asked me to make her a queen size quilt ......for $25.00. I told her that the fabric, batting, backing would run about $100.00 and that was that. I used to make wedding cakes for family and the same dear friend asked me to make her granddaughter a wedding cake and I said OK. Then her DIL called and wanted me to make a wedding cake for her daughter and a groom's cake and she wanted it with the cheapest ingredients ever. Thought about it for a day and called both up and said I could not do this. So the moral of this short story is to be very careful in making quilts or anything else for people unless you are totally prepared and want to do this for others.

I have been following this thread because I'm interested in what others have to say about charging. Yes, I'm VERY proud of my work. No, I don't make quilts as a "business", per say, but when I'm asked to make a quilt, I do treat it as a business. Yes, I am one of those people who feel I do "such a good job that they need to be paid top dollar for a hobby". My quilts ARE beautiful, and I'm not afraid to say so. I've worked hard at my hobby to become as good as I am. And there isn't one person that I've made a quilt for - whether it be gifted or paid for - that didn't tell me as much. And that's because I made them exactly what they wanted made, and they've been informed every step of the way during the process so there were no surprises. No, I'm not being conceited, but proud of what has taken many years to learn. I do think I'm all I am. I won't downgrade myself just because this isn't my "real job". One can be good at something and choose when and if they want to make money at it. I tend to undercharge - when I do charge for a job, but that's my choice and I don't often charge. Be proud of the work you've done - never underestimate yourself or you'll always be stuck thinking you're never "good enough" to be paid!

This has been a wonderful read this evening as I finish up my long day, not even being able to get out to my sewing room because of so many other things that one has to do to get by anymore. I, too, have been guilty of not charging enough for things I created because of this reason or another, and have been taken advantage of many times over; therefore, I have a bad attitude about sewing for others for pay and don't sew for anyone except loved ones anymore. We are worth it; but it has taken me a million years to learn that......

I charge $300 for baby quilts, $500 for twin-sized, and up. By the time materials are deducted, I'm lucky if I clear $5.00 an hour, and that does not include time for shopping, or hours spent working up or researching the design. Please don't undercharge! I have a friend who is very fond of telling me how she can get a frilly apron at a discount store for $15.00 (I charge $30), and I tell her $15 doesn't even cover the cost of materials. Be my guest and buy a discount store apron, and know that it was probably made by a 5 year-old child in a foreign country (only half joking). Our time is worth money, and remember that people think nothing of spending a ton of money on wall art.

I agree with all the monetary assessments given here, but in my experience people just won't pay it. I have some really nice baby quilts in my Etsy shop for $80 to $120, with one about the size you mentioned for $95. They are SLOW sellers.

For those of you selling quilts for $300- $500... where are you selling????

I ask about the same question in another thread and have decided NOT to do any custom quilts. I enjoy making them at my own pace and always do scrappy with most of them going to charity.
All the answers above helped me decide I do not want to be a business.
Jan

I could not agree with this more. I have to laugh at people who think I shouldn't charge a decent price simply because it's my hobby. What about the husband who makes beautiful carved wood side tables and salad bowls and statues? Should he charge less for his work product because it's a hobby? Somehow I doubt it.

I have followed this thread with great interest. When I decided to open an online store (so far only have the one etsy shop) I waffled about whether to take custom orders. There is possibly money to be made there, but no one wants to pay for the kind of work I do. I am not throwing together random pre-cut 10" squares. I put a lot of thought and much blood, sweat and sometimes tears, into the quilts I design and make. Quilting is not just a hobby for me, nor is it just a business. It is my passion and my artistic voice. I believe I am very good at what I do and not ashamed to say so.

And, yes, I'm still waffling about doing custom work. I don't want to get into the rat-race of making things to other people's orders. The few quilts I have sold were ones I had ALREADY completed. I listed them as "here it is, here is the price." If you like it and appreciate its one-of-a-kind hand-crafted artistic value, buy it. If not and you want cheap, like someone else said, go to Walmart.

The problem is when a friend of a friend heard I made one for a mutual acquaintance and wants to know how much I charge, either expecting the friends and family discount, or totally clueless about the price and the process. If a family member or really good friend asked me to make one, I wouldn't charge anything except for materials. I'm not about to risk a relationship over the price of a quilt. But when my DH's coworker expressed interest in having a t-shirt quilt made, I wrote up a detailed list of the materials I would need and a per shirt price list (based on prices I saw on internet). He gave her the list and I've never heard from her again.

And why, when I ask people for advice about how much to charge, is $10/hr. the magic number? Not one of the people who have suggested that to me would work for $10 an hour. No, I didn't go to school for 8 years to learn to make quilts, I don't have a plaque on my wall with umpteen letters after my name, but heck, I made more than than at the retail job I quit last year. I could go on ad nauseum, but I will shut up and get off my soap box for now.

I don't have to charge, all I have to do is ask a certain amount and you can be guaranteed no one will pay for it. Then I can go on and quilt for myself.

I have made it a hard a fast rule to take only two "commission" quilts per year. I charge my full price for those. They're my "extra fabric money" quilts, and I've got the rest of the year to make quilts I want to make. I no longer get my feelings hurt when someone balks at the prices I charge. If they order a quilt, great! I'll put my heart and soul into it because I know they understand and appreciate the work that goes into it. If not, then no love lost. I'm not wasting my time making a quilt for someone who's not truly going to appreciate it. I've already made my two commission quilts this year, and already have two for next year.

Oh, and no matter WHAT you charge, make sure you collect half of the full charge UP FRONT before you even start. This shows that the person is serious about having a quilt made. Keep the customer informed every step of the way. Send pics of the fabrics you've chosen and get the approval for those before starting. Send pics as you're making the quilt. This helps to subtly remind the person they've got a quilt ordered and will be expected to pay. And collect the final payment before you give them the quilt!

I do those on commission only. I do have a pile of table runners that need a home, and they sell for $50-75 and usually take me anywhere from 8-15 hours to make. I'm still not getting a good hourly wage, but I do get a lot of enjoyment from sewing. Recently, I was asked to crochet a baby blanket and so I looked on Etsy to see what the going rate was. Some of them were priced as low as $35.00! The yarn, using every coupon I had, cost $17.00. I really don't understand how people can charge so little. It might as well just be a gift at that point.

ok well what about tied quilts. I dont have a machine to do all the fancy stitching whic i love. I make scrappy quilts which enables alot of cutting and then sewing together. then the batting and backing and tying of the quilt. So i dont think i could charge that much for my quilts if anyone would ever ask. What do you think I could charge for an old fashioned tied quilt?