Pete

A friend sent me this:

TRUE COST OF MAKING A QUILT
QUEEN SIZED, Machine Pieced, Hand Quilted
MATERIALS:
Fabric 12-16 yards @ $9per yd. $108 - $144
Batting $25 - $40
Thread $8 - $16
Total Money Invested $141 - $200

LABOR HOURS:
Piecing 20 to 60 hours
“Setting” (designing your quilt) 10 to 20 hours
Quilting 100 to 750 hours
Total hours invested 130 to 810 hours
TOTAL COST

Paying $1 per hour (Would you do this type of work for $1 an hour?!)

Materials $141 - $200
Labor $130 - $810
Total $271 - $1070

Paying minimum wage $7.25 (by law in 6/2009)

Materials $141 - $200
Labor (130-810hrs) $942.50 - $5872.25
Total $1083.50 - $6072.25

Paying skilled labor wage $20 per hour (Don’t you consider yourself trained and skilled in this craft?)

Materials $141 - $200
Labor (130-810hrs) $2600 - $16,200
Total $2741 - $16,400

....what about the costs of using your sewing machine? Maintenance, depreciation...oh my..so much else we could all be adding in!

Anyone want to comment with an estimate of how much you spend (not counting your labor) for various sizes of quilts you've made in 2010 or 2011?

Stacey

At these prices I should be framing my quilts, not using them.

gal288

And when you tell a customer $2,500. for a king, you get the standard answer, "I'll think about it and get back to you."

In 30 years of making quilts for sale, only ONCE, has someone said to me, "that's all, after all that work!"

Thanks for sharing your calculations, it will certainly help me to stand on my price!

noveltyjunkie

This has often occurred to me (and here in Aus we can easily pay more than 20 dollars a yard for quilting fabric), but I don't look on quilting as work, so I do not charge my time in that way.

I certainly would not be selling any quilts I make though, because then I would start to think about my time and what it is worth and then I would just start to feel bad about the whole thing.

If I keep the quilt or give it to someone I love, then the payment for my time is knowing they like it. Plus, I put a lot of effort into making things unique, so I know I have something no one else has in the whole wide world- pretty special.

If I keep it, I get to enjoy it and show it off, and that is worth more than any money to me.

KarenR

People wonder why items are made overseas. If they had to pay for items made here in the USA no one would have money left.

I quilt for the love of quilting.

okiepastor

I spent nearly 600 hours hand quilting a 42 x 48" wall hanging for my daughter--it is reversible.....think I could have done a quilt in that time--it was very intricate!
The charity quilts I make are quickies, so I can make more, but the embroidered quilts I am about to sash and finish finish will have about 1000 hours of time in them...

jmaurath

But, don't we feel good about providing something from our heart for our family? I realize there is a great sacrifice for our talents but the rewards are everlasting

Irene Frohreich

my quilting is for a hobby, and enjoyment not a paying job.
I figure my quilts are priceless.

Stitchnripper

I quilt for my own pleasure and can't imagine anyone wanting to pay that much for them. But, they're not for sale anyway. Interesting calculations though

okiepastor

I agree we do not count the cost of providing love----but when you tell someone who "really wants a quilt" the cost, they usually turn white and decline! :>)