Vanna

Hi I sell most of my quilts, I do small ones the biggest I’ve made was a queen sized puff quilt for my uncle, I only did one and need help with it, I sell my quilts to help me mack a few dollars exra, I sell my throw size for 60, but I’m thinking of trying to sell for more, but when I’ve tried that, people won’t buy them, I tack a lot of time with my quilts, but people don’t want to pay me, I made a twin size quilt, I tried to sell for 140, I was told to my face that was to much money for a quilt, the fabric alone cost close to 100 not costing putting it all together, it took me mounts, to do, my dad told me to stop making them, because I can’t sell them for what there worth, I made one the other day for a lady, she gave me the fabric for it, I got it to her, she didn’t pay me, guys I just don’t know, how can I get people to understand how much work goes into my quilts, I do strip, and block quilts, please help

hobbykat1955

I sell all diff sizes on ebay but only ones I've lost interest in. Trust me I probably don't even break even on cost but it makes rm for new ones I want to do. Forget considering labor in the cost. No one wants to pay what it's worth and don't consider time put into it. Most people don't understand the cost of fabric until they have to buy it or the labor. I give mine away mostly now to friends/relatives and now concentrate on doing small art quilts which I find people will pay more for since it's art.

Tartan

I make quilts and gift them to worthy causes or people I deem quilt worthy. It is something I enjoy and trying to make money selling them is never going to happen.

LadyAg

Hi Vanna,

There truly is no way to make a profit trying to sell quilts to the "average" buyer, not when you can go to Walmart and buy the labor of extremely poor people in third world countries.
That said, there Are people that would truly appreciate a warm quilt made with love and given to a family member or donated to a worthy cause. Don't give up what you enjoy doing, just measure your reward from the satisfaction you get from seeing someone else enjoy your very own creation!

luvstoquilt

I agree with you Tartan. I made the “Roscoe” quilt for my son. It took 27 yards of fabric to complete. Fabric here is $14 a yard. I had it machine quilted for $180. I love it and so does my son. I don’t sell my quilts and won’t ..no one understands the work involved. They see “Bed in the Bag” for next to nothing and think that is the value of our quilts! I gave a quilt to a friend and her husband asked if I got the fabric at an Estate Sale. He had no idea about time and labor involved.
That said, I have a friend that sells at craft shows and does well. She sells small quilts about 10x12 and tiny ones in frames.

toverly

That's the sad thing about any hand crafted item. Whether it's knitting, crocheting or quilting. I view them as lost arts. Since many people don't have anyone in their family who sits and crafts, most people are content with machine made or foreign made goods. They are content with what's on the market whether it's in a big box store or from a crafts person. The thing about quilting is that it's not set up as a wholesale/retail endeavor. You can't purchase wholesale, then craft, then sell retail. I wish you luck on trying to make a business out of it. I have seen someone who sells to commercial establishments make money on their art quilts. You may try to pursue that path, instead of trying the home market.

Vanna

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Jingle

All of them are very pretty.

meyert

while it would be nice to sell some quilts, I realize that I would never make a profit. Even when I think of myself when I am shopping its nearly impossible for me to part with the amount of money that I would have to charge to sell one. I do understand why others would not.

I make mine to gift - family, friends and kids in the hospital. I have been able to do a few to cover the cost of fabric - which is helpful when I am using stash fabric

I don't want my quilting to be a job anyway. I just want to do it because I enjoy it.

Onebyone

I sew simple baby quilts for $65. I don't do labor or time extensive ones. Lots of simple quilting and use simple piecing. But no crooked seams, wavy borders, or bumpy binding with iffy corners. My focus is on the quilt being flat and crisp looking. People will pay more if the quilts look like they came right out of the store package. I don't do it to make extra money but to sell at my sew group's booth we have several times a year at various events. A quilt has to look handmade but not homemade for most customers.