illinois

I don't sell the quilting projects that I create. They are for my family. I remember going to estate auctions where quilts sold for several hundred dollars but, let's face it, the hobby has become so common that we have saturated the market! With a lot of us quilting, these are not the treasures they were in the past. I've gone to auctions where knitted or crocheted items don't even summon the price of the yarn that went into them, much less the time and expertise taken for the project. Hand-crafted items are not in demand. I sometimes wonder about our charity quilts, how they are regarded by the recipients, and how they end up.

Karamarie

I'm on the same page as Tartan. Give to worthy causes and people deemed worthy.

LRS

I have talked to people who sell them on line. And also ESTY. I understand what you are saying. Most people do not understand how much fabric cost or how much time we put in to making quilts.

pocoellie

I do occasionally make commissioned quilts, but don't really make much profit if at all, if you add in your costs and time. People just don't understand what goes into a quilt because they can go to Target, WalMart, KMart, etc., and buy a bed size quilt with shams, skirt, etc., for under $150. They don't take into account that YOUR quilt isn't going to fall apart the first time they wash it.

If you're doing this to earn a little extra money, I'd have to say try to find a part time job.

Quiltah Mama

This thread caught my interest, I absolutely love quilting the entire process, and have often thought of starting a quilt business to support my habit. It only took a few attempts at trying to sell one before I realized that people weren't going to pay what they are worth. I quickly realized this is a labor of love and enjoyment not profit. Once that reality set in I now make donation quilts, gifts, and anything I want that I find enjoyment in making and love every minute of my creating. I do on occasion have people offer to buy items from me, I just sold 5 last week to co-workers pretty much at cost. But I'm ok with that since it just means I can go buy more fabric, like I really need more. LOL... But anyway, my point is, enjoy what you do and do it with pride.

Daylesewblessed

I think you have to ask who buys quilts and why. It is not for the practicality of getting a nice "blanket" to keep them warm. It is rarely because people appreciate the skill and talent involved in quilting. Even if they did appreciate it, they can go to quilt shows to view spectacular quilts and not have to buy them. On the other hand, when sentimentality is involved, the money comes forward. People will pay for t-shirt quilts made with t-shirts that have sentimental value to the person they gift too. They may also value quilts made by someone in their family, past or present if they are treasuring memories and heritage. There are some people interested in various cultures or in history, and they may buy a quilt from a certain place or time in history. Some will buy a raffle quilt to support a cause that is important to them, and when they win, they don't know what to do with the quilt.

Some people recognize and appreciate good workmanship in anything even if they don't know what the materials cost and how much time is spent. That doesn't mean they will be willing to pay for it. But they sure won't pay for sub-standard workmanship unless they are trying to be kind to the seller (I have seen that with items from 3rd world countries or made by someone the buyer knows really needs the money).

Personally, I make quilts for family members (mostly new babies), and I try to have the design have some personal meaning. My family seems to treasure these because they love me. I also make many more quilts for charity. For the quilt auction (Bible Camp) I have been told that my quilts are "quirky" -- that is, they are unique. For Project Linus and Lutheran World Relief, my quilts are made to suit the recipient. They are durable, and although the design may not be outstanding, the workmanship does not insult the recipient.

The picture below is of a "Scrabble" quilt we made for my mother -- it has the names of all of the members of the family on it. The joy of giving it, working with my sisters, and seeing the appreciation my mother exhibited was worth so much more than any money!

nativetexan

Oh i love the scrabble quilt. is there a pattern for it that shows how to figure one out for names? just wondering. very Cute.

Daylesewblessed

Nativetexan,

There are crossword puzzle making websites where you submit all of the words you want, and they come back with a crossword puzzle. (I think teachers use those sometimes.) We started with that, but the result was too big for the size of our quilt. We did a lot of moving names around to end up with the final layout. We added some words, such as "family, love, etc." as well as the two letter abbreviations for all of the states where family lived at the time. That Scrabble tile fabric was out of the print at the time and not easy to get. We had to buy several panels to get the letters that we needed. Another fun thing we did was make up crossword clues for each name and hand that out (on paper) to the family members. That was fun for the grown grandchildren -- they learned something about each other.

ended family ------

patricej

i think it needs to be said ...

the price of a quilt should reflect more than the cost of materials and number of hours spent making it.

the appearance and quality are equally important.
(to me, they are most important.)

i wouldn't ask the same for a simple irish chain as i would for a complex sampler or double wedding ring.
i wouldn't ask the same for a quilt with basic, minimum quilting as i would for that same quilt with fancy shmancy quilting.
i wouldn't ask at all to be paid for anything that looked sloppy or like it might not survive a trip through the washer.
(those go to an animal shelter. i won't donate anything i am - or should be - ashamed of.)

some quilters have unrealistic expectations.
(so do some customers, but that's a whole 'nother essay. lol)

it might be helpful to do as somebody has already suggested:
take some of your work to a professional appraiser.
then you'll know what it's truly worth from a retail perspective.

GingerK

I very rarely sell my quilts. I very rarely take a commissioned job. I don't sell because I cannot even get back the cost of the fabric and quilting. I don't take commissions because I am then bound by someone else's vision (the last person had a 9x12 picture, a bunch of directional printed fat quarters and a very short timeline. I took it on as a challenge to myself. The dang thing was ugly as sin in my eyes but took 3 firsts in the art quilt divisions at local fairs, which seemed to enhance to value to the customer.)

Research your clientele and sew to their wants. Or make yourself exclusive. Find something that no one else is doing, do it well, advertise, and (hopefully) reap the rewards.