What are we worth?
06-19-2011, 07:00 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Arkansas Ozarks
Posts: 686
I am new to quilting and right now am mainly working on baby quilts. Crib Size. I have had several people approach me and ask me to quilt one for them. What do you charge. I am a hand quilter. What would you charge for a pieced hand quilted crib quilt and what would you charge for just quilting a top that someone else made? Thanks in advance for all you help. Many Blessings.
06-19-2011, 07:16 AM
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: was Upstate NY, now NC & TN
Posts: 2,328
We're priceless, but the quilts are a combination of materials costs and a reasonable charge for your time. When I say reasonable, I don't mean to the buyer. I mean that you truly value the hours of time you put into it at a rate that makes it worth it for you to do so. You don't want to give away your time.
06-19-2011, 07:23 AM
#3
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 17,827
Sad to say, in most case, buyers don't value your time anywhere near what it is worth. Consider how much time you put into a project from beginning to end, and don't miss any of the steps .... then factor in minimum wage (and honestly it should be well above that, as you're an artist!!). Plus don't forget all the supplies, material, equipment etc.
Answer: Priceless!
Answer: Priceless!
06-19-2011, 09:56 AM
#4
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes
Posts: 1,490
QuiltE is correct. People don't understand that a quilt may have over 2K pieces and take more hours than the buyer puts in a week at work. They would never think of paying us even half of their weeks wages (in most cases, but then some will pay anything). Don't sell yourself short, ask what you feel is fair, add the cost of fabric, batting, and thread and give them that price. If they don't want to pay it move on to the next one that wants one made. Our time is precious too.
06-19-2011, 10:05 AM
#5
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276
So this is just a wild estimate to ponder:
Crib size: say about 54" X 36"
At least 2 yards for the top, and 2 yards for the back and binding, so about 4 yards @ $8.00/yard. Even if you use your stash, or scraps it was about this price when you purchased it. ($32)
Thread for piecing and quilting: $3
Batting: $10
Cutting & Piecing 2 days (16 hours) @ minimum wage $7.25 = $116
sandwiching, cutting & binding: 4 days (32 hours) = $232
Materials: $45
Labor: $348
Total: $393
Add in driving to the store for fabric etc. and you can see it really adds up. Very few folks would pay anything close to this for a crib quilt, and what they would pay varies by geographic region.
I have heard folks charging 2 or 3 times the materials amount which would make it $90 or $135, but would you be willing to do all that work for $45 to $90?
Crib size: say about 54" X 36"
At least 2 yards for the top, and 2 yards for the back and binding, so about 4 yards @ $8.00/yard. Even if you use your stash, or scraps it was about this price when you purchased it. ($32)
Thread for piecing and quilting: $3
Batting: $10
Cutting & Piecing 2 days (16 hours) @ minimum wage $7.25 = $116
sandwiching, cutting & binding: 4 days (32 hours) = $232
Materials: $45
Labor: $348
Total: $393
Add in driving to the store for fabric etc. and you can see it really adds up. Very few folks would pay anything close to this for a crib quilt, and what they would pay varies by geographic region.
I have heard folks charging 2 or 3 times the materials amount which would make it $90 or $135, but would you be willing to do all that work for $45 to $90?
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