It costs What...do you think?
 

I have just read one of the pamphlets I picked up somewhere on my last trip through Lancaster county. It is published by the Mennonite Central Committee. It asks "did you know" it costs approximately $2350.00 to make an average queen size quilt {98 X 112} ??? It goes on to say there is 300 hours of cutting, piecing, pressing, quilting and binding @ minimum wage comes out to $2175!!! Needless to say, I had to read it more than once. Sounds like i'm underpaid & I guess that means with all my UFOs, i'm a potential gazillionaire!!!.....now if I could just SELL a few for one tenth that price!!...

I try not to think about the cost and time. It is a hobby I enjoy and don't want to justify!

The time is the most expensive part of making a quilt.

I don't put a price on the time I spend quilting. It is recreation for me.

I do watch what I pay for fabric and supplies and try to get the most bang for my buck. Even this I don't mind as I enjoy the challenge of planning and making something beautiful for as economical as I can.

Definitely. But when you are doing something that you love to do, it doesn't matter. I don't make my wearable art to save money on clothes. I make it because I love doing it and I love wearing unusual clothing that fits my personality rather than some clothing maker's idea of what I should wear. So I don't much care what it costs. I love doing it and I'm going to continue.

I kept track of my time and I could make a stunning queen size quilt with fabrics and batting for $500.00 but those were 15 years ago and I was making $8.00 an hour. Made a quilt called Colorsplash which was a Trip around the World but I made them into watercolor quilts.

I wonder where they come up with these outrageous values... and 300 hours? Really? Maybe if made entirely without a sewing machine it might take that long, but otherwise, no way.

I believe they are counting hand quilting.

Mennonite, are a less strict sect of Amish so they are quilting by hand. They do beautiful work too.

I once kept track of how many hours I had in a king size hand quilted quilt. I stopped keeping track when it got over 300 hours. I suspect it took me close to 400.

Edited to add, an intensely machine quilted quilt could easily have 100 or more hours in it. I know I have done long armed jobs that had at least 80 hours into it. And an intricately pieced quilt even done by machine could also easily have over 100 hours into it from cutting to final border.

Is it time to post this again? Found online years ago....

Jan in VA

What It Really Costs To Make a Quilt



QUEEN SIZED, MACHINE PIECED, HAND QUILTED

MATERIALS:

Fabric 12-16 yards @ $9per yd. $108 - $144
Batting $25 - $40
Thread $8 - $16

Total $ 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




(Found on the Internet 1995; unknown author)