How much would you charge?
 

How much would you charge to make a hunter's star quilt for someone? I was asked if I would make one and I have no clue what to charge, it would most likely be queen size. Thanks for any help.

$1000 plus materials and longarming. That should end that discussion. If not, they must really want the quilt.

Seriously though, most people don't have a clue as to how much time and materials go into making a quilt. And Hunter's Star is not a quick and easy one. I wouldn't spend too much time on an estimate until I knew they were serious. Figure out how many yards of fabric, the price per yard you expect to pay, add in batting and backing, and tell them that's just for the materials. If that doesn't end the conversation, figure your time roughly at a wage that makes you feel that you're being compensated for your time and add that. If the quilt needs to go to a longarmer, figure that in too. Don't give a low-ball estimate, and be sure to get half the money up front, with a written agreement as to the full price and when it's due.

I probably shouldn't be answering this because I have never charged for a quilt and don't make requests unless it's for family. But, if it were me, I would make a couple of sample blocks and see how much time it takes me, then estimate accordingly. People normally don't want to pay even at a minimum wage for your time. They want you to work at the Chinese work rate of 50 cents to a dollar an hour. I am guessing that a professional would charge at least 400 to 800 dollars to make a fairly complicated quilt top, which is what I consider a Hunter's Star, and that does not include the batting and quilting.

Jenny Doan has a tutorial for her version. Looks to be easier than most I have seen. http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/hunters-star-quilt/

The Fat Quarter has some info too. https://static.fatquartershop.com/me...ockPattern.pdf

Just for grins, let us know how long it takes you in actual hours to make this quilt and what you got paid for it. It might help others that are thinking about sewing for the public make up their minds.

I'm with dunster. I have the Accuquilt Go! die for that pattern, but I've put off getting started on it because I know it requires very accurate sewing, which makes piecing go much slower for me. I would not want to make one for anyone else. It's just too time-consuming to do that.

Do you actually want to make the quilt?

When I get asked to make a quilt that I don't want to do, I quote an outrageous price and timeline, and I tell them that they have to come with me to make the fabric purchases. Usually they don't go much further.

If I actually want to make the quilt, then I spend about 20 minutes and figure out how much fabric, thread, backing and batting I'll need, and the corresponding costs.

Then I figure out how long it will take me, and this is the most important part:

1) how much time to do any design work, if needed
2) how much time to cut out fabrics
3) how much time to sew the blocks/quilt top and applique, if any. I find that I always severely underestimate this, so add an additional 50% onto your time. For instance, if I estimate it will take me 40 hours, then I quote 60 hours.
4) how much time to quilt it.
5) how much time to trim & bind it.

Once you figure out your total time, then multiply that by what you want to get paid per hour. I've made several quilts that have won ribbons, I've been hired to sew several shop examples for some of the local quilt shops.
So I consider myself quite skilled, experienced, and educated, and I refuse to pay myself minimum wage.

Queen sized hunters star, $1,000 - $1,500 depending on actual cost of fabrics, quilting ( longarm?) based on my ( very reasonable rate of $25 an hour prepping and sewing time. plus materials. It would depend on how fast you sew- can make the top.
I keep pretty accurate records of expenses and my time when making commission quilts. Include binding, hand stitching time too.
Our appliance repair guy now charges $60 an hour- creating a quilt is also a skilled trade. You should be able to charge ( skilled trade prices)

I'm with dunster on this one. I'm currently working on a paper pieced, king size hunter's star quilt. What was I thinking!!! This is a gift for BIL/SIL. I thought this was going to go much more quickly than it is. Wrong. I'll probably need to buy more fabric as this particular pattern is quite wasteful. Or I'm quite wasteful in my pre-cutting. And thread...miles and miles and miles of thread.

The paper piecing makes for a very accurate result, no doubt, but it is not quick! It's very tedious. This will look stunning when complete, I'm sure, but boy will I be glad when it's done.

And then there is the quilting. All of the other quilts that I've made for all of the sibs have all been hand quilted. I'm not sure I have the time to do so on this quilt as there are some medical issues at play here (BIL). I muddle through this aspect as I'm piecing....

I agree with the folks who are up above $1000. Check out what they are selling for on Etsy ( I saw one for $1300) and decide IF you want to apply a friends and family discount.

It's always difficult to give estimates especially if this person is a good friend which can make their perceived expectations even more difficult. I made a good friend's daughter a large baby quilt for her 1st child - the quilt was partially appliqued and was a complicated pattern - took awhile to make but turned out great. My friend then wanted one for each subsequent grandchild not realizing all that was involved. I told her that I would be very happy to work with her and show her how to sew and make them....... she wasn't interested and never asked again.

If they are friends, offer them a class day and teach them how to prep, cut, and piece.
A lifetime of fun or understanding will ensue.