What would be a "fair" price?
 

A very dear friend passed away rather suddenly mid-June, & her family has been cleaning & straightening her stuff. A family member contacted me asking if I could make 1 or 2 quilts from her shirts, mostly tee shirts. She offered to pay me, if I'm interested. I'd like to help them out but need advice on how much I should ask for. I know the cost of materials should be the first part of what I calculate, but how much on top of that would be fair? I'd certainly appreciate any input from the members of this forum.

Google “ cost to make a t shirt quilt” there are many postings there that might be helpful.

The general rule is 3 1/2 times the retail cost of supplies. Go up or down from there.

Most people are not aware of the cost of fabric or the amount of time something like that requires. Some people are aware and are willing to pay a reasonable amount, but in my experience most people back out just at the cost of the materials (interfacing, batting, backing, binding, thread, any quilting stencils or supplies) much less add anything for your time and expertise.

So figure out a materials list and price it out. Then decide what is it worth it to you to make it. You might want to donate some of your effort in honor of your friend but you certainly don't have to. It may sound bad but I don't want to work for other people any more. There have been other times in my life when I was more willing to work/quilt for hire. Me, when I'm asked now I estimate my time as $15/hour and that a pretty good quilt takes at least a month of full time work after all, I figure I'm worth at least minimum wage in the Seattle area. So far no one has gone further in negotiations :p

That all being said, while I don't work for cheap I give freely and quilt a lot of gifts and donations because that is worth it to me on my schedule and my whims of what I want to do and when.

I get asked to do a lot of things I just don't do, whether it is something as simple as hemming a skirt or more complex like covering a couch. Yeah, I can and have done both, but not in about 30-40 years! So I've gotten pretty good at just saying no and explaining that I would not be able to do a quality job for them. Some come back and say something like it can be sub-standard, but no, not for me that's not the way workmanship works!

I think it is always harder to charge for "a friend" -

I think it is always reasonable to at least recover the cost of materials. Or replacement cost, if one is using materials from one's stash.

What you said - me, too!

Great Answer. I did this once for a friend. I took her to the quilt store to buy the additional fabric and supplies needed. She gladly paid for them. I wanted to do this for her so I happily agreed to less than minimum wage. But in no way did I receive true worth for the time spent. People think that because you enjoy doing it you should not receive adequate compensation for your time. Doctors and lawyers enjoy their work but you do not see anyone expecting them to work for next to nothing. We spend time and money learning our craft and acquiring the tools to do it well also.

Thank you for your input. I dont know the number of shirts they're looking at, nor the sizes of the prints on them. This is the friend I made a batik log cabin-type quilt for, about 2 months before her death. I'll check out the shirts & perhaps suggest choosing her favorite & putting it in a shadow box style of frame.

Conchalea, don't know if this is feasible, but maybe you could suggest that her relatives help you make a lap quilt (or 2+) that way you can support them and not feel like you have to do a charge and then feel awkward.

I charge $300 for a full size, $350 for a queen. No bigger, as the quilt gets way too heavy. These are relatives of your friend, not your friend, so if they want to have a remembrance of her made, they should pay for it and not expect you to do all that work 'on the cheap'. You will work for every penny.

If they don't like the going rate they can always not make the quilts.