Ellen 1

I use muslin to practice quilting designs, etc. (longarm) and when I am done playing, I bind them and use them for dog "quilts". :)

mountain deb

I did not realize how many tops I have until I started cleaning house. I was going through some old boxes and started setting them aside. WOW, some I bought, some I pieced and others mystiuosly showed up. Now to figure out what to do with them.

Ethan'snana

I go to a lot of estate sales and rescue the poor quilt tops that no one values enough to even put a decent price on them. They are hand stitched together and from the experiece gained from my mother and grandmother, scraps of cloth used in someone's dress. They may not be drop dead gorgeous but with a back, batting and some thought as to quilt designs to be sewn. They usually have a glowing beauty because someone loved them to quilt them and someone loved them to stitch them together.

I find a number being tossed in a pile for $5 each and then others will be selling for $25 up to $40.

dixiechunk

We have a lady in our guild who rarely actually pieces anything but she does buy some gorgeous tops on ebay.
Then she takes them to a member of our guild for machine quilting. Now before all ya'll start besmirching her...I think she is a perfectionist and just can't stand the thought of making any "mistakes" either in fabric selection or piecing.
But she loves beautiful quilts so I see no reason why she shouldn't reach her ends by whatever means she wants. 'Nuf said.

clsurz

No way would I piece a top "give it away" for $20, 30, or so dollars.

Pieceing is a bear and depending on the design, type of fabrics used and time put into it no way could it go for so little. So so fabric goes for that much and better quality fabric about 3 times that amount and count in the hours one spends creating the design, cutting, etc. it surely would be alot more than that.

More power to folks that can get it that cheaply.

seahorsesanna

every september up in my neck of the woods the amish have a huge quilt auction and the majority are all unfinished tops and they go for hundreds of dollars it was awesome to watch the auction and see all the beautiful quilt colors in every size starting at pot holders all the way up to king size quilts I guess the pricing goes by where you live and how great your skill and repution

MissJMac

Geez, Quilt tops are big business. Some quilters prefer to design and piece tops, but are comfortable sandwiching and quilting their projects. Naturally, they don't sell like a complete, but there is definitely a market. Check out Ebay and Etsy to see what the going prices are - they vary widely on both sites.
Ask me how I know? Several years ago I tried this route on both Ebay and Etsy. Didn't make a whole lot of money, but I sure moved a lot of quilt tops and made quite a dent in my stash.

roselady

I just bought a quilt top on ebay. The reason....it was sooo beautiful, exactly as it was. Yes, I could recreate it myself, but I knew the materials would cost about what I paid for the top...2 colors, solids, nothing fancy. I wanted something to hand quilt, and the projects I have going now won't be hand quilted, so I can go straight to the quilting on this top. I hope the fabric and the piecing are nice quality, that is my only worry. I can't wait to see it!

BarbaraSue

I bought a double wedding ring quilt top from an antique mall. It was hanging as background for the booth. I paid $50 for it. When I got to the car to look at it, it was all hand pieced. It was made with shirting fabrics in the rings with white. It is truly beautiful and colorful. I wouldn't make it like that. So I got a bargain! I plan to finish it...someday. :)

mmdquilts

I make many quilts but have bought just the tops at yard sales, flea markets and antique shope just because I liked them and the price was right. Never thought about doing it as part of my business though. Great idea!