True cost of making a quilt, part 2
#91
I never keep track and I can't really calculate the cost per quilt anyway. I have several "going" at one time, some of which take me years to complete. In the meantime, I buy fabric as I need it or as the mood hits me, all of which goes into my stash. When I pull fabric out for a quilt, it could be anywhere from brand new to 10-15 years (or more) old. For the most part, I buy everything I use for quilting at sale prices. I made 1 quilt last year for which I specifically bought all the fabric over a few weeks' time. Most of those fabrics were not a bargain so the total cost was high, but I had lots of those fabrics left over, from which I made a second quilt top and I still probably have enough for a couple more.
#92
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,669
Originally Posted by justflyingin
Anyone want to comment with an estimate of how much you spend (not counting your labor) for various sizes of quilts you've made in 2010 or 2011?
What are you all really spending on a quilt? Can some of you share what you are spending..and if you pull the fabric from your stash, it doesn't count as "free"--it counts at the price that you paid for the yardage--unless it is truly a scrap quilt of from your used clothing that you were going to throw away.
I think it might be an interesting experiment if some of us would actually keep track of 1. money spent/invested, and 2. hours spent on some of our quilts this year and then compile the information.
Does anyone have this information from your own data...and once again, unless someone else GAVE you the fabric saying that fabric from your stash is "free" isn't playing fair--it's what you paid for the fabric when you put it there--not market value now. :)
It would be an interesting study.
If I were to include the economic impact of opportunity cost because of the hours spent quilting, the value of each quilt would sky rocket. At $7.25 an hour and an average of 40 hour per quilt, the labor is $290.
However, quilting is one of only a few hobbies that produces something tangible without harming another living being and provides an opportunity for community service. It also provides quilters an opportunity to build a social network involving people who have similar interests.
And, like bingo, it keeps grandma off the street. froggyintexas
#93
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Littlefield, TX, USA
Posts: 1,077
Hard to figure really accurately.
As someone else said, it depends on wether you are doing for a customer or yourself.
For a customer who has a certain type of fabric in mind, here is a guesstimate of the actual cost, minus labor.
Queen size
pattern: Eye of the Storm (Quilt Almanac 2009, by the editors of Quilt magazine, page67).
24 fat quarters (6yards of fabric)
1-5/8 yards of print 1
3/4 yard print 2
that comes to 7-1/8 yards for the top.
Backing 8-1/2 yards
15-5/8 yards of fabric at, let's say $10.00 a yard = $156.25
Batting (80/20 cotton/poly) Queen size $27.00 retail
Thread 18.00 (C&Clark for assembly, King Tut for quilting).
That comes to $201.00 not counting needles, wear and tear on machines, labor.
When I did upholstery, we charged 15.00 per yard labor (in 1978-82)...we rounded to nearest full yard...so 16 yards labor x 15.00 is 240.00, just for the assembly of the quilt top.
Another 122.00 for simple meander quilting, double that for semi-custom.
In the other thread with this title, we discussed the cost of making a quilt, but no one answered this question--that I noticed.
What are you all really spending on a quilt? Can some of you share what you are spending..and if you pull the fabric from your stash, it doesn't count as "free"--it counts at the price that you paid for the yardage--unless it is truly a scrap quilt of from your used clothing that you were going to throw away.
I think it might be an interesting experiment if some of us would actually keep track of 1. money spent/invested, and 2. hours spent on some of our quilts this year and then compile the information.
Does anyone have this information from your own data...and once again, unless someone else GAVE you the fabric saying that fabric from your stash is "free" isn't playing fair--it's what you paid for the fabric when you put it there--not market value now. :)
It would be an interesting study.
As someone else said, it depends on wether you are doing for a customer or yourself.
For a customer who has a certain type of fabric in mind, here is a guesstimate of the actual cost, minus labor.
Queen size
pattern: Eye of the Storm (Quilt Almanac 2009, by the editors of Quilt magazine, page67).
24 fat quarters (6yards of fabric)
1-5/8 yards of print 1
3/4 yard print 2
that comes to 7-1/8 yards for the top.
Backing 8-1/2 yards
15-5/8 yards of fabric at, let's say $10.00 a yard = $156.25
Batting (80/20 cotton/poly) Queen size $27.00 retail
Thread 18.00 (C&Clark for assembly, King Tut for quilting).
That comes to $201.00 not counting needles, wear and tear on machines, labor.
When I did upholstery, we charged 15.00 per yard labor (in 1978-82)...we rounded to nearest full yard...so 16 yards labor x 15.00 is 240.00, just for the assembly of the quilt top.
Another 122.00 for simple meander quilting, double that for semi-custom.
Originally Posted by justflyingin
Anyone want to comment with an estimate of how much you spend (not counting your labor) for various sizes of quilts you've made in 2010 or 2011?
What are you all really spending on a quilt? Can some of you share what you are spending..and if you pull the fabric from your stash, it doesn't count as "free"--it counts at the price that you paid for the yardage--unless it is truly a scrap quilt of from your used clothing that you were going to throw away.
I think it might be an interesting experiment if some of us would actually keep track of 1. money spent/invested, and 2. hours spent on some of our quilts this year and then compile the information.
Does anyone have this information from your own data...and once again, unless someone else GAVE you the fabric saying that fabric from your stash is "free" isn't playing fair--it's what you paid for the fabric when you put it there--not market value now. :)
It would be an interesting study.
#94
The stash I have is fabric that I have seen at quilt shows or quilt shops that I just have to have for that future project. Doesn't necessarily mean that it was purchased on sale. For most of my projects, I buy the fabric I need for the project. The quilt I am currently working on is for my son - the fabric alone cost $200. Then I will have batting and long arm quilting - so this will easily cost $350 when I am all done. But, because of my work scheduled, it takes me about 6 months to do a quilt like this, so I am spending about $100/month and as someone else said, I could have a lot more expensive hobbies. I am not a clothes shopper - only go when I really need something. I am not a "things" shopper or a shopper at all, unless of course, I am drivng by a fabric store. So this is where my money goes. Like others on this forum, no one could afford to commission me to make a quilt because of the hours I put into it - would be way too expensive.
#95
Me too! I really don't want to know!
Lol......I agree with your comment.
I will accept denial myself.
:-)
Originally Posted by cctx.
Originally Posted by charismah
I think I want to go into denial. I don't want to keep track. :shock:
I will accept denial myself.
#96
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Littlefield, TX, USA
Posts: 1,077
To add photos to a quilt, here is what it would cost per 8x10 photo page:
fabric sheet- 3.50 (based on 3 sheets for 11.00, plus tax)
printer ink - 2.50 cents per page (based on 54.00 for both black and color cartridge for HP printer).
So, $6.00 per picture page.
Actually, for me, I make my own sheets...they cost me about 40 cents each, making them with BubbleJetSet2000 & the BJSet rinse.
So, about $3.00 per page (labor is more, which is why I charge $12.00 per page...I can spend 4-5 hours fixing a photo for use on a quilt).
Marge
fabric sheet- 3.50 (based on 3 sheets for 11.00, plus tax)
printer ink - 2.50 cents per page (based on 54.00 for both black and color cartridge for HP printer).
So, $6.00 per picture page.
Actually, for me, I make my own sheets...they cost me about 40 cents each, making them with BubbleJetSet2000 & the BJSet rinse.
So, about $3.00 per page (labor is more, which is why I charge $12.00 per page...I can spend 4-5 hours fixing a photo for use on a quilt).
Marge
Originally Posted by margecam52
Hard to figure really accurately.
As someone else said, it depends on wether you are doing for a customer or yourself.
For a customer who has a certain type of fabric in mind, here is a guesstimate of the actual cost, minus labor.
Queen size
pattern: Eye of the Storm (Quilt Almanac 2009, by the editors of Quilt magazine, page67).
24 fat quarters (6yards of fabric)
1-5/8 yards of print 1
3/4 yard print 2
that comes to 7-1/8 yards for the top.
Backing 8-1/2 yards
15-5/8 yards of fabric at, let's say $10.00 a yard = $156.25
Batting (80/20 cotton/poly) Queen size $27.00 retail
Thread 18.00 (C&Clark for assembly, King Tut for quilting).
That comes to $201.00 not counting needles, wear and tear on machines, labor.
When I did upholstery, we charged 15.00 per yard labor (in 1978-82)...we rounded to nearest full yard...so 16 yards labor x 15.00 is 240.00, just for the assembly of the quilt top.
Another 122.00 for simple meander quilting, double that for semi-custom.
As someone else said, it depends on wether you are doing for a customer or yourself.
For a customer who has a certain type of fabric in mind, here is a guesstimate of the actual cost, minus labor.
Queen size
pattern: Eye of the Storm (Quilt Almanac 2009, by the editors of Quilt magazine, page67).
24 fat quarters (6yards of fabric)
1-5/8 yards of print 1
3/4 yard print 2
that comes to 7-1/8 yards for the top.
Backing 8-1/2 yards
15-5/8 yards of fabric at, let's say $10.00 a yard = $156.25
Batting (80/20 cotton/poly) Queen size $27.00 retail
Thread 18.00 (C&Clark for assembly, King Tut for quilting).
That comes to $201.00 not counting needles, wear and tear on machines, labor.
When I did upholstery, we charged 15.00 per yard labor (in 1978-82)...we rounded to nearest full yard...so 16 yards labor x 15.00 is 240.00, just for the assembly of the quilt top.
Another 122.00 for simple meander quilting, double that for semi-custom.
#97
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,789
I'm like you Weezie. I might buy fabric for one quilt then get several more out of the scraps. I keep combining till i get down to tiny scraps(1 1/2") then i pass those on to a friend that will use them.
It's not always that people don't understand what goes into a quilt, They just can't justify the expense. Personally , i wouldn't pay hundreds or thousands for a quilt. Not because i don't think they are worth it-I've seen many that are- I simply don't have the funds for that type of purchase. That transfers over to other items i buy also. i can't justify spending $$$$ on a stove, for example, when i know one for $$ will do what i need.
If I spent what others here say they do, i could not afford this hobby or anything else for that matter. some here must have very deep pockets.
It's not always that people don't understand what goes into a quilt, They just can't justify the expense. Personally , i wouldn't pay hundreds or thousands for a quilt. Not because i don't think they are worth it-I've seen many that are- I simply don't have the funds for that type of purchase. That transfers over to other items i buy also. i can't justify spending $$$$ on a stove, for example, when i know one for $$ will do what i need.
If I spent what others here say they do, i could not afford this hobby or anything else for that matter. some here must have very deep pockets.
#98
I spend around $300.-$400 for fabric on a Queen size The batting and batting are extra also the quilting unless I do myself. That is Hand quilting. Machine Quilting a queen would be about $200-$300 extra. Expensive here in Canada
#99
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 9
It seems that I have never made a quilt that I didn't have to go find another piece of fabric to complete the job. As far as labor, I figure if I were getting paid, on a good day, about a nickel an hour. But if actual cost were an issue, I'd better shut the sewing room door and call the salvage company. I quilt because it gives me peace, excitement, and joy in "paying it forward". I have spent way too much on sewing equipment, gadgets, fabrics, "stuff" that I may need someday and for that I feel sorry for my children when I am gone. I have entertained the idea of getting out of this hobby and making me a nice new bedroom, but when the notion passes, I am always happy to amble back in there and fiddle around some more. Better this than sitting holding my hands.............
#100
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Wadesboro, NC
Posts: 758
I'm afraid to admit how much I spend on fabric. I really don't know how much I spend on any one particular quilt because I rarely buy the fabric for a whole project at one time. I pull from my stash, use things left over from other projects and add what I need from the LQS. I do have a good time though!
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