Ps 150

I've had many people ask me for prices on my quilts. I've seen so many quilters charge by the hour, but each quilt is so different. I'm not looking to get rich off of this, but I do want to be fair to my time, as well, or else I'll never have time to do anything for myself or as gifts.

So, I decided to come up with a base price for each size, and if someone wants one with a lot of hand work, like a red work quilt, then I can add on a separate charge for out-of-the-ordinary hand work. So, my question is this: What would you charge for the following sizes? And what would you charge for the out-of-the-ordinary hand work?

Small Items (Table runners, table toppers, etc.)
Crib?
Lap?
Twin?
Full?
Queen?
King?
Hand Work Charge?

ibex94

How about $10/hr + fabric & batting costs? How long does it take you to do each of those different sizes? I know this is the low end of pricing but just the fabric cost is going to make most of the quilts out of the price range for most people. As we know, you can go to TJMaxx and get a quilt for $50 or less depending on the sales. It would easily cost $400 for you to make a quilt for someone if you were going to charge by the hour. Comparing that price difference is going to make folks stop and rethink their craving for a homemade quilt. You do need to think of quiltmaking from the business perspective if you're going to sell them. Good luck!

ckcowl

Visit (Quiltsforsale.ca) and browse the different type/ styles/ sizes to see what they are charging. Many quilts are sold through that site! One of their guidelines is to charge by the square foot- $20 per square foot for fairly basic pieced quilt, up to $30 a square foot for appliqued, or more intricate work. It's just a guideline, place to start.
Another formula is:
Time + materials = Cost
Cost X 2 = wholesale
Wholesale X 2= retail.
There are many formulas used to determine what is fair to the individual seller. Location matters, what might sell for $1500 in one place may sell for $300 in another. Good records are needed and deciding what is reasonable/ fair to you. Don't short change yourself. Remember you might pay a plumber or mechanic $50 an hour - expecting $20 an hour for quilting is Not unreasonable.
I've been charging $20-$25 an hour for 15 years and have never had a problem getting it. Be up front & honest from the beginning

ManiacQuilter2

I don't know how many quilts you made and don't get your heart racing because when most people ask the price, they go OH. People who don't quilt see quilts being sold on QVC and HSN and don't realize the time it takes nor how much fabric is costs. You should keep a record starting now to see how long it takes you to piece and quilt. Strip piecing goes a lot faster than working with HSTs. I could make my Avatar quilt in 20 hours. It is a very simple quilt to piece and to quilt. I use to sell my quilt in some pricey Mission Veijo craft shows and let me tell you, if I would at least had put out a tip jar for all the compliments I got with my quilts, I would had a little more retirement cash. No regrets.

stillclock

i start at $1000 plus materials and i know i am working for far less than minimum wage.

aileen

Bree123

Pretty much all my quilts are baby/lap with extensive hand appliqué work. I finish my bindings by hand. I do at least some design work on them, but some are completely original. After getting feedback from professional resellers, I wouldn't sell for less than $700-800. My goal is to get in some shows so I can regularly ask $1500+ per quilt. People sometimes think that is far too much to ask for a quilt... Until I tell them I think they're getting paid too much making $1200/month (accounting for supplies, depreciation & overhead). They come back that even Wal-Mart workers make that. I am SURE I am worth at least as much as a Wal-Mart greeter.

Supplies/Overhead + $0.05/sq in for quilting + $10/hr minimum + 2.5% = price

Yes, that means some baby quilts that are $1200 or more. So far people are willing to pay to wrap their little one in quilted love. A good quilt will last to college & we all know stories about someone taking their baby quilt with them to college. So, yes, I price them like a nice piece of furniture because they will last that long and be loved more each day.

Glad to see the Quilting Market adjusting to support the true, appraised value of beautifully designed & constructed works of quilt art.

As a side note, the one in my avatar is my nephew's & I'd only ask $225 for it.

applique

My quilts appraise for $900 to about $1250. The last one was hung without a price and the boss sold it for $650. Never even got a picture of the finished one just the top

Bree123

That's terrible, Debbie. That quilt is stunning. Unless they really botched up the quilting, I'd think it was worth at least double that. Someone will get much enjoyment out of it, but it's too bad that you weren't properly compensated for your beautiful work. It's sad but true that we need to look out for ourselves & other artists to make sure our work is properly valued at the time of sale. We've made a lot of progress, but still have a long way to go!

Esmerelde

You'll get dozens of "it's not worth it" replies, but I sell my quilts. I charge roughly 3x material cost of the quilt top.

I charge £40-45 for table runners
£70-80 for baby 32" sq quilts
£150 for small throws
£220+ on larger sizes.

Bear in mind I make smaller than average US sizes as in the UK smaller sizes sell better. Our tables aren't as long either so my table runners are about 35" in length for example.

paoberle

[ QUOTE=ibex94;7296152]How about $10/hr + fabric & batting costs? How long does it take you to do each of those different sizes? I know this is the low end of pricing but just the fabric cost is going to make most of the quilts out of the price range for most people. As we know, you can go to TJMaxx and get a quilt for $50 or less depending on the sales. It would easily cost $400 for you to make a quilt for someone if you were going to charge by the hour. Comparing that price difference is going to make folks stop and rethink their craving for a homemade quilt. You do need to think of quiltmaking from the business perspective if you're going to sell them. Good luck![/QUOTE]

How in the world can you compare a quilt someone has made to a quilt made by someone to a quilt from TJ Maxx? There is a huge difference in the quality of the materials and work. If someone wants a hand made quilt, then they are going to have to pay for it and $400 is not unreasonable and probably low. I would probably double or triple my costs, depending on the difficulty of the pattern and quilting.