Bob and I have a favorite Aunt in Wisconsin. She's only twelve years older than I, and she's a great gal. We were talked on the phone last night for about an hour, and I told her about the commissioned quilt I was working on. She wanted to know how much I charged for a queen size quilt. I told her that my quilts are simple, she laughed, and that I charge $520.00 for a queen size. She flat out told me that I wasn't charging enough.
This is always a quilters dilemma, what to charge and still be fair to myself and my customer. I've tried different methods since I started selling my quilts. I finally settled on a simple formula that seems fair.
The above chart list what another blogger thinks a 72" x 72" finished quilt is worth. It's just an example of how other's think.
We all know quilting fabric is expensive. I try to take that into consideration. Another consideration, for me, is I use a professional long-arm quilter, so I build her fee into the price. My third consideration is my time is worth something. I make quilts as an artistic outlet and as my hobby, part of my reward is the process.
Using the above example of a 72" x 72" finished quilt, this is how I arrive at a quilts final price. It's an easy formula.
72 + 72 = 144. 144 x 3 = 432. I'd charge $432.00 for that quilt. 1/3 would cover the fabric, 1/3 would cover the quilting service and the balance would be for me.
There's a big difference between $432.00 and $l,421.34. I'm very comfortable with my charges. I was looking at some quilts on etsy, after seeing them on pinterest. I'm amazed at the sellers who basically only charge for the fabric and batting. They don't value themselves enough to charge for the time they spent sewing and quilting their products.
How about you. Do you sell your quilts? How do you determine the price?
May your bobbins always be full,
I don't quilt, but I see this subject, what should an artist/artisan charge for their work constantly. We've really lost sight of how much things cost to make bc we're so used to buying inferior products produced in sweatshops where the laborers are paid in cents, not dollars. I constantly struggle with what to charge for my own art and have finally come up with a price I'm comfortable with, but it still doesn't even begin to cover labor.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I see more and more emphasis and discussions about handmade items on the internet and more awareness of what goes into creating, design, materials, and labor.
It is a total dilemma! I was asked (recently) how much I would charge to do, of all things, a t-shirt quilt. Anyone who has done one of these understands how more goes into the prep for such and (depending on how the shirts are printed......heavy vinyl/rubberized stuff) could be a difficult process. I wasn't given the number of the shirts or the size or any particulars but I quoted $800 and stated that it could be much less depending on the number of shirts, etc. It's been a couple of weeks and I haven't heard back from the person. Will I???? Probably not. I was asked to make a shirting quilt and the person(s) were willing to go up to $400....TOTAL (shirts provided but I would do total prep)! They decided to "wait awhile"! I don't regret the quotes and would do the same again. The quilting (for others) that I do runs $100 - $200+....alone!!! Subtracting that figure from the previous figures does not cover materials and my labor. I canNOT afford to to consignment quilts (even if I do have the 'time')! Such a troubling question!!!! Hugs........
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It really makes you think and appreciate the efforts others do to make handcrafted items. I don't sell my quilts and I don't even charge my mother and sister for the longarm work I do for them. The way I see it, this is a fairly new hobby for me (the longarm work), it is good practice, and I find I really enjoy doing it. It helps to fulfill my artistic outlet needs. Maybe one day I can turn my hobby into something more, but for now, my family is reaping the benefits!
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