Commissioned tee shirt quilt - pricing question

[Sandra Darlington]

Lisa, Thank you for the post. $35 an hour? Boy, I wish! Just now, like you, I will be happy to actually make $20 an hour and increase after I am cmfortable with that.

I like that suggestion of a 50% deposit. I am planning to spend a bit of time this weekend working on her estimate and writing out some guidelines for myself, so my pricing will be uniform on future tee shirt quilts. I think I need a one page type of info sheet with guidelines, expectations - theirs and mine, and all the details spelled out. This is certainly another learning esperience for me and I plan to use it to my advantage and growth as a professional quilter. Whewww! Did that sound good?

Holly - Is that $250 to piece the top, plus the cost of materials, plus a quilting charge of $150? What size, approximately, quilt do you make? I like your price structure. I want to be just like you.

[njquiltergirl]

Sandra - I do not begin work on a custom quilt without the deposit. It tells me they are serious, tells them I am a professional and gives me a cushion for all my supplies, purchases and time if there is an issue. There has never been an issue for me but it is a comfort any way. It also makes it easier for the customer - makes it not such a big expense when they pick it up. One customer asked to pay me monthly so it is not a big "bill" when she picks up her custom quilts...she ordered 6 by Christmas!

Personally, I do not know how anyone could set a fixed price for a custom quilt. They are all so different! I charge by the hour and keep track as I go. Wish I could have a set price...would save the effort of tracking my time. Maybe I can learn how to do that.

This is a good discussion - helps remind us how important the business side of our work is. THanks for bringing it up!