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making the entire quilt?


Bonnie in Ok

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If you are asked to make a quilt and not good at keeping by the hour charge because you always forget to note the time what would be a good way to figure out what it would cost to make a quilt called Daisy Bear by Kids Quilts? http://www.quiltsngi...-Quilts-Ltd.htm I was thinking of just figuring the price by the sq in and charge that way. If I would use the custom pricing of .06. Need some input on how I should figure out the price. :unsure:

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Is that all applique or is it from a panel? If it's a panel figure $100 per square yard--which is what many quote as a reasonable price considering all the work involved in building a quilt from scratch. The listed size is 57 x 73 = 4161 sq inches divided by 1296 (a square yard) = 3.21 sq yards X $100 equals more than anyone would be willing to pay at $100 per sq yd. :blink:

That price includes material, labor, quilting, and binding. The longarm quilters mostly-unattained but wished-for hourly pay is $25 per hour. If you take it down to $20 per hour and do the math, all you can spend on this cute quilt is 16.5 hours. Can you get it done--fabric chosen, purchased, washed, ironed, cut, pieced, loaded, quilted, and bound in two hard-driving days? Do you want to do that? Will you accept $10 an hour and spend 30+ hours on it? And if you do, would that time be better spent doing other customer quilts and getting a better rate of pay?

If that is all applique--even fused applique--run like the wind! You'll nevernevernever realize an acceptable per-hour charge for all that work.

If the customer has their heart set on that exact quilt, can you steer them to an accommodating piecer who might be willing to take on the job? Let them negotiate the price for the piecing so you won't be the bad guy. Then offer to quilt it for your usual price.

Sorry to rain on the parade, but it only takes one generous gesture to take on a job like this and realize it isn't worth the price most people are willing to pay.

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Thanks Linda for raining on my parade per your quote. Well since I am not really doing anything because I don't have a lot of customers (hum... not any really on that note) perhaps I will steer her to something less involved since it is all fused applique or up the price. I don't mind making the whole quilt but I have a hard time deciding what is a fair price to charge. I seem to really have issues with that aspect of the business and don't know how to get past it. She may not want it when I tell her what it is going to cost anyways. :(

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Bonnie, I just completed a Stitcher's Garden quilt BOM class. The time that I spent on tracing the patterns, cutting out the fabric, and stitching (with machine) the applique is not to be measured! It would take a couple hours to trace, and cut the fabrics for a couple of blocks. The stitching around the appliques took another couple of hours at least. That adds up to 4 hours minimum for just 2 blocks. That doesn't count time for the shopping, prep, or fabric selection for the individual pieces. I hope this helps you be able to figure the minimum time it would take to just make the blocks.

Good luck with the figures and the decision.

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AND.....does she want it by Christmas? I think I'd let her know how much it would cost to do it; and charge by the hourly rate to piece and then your usual rate for quilting and add all the expenses for fabric, thread, and batting, and mileage to go get the fabric. These all should be figured into it. Yes it may be more than she wants to pay but then she will realize how much time, work, and expense, oh and love, goes into quilting. And then again....she may say yes...but if you do decide to go with it, I'd also get 50% up front as I've heard storys where the customer decides to back out when it is finished or that they just can't pay that much...it is easier to do 1/2 at a time...just my take on things.....

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This situation has been discussed so often here--people (friends, co-workers, acquaintances, cousins, etc.) know we do "something" with quilting, love quilts, and would love to have a quilt for themselves or one of their family members. Educating these nice people to the expenses involved is an uphill battle. And usually ends up with someone unhappy. Either you are unhappy with yourself because you took huge chucks of your time and talent and gave them away (and will resent that fact for a long time). Or your customer is unhappy over the expense or you are charging more than they are comfortable paying and have to back out.

I have a friend locally who barters her piecing for housecleaning. The two trade straight across an hour for an hour. The cleaner is a professional and charges $25 an hour for her services. Both think it's a fair trade. My friend doesn't barter quilting--just the piecing. I'm looking for a deal like that only on the quilting side!! :P

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Funny you should bring up the bartering as I have done that with several quilts. I have bartered for dental work= wall hanging for Dental office, new radiator for my car= double size quilt for wife for Birthday, double sided dog house= double size quilt for wife as anniversary gift. I would love to barter for house cleaning and I just might get hold of a couple of local ladies and see if they would be interested in doing that.

The general public has no idea how much is costs to do a custom quilt as alot of the discount store sell 'bed in a bag' that includes "so called hand quilted" quilts that have been imported and these run around $49 :o I have sold alot of quilts and my method is to charge 3 times what I have in the quilt. You still don't get much for your time doing it this way.

I recently had a lady call me asking if I had queen size quilts for sale. I told her my basic price starts at $450 and goes up from there depending on the complexity of design. I never heard back from her. Later found out that she was in shock until someone told her what it costs to make a quilt.

I think I would ask your customer what type of budget she has. This will give you a much better idea as to what she is thinking for cost. With this particular quilt being an applique( and obviously a child's quilt), she may not want to pay what would be reasonable to make it for her. :wacko:

I wouldn't touch that design for under $500 and that is just for the piecing part..not the quilting too.

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Interesting topic....

I have also bartered quilting for some piecing on two rather labor intensive quilts involving lots of little triangles for someone who does perfect piecing. We set an hourly rate, she keeps track of how long she takes to piece a quilt and I translate that into a total which I credit towards her quilting jobs which usually are custom. Would love to barter for housework though....:)

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At our local Quilt Shop, a lady wanted to buy a finished baby quilt. The owner pointed out that they did not sell finished quilts, but sold the material and lessons to make one. The woman kept pressing for a price, the owner finally said that it would cost her nearly $400.00 for a crib size quilt. (even though she would NOT make it for her)The woman seemed insulted that a "Baby" quilt would be that expensive, she really rejected the idea that anyone should charge for their time just to "quilt".

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The bartering discussion is interesting. I am in the midst of a bartering situation myself. I have a friend who knits beautiful socks. She pieces quilts, but only quilts the very small ones on her Bernina.

I admired her socks and she suggested we barter my quilting for her knitting. Sure. That sounds like a great idea. She pieced her baby quilt and I bought my sock yarn which cost me $27.99 plus 8% tax.

It took her 28 hours to knit the pair of socks for me. It took me 5 hours to quilt her baby quilt. She is lining up more quilts for me to do because I own her 23 more hours of quilting. So, my knitted socks are costing a fortune!!!

I am no longer interested in bartering my quilting hour for hour.

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Interesting contrast with your barter partner, Sandra.

I'm trying to say this delicately so as not to ruffle feathers but---28 hours is way too long to knit a pair of socks.

You are a quilter who doesn't charge by the hour, but by the job. Your price is figured by the density and complexity of the quilting and the size of the top.

Unless the socks were dense (thin yarn) and complex (cables and lace and bobbles) and really huge, I think a better barter would have been --what is the standard of the "industry" for a pair of hand-knit socks? Look on etsy and if they are $60, that's what you should have figured the barter on. Not hours of knitting for sure. The variables in time used are huge compared to end product produced. Just something to look at next time this comes up. :blink:

Imagine what a proficient knitter is up against when her friends admire her beautiful handmade socks and ask her what she would charge to make a pair for them! She has to go through the same things we do with hand-built quilts! The cost of materials is very high and the labor is priceless! ;)

Holy moley! I just checked out hand-knitted socks on etsy and the most expensive pair I could find was $46.00. Lots of them in the $20-$30 range.

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DW just finished a custom job and here is what she does. Meets with the customer at the quilt shop, discusses the quilt, has customer pick out the fabrics that they like, the batting they like, has the customer pay for all fabric and supplies and gets a deposit. If it is a custom, one of a kind quilt she charges by the hour for design, customer visit if necessary, piecing, quilting, binding and washing the quilt. If it is say a t-shirt quilt or something simple/basic she knows from experience how much time it takes and charges accordingly, but the customer purchases all fabric/batting and she gets a deposit.

I know you say that you have a hard time keeping accurate time but DW keeps a note book, on each project she logs the time, everytime she touches the quilt.

I personallythinks that she works too cheaply but she loves to, design, piece/quilt and as long as it isn't costing her money and she is happy, so be it.

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Hey Linda, I know I got the short end of the stick on the socks, but I then received a call on Sunday from her. She said she got thinking about our barter and has decided to have me do 3 baby quilts for her (all pantos) and she is throwing in another pair of socks to boot and we'll call it even. I feel so much better now.

She is currently piecing a queen size quilt for her daughter who is getting re-married in December and has asked me to quilt it...for pay, not barter. :) I already told her to present the top to her daughter and then take it back and give it to me for my January schedule. I can't take anymore before Christmas. I feel like I'm "in control now," and it feels good.

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Hey Linda, I know I got the short end of the stick on the socks, but I then received a call on Sunday from her. She said she got thinking about our barter and has decided to have me do 3 baby quilts for her (all pantos) and she is throwing in another pair of socks to boot and we'll call it even. I feel so much better now.

She is currently piecing a queen size quilt for her daughter who is getting re-married in December and has asked me to quilt it...for pay, not barter. :) I already told her to present the top to her daughter and then take it back and give it to me for my January schedule. I can't take anymore before Christmas. I feel like I'm "in control now," and it feels good.

Oh Sandra--I feel better too! Your customer sounds very savvy and very nice. Win/win!

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The only quilt I've ever made from start to finish for someone worked out well. When the friend asked if I could make her a quilt for their motorhome (they live in it full time) bed I immediately said yes then later could have bitten my tongue out. I was sure Ellie had NO idea what making a quilt would cost. So I sat down and wrote her an email detailing how much the fabric would cost, how long it would probably take me to piece then quilt the quilt. I told her she was probably looking at $1000-$1200. She said (to my amazement), "yes, I know, I still want you to do it." Well, I was pretty much right on the money with my estimate--she purchased her own fabric and my charge to her was right at $800. She LOVES her quilt.

My one attempt at bartering didn't work out so well--gorgeous knitted sweater for quilting--I purchased my own yarn and ended up quilting four quilts for the lady, two of them custom. My sweater is beautiful but is huge--way too big--part of that is my fault, the yarn I chose turned out to be really stretchy. I could really use a house cleaner though!! :)

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