How to price this?

[maggienoella]

I have a quilt that the owner only wants the sashings and border quilted.  It is 42 blocks for a friend that has cancer and the blocks are varied in nature from actual piecing to appliqued to glued and has buttons, sequins and embroidery.  Some contributors sew, some do not.

Anyway, she doesn't want anything at all in the quilt blocks. She only wants the sashings quilted. 

Do I need to SID this or not?  I don't know how to charge for what I do.  Should I measure the sashings and price according to that or the whole thing?

I've never done one like this so I would appreciate your advice.

Thanks,

Joan

[ffq-lar]

Yes, SID the blocks and stitch your sashing and border designs. If it's obvious to you that the blocks need further stitching, call your customer before you unload the quilt. Give her your expert and professional opinion (because that's why she is having the quilt professionally quilted  ) that more stitching is needed inside the blocks, if that is the case. If the blocks look fine and no more stitching is needed, you're in the clear. Let her know you can stitch around the embellishments or she can do it after pick-up. That will get her attention. One thing to offer is that with all the embellishments and sentiments, the quilt is obviously meant to be hung. And hanging will cause any unquilted areas to sag.

 

Always do your pricing by square inch total. This will pay for the intake/pick-up appointment times, your standard loading time, and the stitching. If you SID the blocks and have designs in the sashing and borders (beyond a filler or overall design) I'd charge 3 cents per inch because I never charge less than that for SID. If you're feeling generous you can do the math and offer a percentage discount after the fact. But let them see the original price on the invoice.

 

I can understand why you question whether to adjust your square inches when wondering what to charge, especially when the customer wants something unquilted. Your appointments and loading take the same amount of time no matter what level of quilting the customer wants. I had a quilt where my customer wanted areas left so she could do some hand quilting in the borders. I didn't discount her price because I ended up basting the borders, which took almost as much care and stitching as quilting them would have been.

 

Charging industry-standard prices is hard for new quilters. Don't fall into the trap of charging too little at the start. As stated above, if you want to be generous with new customers you can always offer a percentage discount. But do that after you finish and show it plainly on the invoice.

[maggienoella]

Thank you, Linda.  I'll do just what you suggest. 

Joan

[JenniferBernard]

Joan, take Linda's advice because it is always very good! That gal makes a lot of sense and she is always nice!

[T Row Studio]

Linda Thank-you for explaining the reason you charge what you do. I need a starting point and it is always easier to bring your prices down but very hard to increase them.

[chickenscratch]

Linda always gives good advice.   I know I would charge the same as for quilting the whole thing because sashing and borders sometimes take longer than the actual body of the quilt.