Janice H Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 I have been playing with ruler work. I like the results but find it very time consuming as I have to mark most of it in advance to loading the quilt. It takes me a lot longer to quilt using mostly rulers to guide my stitching. How does one charge for this kind of quilting? I can't imagine any of the folks I quilt for paying what I think I should get for all on the time and work involved. Lauralorene 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunningThreads Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Figure out how much more time it takes than doing a pantograph. I expect it is at least triple so charge at least triple the panto rate. If you don’t charge enough you will grow to hating doing custom quilting for customers. It is just like any other business if a customer doesn’t like the price show them a less expensive option. When you get a reputation as a good custom quilter no one will question your price. Nigel Lauralorene 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 Custom work using rulers - this is a highly specialized skill that take months, if not years to perfect. If it were me, I would charge by the hour, not by square inch. Don't underestimate your time and skills. I rarely do ruler quilting for customers because it's so expensive. I find other ways to quilt, or I choose to use minimal amount of rulers and then freehand the rest (combination) Find the going rate for custom heirloom quilting in your area, or ask other quilters in your area what they charge for ruler work. If I were doing ruler work, I would charge at least $35 per hour. For estimates, you could guess that it takes 40 hours and give them a quote. I'm not giving my time away for minimum wage. No way! I've had many customers ask me to SID their quilt. I kindly explain the costs and time involved and I offer other solutions for them. Lauralorene, Gail O and dianne31331 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kueser Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 I still find it amusing that folks think stitch in the ditch is an easy and cheap way to get their quilt quilted. Lauralorene, Gail O and quiltmonkey 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaG Posted January 18, 2020 Report Share Posted January 18, 2020 I agree, people DO think that is easy. I got a last minute quilt last year, for a parent's 50th wedding anniversary. All blocks with photos or drawings. She wanted a "quick" "simple" stitch in the ditch. She was shocked when I explained that this was a custom job and how difficult so called simple stitching is. Super king size and she'd budgeted only $100. LOL Wanted me to bind it too. When I gave her the cost, she almost fainted. Finally took it on after she talked to the rest of the family and they helped with the cost, but she decided to bind it herself too. She still had to pay over $600. I got that one done and out! in three days. All ruler and hand guided. Lauralorene and dianne31331 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauralorene Posted January 31, 2020 Report Share Posted January 31, 2020 The above suggestions are the best I’ve seen so far. I too have struggled with pricing. By the inch at .015-.02 should be only for the most simple edge to edge pattern PLUS a fee for loading, squaring up, winding bobbins and machine set-up. If all that is done right you get great results but not if you rush it. So my thought after 25+ years is anything other than edge to edge simple stippling (or similar) should be at least triple that amount. I think if you run the figures it makes sense. Our work is skilled, artistic and valuable. dianne31331 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kueser Posted January 31, 2020 Report Share Posted January 31, 2020 While I was going through chemo and literally felt like $h!t, I invited some of my guild members to come over and use my machine. I stayed with them as they worked through their quilt. At the end of that period, one person told me she learned a lot about how hard it is and has never asked to do any more. However, she still wants her work done as cheap as she can get it. They want it beautiful but don't want to pay for the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now