Pam C Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I would like to know how to charge for piecing a quilt. This quilt is large - queen size and the pattern has a lot of pieces. The blocks are the lone star pattern. So, this quilt would take a lot of time to piece. Please Reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherylUribe Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 For quite awhile the going rate was $100 per square yard. I would charge more than that. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplydivine Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 I just finished 2 commissioned quilts, and by the time I was finished I was WAY UNDERpaid!!! I quoted a price up front, not knowing how long it would take me or the exact cost of materials!! Boy that was the wrong thing to do! A lesson learned the hard way. If you are a longarm quilter, think about what could you be earning per day if you were not making this quilt. I wouldn't do a queen size for less than $800+ materials and I think that's a bargin. Figure out how much someone would earn in a week / day with your skills. If you want to make $200 a day, that would mean you must purchase the fabric, cut it, piece it, quilt it and bind it all in 4 days!!! PLUS the cost of the fabric! (earn $100 a day = must complete in 8 days) I know some who charges an hourly wage. They tell the customer it will range between $800 and $1000 + materials. In any case, it always takes longer than you think it will. Don't take on a job where the customer doesn't have a clue what the value of your work is! They might think you can whip something up in a weekend if they don't know the quilt making process! Kindly explain to them that what you are making is an heirloom, to be passed down to the next generation, and if they don't care to spend as much, they may be better off purchasing something retail. If someone wants a one-of-a-kind quilt, and they are willing to pay the price for it, you know they will appreciate your work. Let us know how it works out! Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahiller Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 I tried to make the lone star and failed because I was not precise enough. THe lone star takes a lot of skill and effort, along with time. If you are hand stitching it would take longer, so the question is what worth do you place on your time. You must evaluate the time needed to piece the quilt, and the time need to put the sandwich together. If you are using a longarm machine like APQS, you might save some time, but your investment of time needs to reflect your ability to use the machine. Therefore it is difficult to tell what price you need to charge. You need to sit down with your client and give the client options to consider. Together, you can come up with a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giftedhands Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 The quilt shops in our area told me "anything under $1200 is a steal". When customers ask about getting quilts (most queen) made they tell them $1200. I would start at $800 and go up. Believe me, nothing ever goes as smoothly as you plan, and you always end up doing more (frogging, planning, etc). Write up the order, get a 50% deposit up front and write in the agreement that the balance is due when the quilt is delivered. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 Does the $100 per square yard fee that you charge "just" cover the piecing time involved? I charge $8.00 per hour to piece, then the quilting fee and a binding fee. Seems like I'm not charging anywhere near enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannyt Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 I have made several quilts "from scratch" for customers. and when people ask what it will cost, I tell them that I charge by the hour plus materials. I show them pictures of some I have done and give them a dollar range, explaining that it depends on the pattern they pick, the fabric involved and the size they want. Some decline when they find out they are not getting a hand made quilt for $49.95, but then that's their problem, not mine. You just have to figure out where you want to spend your time and what that time is worth to you. Very seldom will a customer pay what the quilt is really worth as far as the time you spent is concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannyt Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 Well, what I meant to say in that last paragraph was that seldom will you have charged the customer for what your time is worth. I knew I should have proofread that again before I hit 'post reply'...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 Here's a "be careful what you wish for" story. My sister--an accomplished piecer, was asked by her husband's best friend what she would charge to make a kingsized quilt. She flippantly replied-- $1000! You guessed it! "Can it be ready for Christmas?" So of course she spent days piecing and I have to fit this beauty into my Christmas line-up!! Soooo- if you are asked how much, best to get back to them after you do some figuring. (BTW-my sis had the fabric cost reinbursed before she started cutting and also charged the buddy for gas for our 240 mile trip to purchase fabric at Fabric Depot in Portland,Ore!!!) Happy Holidays to you all! Linda Rech Olympia Wa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherylUribe Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 $100 per square yard would just be your piecing charge. Then add materials, supplies, quilting, and binding. I like the $1200 and up price. That sounds more like it to me. The input here is great. I like hearing everyones thoughts on this subject! Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwltnlady Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 When I first discovered quilting, I was in St. Jacob's, Ontario, Canada and saw quilts (not China made, but made by the Mennonites in the area) in the stores for no less than $1700 Canadian dollars. I don't know what the exchange rate was, but it would have been more than that in American dollars. A friend of mine did a flower pounded quilt for someone. She also flippantly said (not believing she would be taken up on it) Not for less than $1500." Of course, $1500 is what she got for a specialized quilt that she did everything on but the Longarming. So....are we artisans or "seamstresses" (not to belittle seamstresses, as my mom made all my clothes as a kid) but you know what I mean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artinfabric Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 I have to agree with Cheryl. A starting price of about $1200 dollars for a queen sized quilt is a reasonable not including the backing, batting, and quilting. Thank you for all your comments on this topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alayne42 Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Would you-all say the same for doing a t-shirt quilt start to finish? Or would you consider it less because there's not so much piecing (t-shirts plus sashing and borders, queen size)? Alayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artinfabric Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 You could consider how many hours it takes you to complete one of these quilts. How long to piece the quilt top, machine quilting, then bind the entire quilt. How much do you want to earn per hour for this task. Charge accordingly: such as $30 per hour? or $100 per square yard?. Consider do you really want to make only $3-5 dollars per hour for all that hard work. This price should not include the supplies : fabric, batting, backing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I have read some suggestions on what to charge for piecing. I read $100 per square yard and this sounds about right however with that said in my mind I am thinking this would be a charge for something on a Complicated level. I have been asked to piece some 20 Somethings, Irish chains, and Log Cabins. I would do it all from cutting to piecing to quilting to binding. I guess my question is how might I evaluate what to charge regarding the piecing? Would you agree that some quilts are much easier to piece than others? I mean the Quilt in a Day verses the Mariner Compass are two very different techniques and each require a skill of a certain level so how can I break this down fairly and with reason? Thanks, Grammie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I am so thrilled to find this thread on here about pricing our skills. I was asked to do a VERY large wall hanging, queen size quilt, for a company and they about flipped when I said $500 and it was all put together. Now I am glad they balked so I can keep my quilt. would it be okay to charge an hourly fee for piecing and a separate quilting fee and they furnish the materials? Sure am glad this forum exists. Bekah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 11, 2006 Report Share Posted June 11, 2006 Bekah, Yes, I do it both ways with them buying the material as well as not. When they buy the fabric I always ask for at least 1/4 yard of each fabric just in case of oops...we all have a few of those even in our own quilts. When I quote a quilt from scratch and I am buying the materials I give them a flat rate that includes:piecing ($8 to $10 per hour), materials (fabric, thread, batting, backing), quilting with a breakdown for each style if its custom, and finally binding. A lot of the time they only want to see the final answer, but its there if you have any questions. A queen size simple quilt like a pinwheel with simple plain borders normally start out at about $900 and its up hill from there. Also, if possible I always drag the customer to the fabric store with me. A lot of the time they haven't a clue what goes with what color, but they always know what they don't like and what will not fit in their room....it has saved me a couple of time as I would have picked out something that went with the design and not their rooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janjacobson Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I charge $10/hour for piecing. So will give the customer an estimate, stating this is just an estimate ... it may take more hours for what ever reason. The quilts I have pieced, we agreed on a pattern, then I purchased the fabric after asking their preferances. Most people who have asked me to piece a quilt, don't quilt themselves and arent comfortable picking out coordinating fabrics. When its all pieced and customer wants a finisched quilt, I quilt it, adding to the final total my quilting charge. It does add up fast. Jan HAPPY QUILTING!!!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitchnsew49 Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 I am new here and am currently piecing a flannel quilt which the customer provided the fabric. In fact she took a lesson at the local quilt shop (she has never done any sewing or quilting) and was not given any one on one instruction. She had already cut the blocks to six and a half. When I got the blocks they were not six and a half....they were less. I trimmed the blocks down to 5 1/2" and made 4 patches with 1 1/2" sashing in between each block and then a border around with a final border of31/2". I am discussing this with my hubby and he asks if the $10 an hour or the $100 per square yard include cutting, measuring or were does that come into play. My husband knows very well how much time and money I have spent making quilts for ourselves and as gifts for family. Can any one help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 I am discouraged from doing commissioned quilts, really not worth our time ( at least in my experience). Non quilters/non longarmers do not understand our trade, they do not want to pay our product it's worth & our equally important time. For now, I am not doing any commissioned quilts especially if I have to design them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegates Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 I agree with Corey, that making a commissioned quilt from start to finish is not very profitable. And BTW, I charge $20/hr for planning/piecing, and have been told several times that that is a very reasonable rate. I recently did a memory quilt, and it really helped me to break down the costs in materials, charge $20/hr for planning and piecing, my usual quilting rate, and my usual binding rate. I think that charging a higher rate makes people more likely to respect your work. I am paying for college for two daughters and don't have the luxury of working for less. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calicokat Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Alayne - I do t-shirt quilts and on those I charge a flat fee of $25 per shirt. That includes everything - fabrics, stabilizer, piecing, quilting & all the thread color changes for the different colored shirts, and binding. I tell my customers to bring me the stack of freshly washed and dried shirts and I'll give them back a completed quilt ready to use. I use 3.5 inch sashing between the blocks and 6.5 inches on the outer border, this gives them a really nice sized quilt when it's done. Most of these customers are not sewers or quilters at all, so a flat rate is all they want to know, detailed pricing would just mucky up the waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Isn't that the truth Corey. Zeke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I have a customer who wanted a purple quilt *(on the mauvy side) King sized quilt with just a little off white. I instantly thought of the log cabin block, fairly quick and easy, and quoted $1,800, and she didn't bat an eye. Still wants it though she will need a way to access my Fav. fabric site and pick her colors. I can't envision a mauvy color, so need to leave that up to her. I still think $1,800. is a decent price. Good luck, all of you! Rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jclark Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I did a quilt for a friend a couple years ago. She knew up front I would charge $20 per hour for both piecing and longarm quilting. She chose a very complicated pattern and purchased her own fabric--all batiks. The quilt turned out beautifully and when it was all said and done, she had about $1300 in a oversized queen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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