tessagin

It is so sad that there are many who think quilting is just a "hobby". As we all know quilting is also a necessity and was decades/centuries ago. Many do not realize it's an art. Art isn't cheap. Has anyone seen the quality of material that quilts are made that are sold at Walmart.

ghostrider

Oh, I like that! It offers a good way to explain the basis of your pricing to anyone who may ask. Thank you for posting it, CookyIN.

MargeD

It's always difficult to recover all your costs when selling quilts, unless you are able to get into Boutique type situation. I used to make quilted items for my church's holiday fair, and even though the church was getting the money, I seldom reduced my prices, and I told people the cost and effort it made to make the quilts. However, the last couple of years I have had a table to sell my own items and I suddenly realized that I was putting the same price on my items as I had 10 years before. I need to practice what I preach in getting a fair price for all the hard work. I would say, set your price and stick with it as much as possible.

klswift

if you want to sell quilts for profit, you should never pay more than $4 per yard. Also, my cost for batting for a double bed size quilt is never more than $10. The thread usually is between $2 and $5.
I buy wholesale, from the fabric district and online. I approach it as a business and spend an entire day in the fabric district A great source is the larger fabric shops who often bundle their 1 -2 yard pieces at a huge discount. The variable for cost is the amount of quilting done. Obviously if it has been sent out to be quilted, the cost will go up a lot - but the buyer will recognize that. Have this one be your showcase piece at a show. A smaller amount of home machine quilting or stitch in a ditch will keep the cost down.
I figure the 'regular' quilts afford me the ability to work on the 'special' ones. As a business, you need to distance yourself a bit from your product to be able to sell it. Your heart is in the ones you give to people.

Onebyone

Many members of my guild make simple pieced pattern quilts for sale. Machine pieced and machine quilted. They charge 4 times the cost of quilt shop quality fabric and thread. They all stick together on the prices.

PlanoDebbie

What an awesome blog! Thanks for sharing this.

wraez

Just realize that some people price their quilts low because they love to quilt, maybe quilt so much that family and friends do not need/want anymore, and the quilter is happy to just retrieve some of their costs so that they buy more fabric and can keep on quilting. For them it isn't the profit it is the passion and journey.

ckcowl

easier said than done- often in order to purchase fabric 'wholesale' you have to have a commercial account and place orders with $700 + amounts...I don't know many people who do not own quilt shops able to spend that kind of money- I have been making, selling and making money from sales of my quilts for years- while supporting my local quilt shop and catching good on-line sales for years- it most certainly is possible to make money quilting without having a 'wholesale' account!

cindynvb

WOW, how much did the fabric cost you?? I'll bet she has no idea that it cost you to "sell " that quilt to her. I started out sell my baby quilts for $50, realized I was making about $15 for my time, so now a simple quilt costs $75 and I STILL think I'm not making enough!! Of course, every single quilt I make is custom so it takes me a lot of time to design it.
Make sure you tell her the price FIRST next time!!

cindynvb

PlanoDebbie, thanks so much for sharing that link. I'm saving it.
cindy