question about selling quilts
02-13-2014, 08:31 AM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Mechanicsville, IA
Posts: 1,497
I have an app on my iPad called Big Timer. It has a stop watch feature, which adds up the time you spend on something. I made a quilt for a friend - and failed to discuss price before starting. BIG MISTAKE. I got way less than 1/2 of what it was worth for the time I had in it. But I was happy I did it because she was a friend and it was a memory quilt that included small (all we had available to us as she had sisters who used some also.) pieces of her dad's shirts. She cried every time she saw the progress on it. So the question I have for you is are YOU happy or unhappy after you sell you work. If you are happy great! If not, change things so YOU are happy at the end of the day. Even if making quilts is a job for you, you need to enjoy it.
02-13-2014, 12:18 PM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Jozefow, Poland
Posts: 4,474
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.
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.
What is the "fabric district"?
02-14-2014, 05:41 PM
#33
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MA
Posts: 1,507
I work in the shop at the quilt museum and I can tell you that quilts can be sold. We have a 60/40 split which means you have to price carefully. Some of the quilts I sell are well made and beautifully quilted and some are more modest. Some are bought by quilters and some by non-quilters. I have found that the appliqued or pieced with applique quilts seem to sell best. The more I have in the shop, the more the buyers have to choose from. Some sell right away and others seem to take forever to be claimed by the right person. It is all subjective, very personal and seems to be random to a degree.
Last edited by applique; 02-14-2014 at 05:44 PM.
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