quiltmaker52

I have some patterns I designed that would be good for a mystery quilt or BOM. A quilt shop is interested in using at least one of them, with me even teaching a class each month. They want to know how I want to be compensated for using the pattern. Does anyone have any ideas?

dunster

Each person in the class should be required to buy the pattern, either from you or from the quilt store. Beyond that I don't see any requirement for compensation specifically for using the pattern. You should of course be paid for teaching the classes, either in money or store credits.

GingerK

When I was teaching, I found the store was more willing to compensate me thru store credit. Whichever way you and your LQS decide to go, make sure that you keep your own records of dates and hours worked. Ask me how I know.

bearisgray

Might be a good idea to get something in writing, too.

Peckish

I agree with Dunster - make sure the shop understands that each student needs to buy their own pattern.

As far as compensation goes, that's up to you. Do you want to be paid in cash? Store credit? Some other kind of barter?

You'll need to figure out how much you want to get paid, then set up a contract with the shop. The contract should be very clear on what your tasks are and how long they will take. If you want an hourly wage, figure out what that should be and how long it will take, so the shop can budget for that and charge the customers/students accordingly. Watch out for "scope creep" - i.e. the store asking you to do more than what you originally agreed upon. For your part, make sure you come on time if not early to class to set up. Be prepared, have handouts ready (I took a class where the awesome teacher gave us handouts for speed-making hsts, it was much appreciated). Have samples to show, be prepared with kind answers for challengers to the techniques you're teaching. (Also be prepared to humbly accept that maybe someone in the class knows a better way of doing something. Another class I took involved appliqueing circles on top of a square. The instructor, when asked how to make sure the circle was centered, said "Oh I just eyeball it." I then quietly showed the person asking the question that I'd folded both the circle and the square into quarters, stuck a pin through the center of the fold, and aligned the pieces that way. The teacher observed me and was graceful about being taught something new herself.)

quiltmaker52

Thanks for all the suggestions. You have all been a lot of help.

mkc

This is very wise. You'll want to know if the store is going to report your compensation to the IRS, such as via a 1099-NEC. If so, you'll have to file schedule C and pay self-employment taxes.