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homecaregiver 12-25-2012 04:59 AM

Beautiful quilt. I would put a higher price on it. I also think in the $200-$300 range. And yes if your MIL lets you use her distributors and her tax ID on the purchase of supplies that would be even better and it would definitely help you with the cost factor

carolaug 12-25-2012 05:03 AM

What size is the Quilt/Quality of material/Type of Quilting done...FMQ/Longarm/tie etc.../binding or turning it inside out/do all the seams match?? Of course if its a design that is impossible to find in a store...that will bring the price up...You may want to start a service that personalizes the quilt...offer to use their children's clothes/Mothers/Fathers shirts...just an idea...they provide the material and you charge the same as if you were...People have no clue what its costs so they do not want to pay for it///and always think...what would I pay//pretend you are not a quilter and have no idea on the cost of materials. 59x59...that is a lap quilt...I would not pay more than $150.00

ro 12-25-2012 05:12 AM

i work in a quilt shop on long island and asked price. they think $150 is right in the ballpark. usually you charge 3 to 3 1/2 times what the material cost you. you cannot put a price on material and fabric. you'll be sitting with it a long time. good luck!

ghquilter53 12-25-2012 05:16 AM

One way to calculate is to take the total square inches...59 X 59 and mulitply that time 10cents which comes to $348.10. Another is to take the cost of all the materials and multiply by 3.

melodyg 12-25-2012 05:41 AM

My MIL's shop is in Lewistown PA. Not a high dollar clientele there. Thank you all for your input! I think I have made a decision. I am going to tell her $225 and if it doesn't sell within a month to put a 10% off sign on it. If it still doesnt sell then my MIL will have a nice lapquilt for herself :) as a gift from me of course.

Cindy60545 12-25-2012 06:13 AM


Originally Posted by debcavan (Post 5739430)
Sadly the time involvement is so great compared to what people want to pay. It is so pretty that lots of people would want to buy it until they hear the price.

Think simpler quilts like an Irish chain. They look complicated.

I get so many people who want to buy my quilts. They have no idea of the time involvement. My friend showed her quilt and someone saw it, fell in love and wanted to buy it. It was a queen size log cabin with hand applique, gorgeous thing. She was tired of it, never used it and thought $300. It paid for the fabrics and a little time but not much. No the person was not even willing to pay that, she was willing to pay less than the actual cost of the fabric.

If you want to sell them and at least make fifty cents an hour, use bargain fabric and do a quick quilt that looks complicated. People don't know fabric quality, hardness of design or even workmanship, they see color and shape.

But for this wonderful quilt, I see people wanting it for it's beauty but not willing to pay the time involvement plus cost of materials.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I've also got quilts for sale, but am unwilling to drop my prices. I've used good quality material, spent time LAing them & so forth. I'm not going to turn around and give them away just because a non-quilter wants to pay Walmart prices. If that's what they want to pay, go to Walmart & let it fall apart in a year! Mine last forever! I do have repeat customers that commission me to make quilts for them, but they know I don't use cheap materials & know I spend the necessary time to complete a quality product.
What I do to come up with price is take all the materials, quilting, etc & double that amount for the time I've spent on it. Hence, if your costs amount to $150, you should be asking $300 for that quilt. Don't be shy either, stick to your guns on the price. If it sits for several months, then discount it 10-15% & maybe it'll sell. Don't sell yourself short! Too many people out there are not recouping their costs for material, don't be one of them.

needlefruit 12-25-2012 06:45 AM

Ditto on all the replies re demographics. In South Central Texas, $150 is too low. After about 6 years of selling quilts & quilted items at a high end, jurored Christmas event nearby, my daughter and I arrived @$6.75/sq ft. ($163.17) for a 59x59. HOWEVER, we scoured the area for fabric and batting sales, and we stayed with simpler pieced patterns to keep that rate down. A more complicated pattern such as yours made from fabrics purchased at the going rate would have be much more or you would be giving them away! A good way to determine a 'gettable' rate for your area is to visit local quilt shops and check the prices on their displayed quilts. We made notes on sizes and prices and then came home and did the math. Good luck!

coopah 12-25-2012 06:45 AM

Here's what bothers me:Why will ordinarily sane women go buy a bracelet for $$$ and then add charms in the $$ range and not pay $$$ for a nicely constructed handmade quilt ? Or pay upwards of $300 for a stinkin' purse because some famous person has their name stamped on it. Quiltmakers need to stand firm on their value...what makes that tough is the economy. But we now pay up to $15 a yard for fabric (which is narrower, have you noticed?), so if someone wants to work for free or make goods and sell them for the enjoyment of it...well, that makes it hard on those who do need to make money this way. If someone really wants something, they find a way to pay the asking price. If you reduce the price on this quilt, you will be expected to continue doing so. IMHO

tomodachi1 12-25-2012 06:53 AM

Melody: Your quilt is beautiful. I do not make any quilt for sale, as people are not willing to pay for the cost of materials, quitting, and time spent. I agree that $300 is a fair price, but you might consider making some smaller things, and realize that most people still think that Wallmart prices are what the going price is. I was a potter in Japan and could sell my things there, but here I was told that the prices were too high. Remember the cost of your time is important and just because you enjoy doing it, you should get paid a fair amount.
Ms. Mouse

gabeway 12-25-2012 07:53 AM

I would consider at least cost plus 25% on to as a minimum. Great job on quilt.


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