How Much Does It Cost To Have A Quilt Hand Quilted
A handmade quilt is one of the most exquisite things ever. It is a labor of love that looks pretty and feels super comfy. But how much does it cost to have such a handmade quilt?
The price of handmade quilts depends on a lot of factors, such as nature and quality of fabric, batting pattern, and so on. It also depends on the use of authentic material and the time taken to make a quilt.
All in all, a handmade quilt does not come for cheap. However, there are ways to reduce that cost to some extent. With that being said, read on to know more about the cost of having a handmade quilt and how to control that cost.
What is the Cost of Hand Quilting a Quilt?
Contents
- What is the Cost of Hand Quilting a Quilt?
- Cost Considerations for Making a Baby Quilt
- How Are Quilting Services Priced?
- Factors to Consider In Pricing Quilting Services
- Preparation Costs for a Handmade Quilt
- How Handmade Quilts Get Priced?
- What Makes Handmade Quilts So Expensive?
- Is Quilting A Costly Hobby?
The cost of hand quilting a quilt can fluctuate considerably, based on both material used and size. If you go to town on the fabric, you can approximately spend around sixty to four hundred dollars.
You should keep all the things basic and search the stores to find the cheapest possible material and you can even bring that cost down by a half or quarter. However, it is important to ensure that you get authentic and not the fake ones flooding the market.
Cost Considerations for Making a Baby Quilt
The baby quilts might be small, but that does not mean that they are cheap to make. However, it is important to keep in mind in this regard that you can bring down the total cost based on the type of material you select.
Let us keep aside the labor cost because that is more of a variable point. If we focus solely on the cost of material, including the batting, fabric, and embroidery thread, you can expect to spend nearly sixty dollars. Though there are means and ways to bring this figure down by buying wholesale or going for cheaper fabrics.
How Are Quilting Services Priced?
Before moving on to the formulas that can help you in properly pricing a quilt, let’s look at the factors on which the prices of a quilting service depend on.
The thing that is considered while working out the prices is probable overhead costs. After all, not factoring the indirect costs of quilt making would only make the quilting services underprice their products and lose more than they earn.
Factors to Consider In Pricing Quilting Services
Keeping the overhead costs aside, the following factors are considered in most cases.
- Machine investment
- Utilities and insurance
- Supplies (backing fabric, batting, thread)
- Rent (if they are not working from home)
- Listing/advertising fees
- Professional fees (accountant, attorney, and so on)
Preparation Costs for a Handmade Quilt
You will also have to consider preparation costs and that includes factors like:
- Consultation fees
- Designing and planning
- Repairing and patching
- Thread trimming
- Bobbin winding
- Accounting and billing
- Batting and backing preparation
How Handmade Quilts Get Priced?
Setting the correct price for a handmade quilt is a tad bit tricky. As such, there are no hard and fast formulas that you can apply. Different quilters like different modes of pricing. So, some of them would go by the usual market prices and others might charge by a linear foot or square inch basis.
Some of the calculation methods might feel complicated. But quilters usually stick to one formula and continue using it for all their work. At the end of the day, there is no point in underselling one’s quilt or getting into competition with those dubious products flooding the market.
When a quilter is offering you high-quality work, they will charge appropriately for that.
Handmade Quilt Pricing Formula
So, the most tried and tested formula for pricing handmade quilts have been outlined below. It might seem a tad bit complicated at first, but stay with us and we will explain it to you.
- Material + Time = Cost Price
- Cost Price x Cost Price = Wholesale Price
- Wholesale Price x Wholesale Price = Retail Price
In case you are still struggling, let’s break down these terms for you:
Time Cost
The cost of the time invested in making a quilt is time cost or labor cost. Some people take twenty dollars an hour as labor cost, while others do it at ten.
Material Cost
Material cost is strictly for things like batting, threads, fabric, and so on. The equipment or setup is not a factor here.
Wholesale Prices
Figuring out the wholesale price becomes a lot easier when you have a calculator or a good sense of math. If you double your cost price, you will get your whole price that will be enough to cover all the overheads like electricity, sewing machine, and so on.
Retail Prices
Similar to what you did with the wholesale prices, you will get the retail prices by doubling wholesale prices. It might sound too ambitious but the sellers do it to protect themselves from losses and covering packaging costs, and the cost of photographing. An experienced quilter will know better than to undercut the actual cost of making a quilt.
Calculating Cost per Square Inch
Charging by square inch is a traditional way of calculating the costs. Per se, most quilters will charge three to fifteen cents per square inch. The total cost involves the fabric type, the skill level, the quality of materials, and the material.
Cost Breakdown for Making a Quilt
The amount of money that goes into making a quilt is based on multiple variables, so it is hard to put it in exact figures. But if you only consider the basic and keep aside the complicacies of labor costs, the cost to have a queen-size quilt of 90” x 100” would look somewhat like this:
- Fifteen yards fabric at $12.95 per yard = $194.25
- Eight yards of backing at $12.92 per yard = $103.36
- Three yards batting at $12.95 = $38.85
- Pattern @$10
- Total cost of having a quilt (without labor) = $346.46
The prices of fabric depend massively on the vendor, quality and location. You can expect to pay anything between seven to fifteen dollars per yard.
What Makes Handmade Quilts So Expensive?
If you know anything about the prices of handmade quilts that come from China, you will probably be shocked at the average price of your own country-made quilts. However, there is a huge difference in the quality of an honest and real homemade quilt and the one that is claiming to be “handmade.”
Unfortunately, explaining this crucial difference to a completely new buyer can be deeply frustrating. In fact, the sales people might end up losing a sale in spending hours trying to get the buyers to see the difference.
Things are different for an experienced quilter: they know that a quilt is nothing short of a labor of love. Yes, it is highly rewarding, but also unbelievably time-consuming. Even if you dedicate all your time in the process, a complete queen-sized quilt would at least take a month or even more to finish.
Quilters usually do not charge an hourly minimum wage. After all, they would make zero sales if they did!
So, of course, the quilts are expensive. But think about the amount of time and effort that has gone in them. And you will realize that the thousand dollars price tag is absolutely reasonable.
Is Quilting A Costly Hobby?
There is no denying that quilting is one of the most rewarding hobbies that one can have. You might decide to bid goodbye to all kinds of technology and only opt for hand sewing. Even then, the materials you would require would cost you a fortune.
If you buy a longarm, you will be adding to the cost even further. In any case, a quality longarm can cost anywhere between a thousand to thirty thousand dollars, and even more.
Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
- How To Hem Chiffon With Tape - January 21, 2024
- How To Fix Ripped Jeans That Ripped Too Much? - January 9, 2024
- How To Make Pants Waist Smaller Without Sewing? - January 8, 2024
