A friend asked a question of me that I had not heard before. They asked if I was accepting orders for quilts. The short answer to that question is "no", but there is a longer answer.
I have read about other quilters opening up the possibility of creating a quilt in exchange for cash. The responses to the associated costs are generally a sense of shock with a sprinkling of outrage. When the costs of a quilt get broken down, it suddenly becomes a less attractive option.
Most of my quilts are created for babies. They measure a little under 5 feet by 5 feet. That works out to 25 square feet or roughly 2.8 square yards.
Most fabric comes on a bolt that is close to 40" wide; that a bit over 1 yard. We can talk about yards of material as a linear measurement or an area measurement and the result is essentially the same.
For most of those baby quilts, I buy somewhere between 4 and 5 yards of material. I buy material on sale when I can get it. I also know a couple of online stores where I can get pretty good prices from time to time. But there are also times when I pay FLEET pricing; Full List Each and Every Time. As a gross average, let's use $10 per yard of material. That works out to $50 for just the material to make the top.
Then there is batting that goes in the middle. I generally get it on sale. Using $15 per yard, then we have another $30 as you always get a little more than you really need.
Finally, there is the backing material. Due to the size of the quilts, you have to use a wider material width. Those easily run $12 per yard and sometimes more. There is another $24 in material cost.
The total fabric cost then runs to roughly $100. That doesn't include thread or any of the other consumable supplies. It also doesn't cover the cost of time. A baby quilt takes me roughly 20 hours to complete. What is the value of my time based on the quality of work that I do?
Consider that fast food joints in my area are hiring people with no experience at $10 per hour. Consider that shops are hiring people in my area with no experience at $14-16 per hour. There are costs (i.e. employers portion of the payroll taxes, etc.) on top of that.
I've made over 20 quilts and learned a bit on each one. Mostly I've learned what not to do, but that is another story.
While my work won't win any awards, it's also not exactly beginner level work either. I'd feel pretty good about asking for $20 per hour or about $400 for a baby quilt for labor. That makes the total about $500.
If we are talking about a queen or king-sized quilt, then you end up multiplying that by at least 3. It's a lot of work and material!
And that is why I give quilts away. I know I've done my level best and have provided them with a visually interesting piece of work. It's the one part of the process that is mine to control. I don't have to put a price tag on the quilt. The kind words of thanks and stories about the kids that grew up dragging their quilts around the house are more valuable to me than the cost of the materials and time spent making them.
If I start doing it for money, then the entire activity becomes something else. Something that has to be justified rather than appreciated.
