I'll be interested in your replies. I have several quilts I'd love to just move on to a new home, hopefully by selling them. We have twice a year, quilt swaps, hosted by local quilt shops, and hopefully I can sell several at those - if not, they'll go to a charity or two. I priced the tops at roughly .01/sq. inch, and the quilts (most hand-quilted) at .02/sq. inch, rounding off to a good amt. - and I'm thinking this just does not reflect the true value of the work I put into them, but you have to figure in just what the public is willing to pay, and be realistic, I guess.

For the past few years I have been selling my quilts at craft fairs, by commission, and now on Etsy. I am not an expert quilter, but not a beginner either. Here are some prices that I currently have for my quilts:

baby quilt, scrappy, small size: $100-120
baby quilt, special fabrics bought, pieced and some applique: $125 to $150
larger lap quilts, scrappy: $120 to $140
full size bed quilt: $250
kings and queens would be higher
small quilts, wall quilts, and table squares or runners:
begin at $50 and up depending on size and design

Family members, co-workers, and friends get a slight discount as do repeat customers.

This is what works for me, YMMV. If I don't sell something after a while, I either give it to a charity or make a gift of it to someone that I care about.

If we priced by how much time we put in a quilt, we might not sell any. But, at these prices, I regularly sell my quilts and I have repeat customers, so I must be doing something right. I usually raise my prices about every two years.

Teresa

Don't know if this helps, but I paid around $350 for a California queen size quilt form Pat's quilts about 6 years ago. I think you can look up her website and she has current pricing.
Clara

Teresa, I didn't know you ebay. I'd like to see how you format (or set up) your auction. Can you send me an email with a link to one? Can you tell me how you learned how to list things? Also do you use auction software to set them up? Thanks!

Our guild did a big quilt 90x90 and hand quilted it. We always track the hours put into a quilt and they valued that quilt at $600. I don't think this is out of line...there was $200 of material and 500 hours of quilting and they figure handquilting at $10/hr.

I am doing my first commission quilt a throw approximately 52x70 with 2 16" pillow covers for $250. At first I thought I was charging plenty...but I have purchased backing, batting and background and am already up to $125 so it really adds up fast.

There is a lady on the internet that sells quilt tops mostly 50x60 and she charges $75-$100 for the tops...I don't feel she is out of line.

You are right that it depends on your area and time of year, but I would not cheap out on any of my quilts just because I have too many.

These are my opinion for what they're worth.
Jean

I am working on my second comissioned quilt (third one waiting to be started). I charge $350.00 (half up front) which does not include the fabric or batting. Unless they have a specific pattern, I select the pattern and give them choices, we shop together for their fabric choices and the batting the purchaser pays for the fabric and I am off to make a quilt. This works best for me as I have no expense out of pocket and I can ensure the person will not back out because of the upfront investment.

Marty (Missouri)

Marti, I think you have an excellent system...I don't want to get into custom work so hope this is the only one I do.
Jean

There was a post on here, probably 8-10 months ago on quilt pricing, and the one method that made the most sense to me was to base the price on the square footage of the quilt, taking into account the cost of materials and the compexity. If I remember right, the lower end was $15.00 a square foot up to $30.00 a square foot. It prices the quilts much higher, but also is the most accurate way that I have heard of to get fair value for your work on a quilt. I looked at how that would price a twin size quilt I was working on, and it about made me all over, even when I dropped the amount down to $10.00 a square foot, but considering the work I was putting into it, and thinking if it was possible to do this for a living, it made more sense. Most skilled tradespeople are making at least $15.00 an hour. I guess it helped to think of it as a business rather than as a hobby, if that makes sense. It gave me a little more confidence that if someone asked me to make something for them, I could tell them up front what the cost would be, then they could decide whether it was worth their while. Before, I just set a price that I hoped wouldn't offend them and I felt like I still had to apologize for.

Keeping in mind that I quilt primarily for the pleasure of the process, it is my passion, my hobby, my creative outlet, my therapy, etc. etc. in no way do I want to make it a business. I do know that if I price these tops and quilts that I want to move on (in order to make room for more) I just cannot realistically set a price so high that people will even consider them. It's a dilemma for me. I basically just want the price of my materials, and the fun of the piecing and quilting was, in a way of looking at it, my remuneration.

May I add a few thought here? I began quilting about 7 years ago to fill some time and to use fabrics I had on hand. My experiments were not professional and I was well aware of it. I sewed my blocks on the machine and machine tacked them. The first 2 that I made I donated to an organization that helped young women establish new homes for their families. Then, I decided to try something a bit different and made a quilt for each of my 4 children.

Sun Bonnet Sue came into my life and I felt like I was playing with dolls again, and made 4 quilts using Sue, simply because I got carried away making "dolls." Those I gave away to women who were close friends.

Now, I am working on various types of quilts and still not secure enough to want to set a price on them. One friend asked me to finish an Ohio Star quilt for her. She offered me $150 and I was thrilled. As we all know, we are our own worst critics, but if I felt someone wanted to buy my work and offered me a pittance for it, I would offer it to a charity where I know it would be valued. Taking less than the value of a quilt can be demeaning to the quilter.

If money is not an issue, meaning you don't need to sell your quits to help with household expenses, take the plunge and find a family at Christmas who would cherish a quilt as a gift. There are many needly people in our world. But if you need to use your quilts for income, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What has been your pleasure in the creation, is something that will stay with you for a long time. Savor those moments with full pleasure.

June in Cincinnati

Thank you to everyone that responded to my post. I've decided to sell the quilts at a price per square foot with the later ones (better workmanship) priced higher than earlier ones. Thanks again.I really enjoy this forum....Geraldine

Marti,
I tried to send you an email from your web site but couldn't.
My quilts are not sold at auction on ebay - I have a shop on Etsy, a web site for selling handmade items.

Teresa

Just a note on one way I have priced items when I was selling them but I have to admit I was mainly interested in buying more materials rather then profit. I would often take the cost of materials and multiply it by 3 or 4 and use that as the price. Hand quilted items were priced higher.
Jayne

I'm sorry Teresa. I don't know why it didn't work. The email I have registered here is marti_W6 at hotmail dot com.