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How to price handmade quilts

Quilts take many hours, and that's where most quilters undercharge. A fair price can surprise even the maker. If you count your hours honestly, the result usually is high.

1. Materials

Count yardage for the top (with cutting waste), backing, binding and batting at what you actually paid, plus thread, and the pattern license if your pattern requires one for selling finished quilts. Scrap quilts still have a material cost. Value scraps at a reasonable fraction of what they cost.

2. Labor

Time each stage: cutting, piecing, pressing, basting, quilting, binding, labeling and washing. Many quilters track hours over several projects to get a reliable average by quilt size and complexity.

3. Outsourced quilting

If a longarm quilter does the quilting, use their invoice. Longarm services often charge by area and by pattern density, plus batting and thread, so get a quote for your size.

4. Overhead

Rotary cutters and blades, mats, rulers, machine servicing, an iron, and the space quilting takes up.

Platform and payment fees

Marketplaces usually take a percentage of each sale plus fixed per-order or per-listing charges, and payment processing is often separate. Fee schedules change, so read your platform's current fee page rather than trusting a number you saw once. Remember that fees are charged on the price the customer pays, so they grow as your price grows. Calculate them on your final price, not on your cost.

Choosing a markup

Once you know your true cost (materials + labor + overhead), multiply it to get a price. A common maker rule of thumb is wholesale at about 2× true cost and retail at about 2× wholesale, but that is a starting point, not a law. Check the result against what comparable products actually sell for, then decide whether your quality, story or speed justifies sitting above or below that range. If the price you need is far above what buyers pay, the fix is usually cost or time, not a smaller margin.

Some quilters charge for labor at a lower hourly rate for very large quilts. Others price by the square inch for custom work. Whatever you choose, write down your rate and method so each quote is consistent. Custom quilts deserve a deposit before you buy fabric.

Worked example

Notice that the profit line comes after you've paid yourself for your time. That's the number that tells you whether this product is a business or a hobby.

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