I have been thinking about selling my Easy As ABC quilt, and have been thinking about what price to ask for it. In light of the recent furor discussions at Molli Sparkles last week, I have had a lot more to think about! I posted this picture on Instagram to share my current thoughts at the time which was that even at absolute bare minimum of costs and labour, and not yet fully costed out, I was already a fair chunk over what I’m thinking of asking for the quilt. It raised a few interesting points – you can read the comments here. But most interestingly was the shock at what I considered a minimum wage.
It provoked a thought – is quilting more valuable outside America? If we’re looking at the various costs involve in making a quilt, let alone trying to sell a quilt, maybe it actually is.
Materials
The bare bones of quilting is the fabric we use. Batting, fabric, fusible interfacings, trim… the list is endless for what can go into creating a quilt. Where we source our fabric and for what price has a big impact on any final product pricing when we attempt to at least cover costs.
Theoretically, local should be cheaper as you’re not paying for shipping costs or customs taxes and duties. In Australia, for decent designer fabric, you can expect to pay at least AU$20/m (US$18.11), if not more, for Moda fabric ranges. In the UK, Kona sells for £7.60/m (US$10.31). These prices are at least twice what you would pay for the equivalent online from the US! Even adding in an extra US$2.40 per yard for 10 yards stuffed into a flat rate envelope, it’s still a lot cheaper. Here in Japan, to buy “American fabric” (ironically mostly printed in Japan or Korea!) is somewhere in between Australia and the UK.
Note – This is not at all an attack on local quilt stores – they are only charging fairly according to what they pay themselves from the distributors.
Minimum wage
When it comes time to sell a quilt, a factor you need to consider is whether or not to include some kind of labour costs. From cutting to piecing to quilting to binding – making a quilt is not a quick task! The standard rate of pay for this that people reference is the “minimum wage”. But the minimum wage for where?!
The minimum wage in Australia is $16.37 (US$14.83, £9.08) PLUS superannuation (9.25%), PLUS leave (4 weeks annual leave plus 10 personal days). That’s not for a casual position, which would be more per hour again to account for no entitlements.
The minimum wage in America is officially $7.25 (£4.44, AU$8.00) but varies greatly from state to state, and is dependent on the type of labour. Tipped labour may be as low as $2.13 an hour! And from what I can see, this does not include any form of leave or superannuation.
The minimum wage in England is £6.31 (AU$11.38, US$10.31) and includes 5.6 weeks annual leave. I’m not sure what the pension/superannuation deal is for the UK.
And a quilter’s minimum wage? In the comments on Molli Sparkles’ posts, quilters worked out that they were charging as low as $2 an hour… I sure hope they are at least covering their material costs plus a tip! And remember, this is minimum wage we’re talking about here. In “real jobs” people get pay rises, promotions, bonuses… they work long enough at a job and they move on from the minimum wage. As a fairly new quilter, with 2.5 years under my belt and minimal prior knowledge or training in art/quilting/sewing, I am ok with the idea of paying myself a minimum wage. Quilters with that prior experience and training deserve more than a minimum wage, just like any other career.
The real value of quilts
It all raises an interesting question… how do we value our quilts? Is it cost + labour? Does love play an important part in that equation? Do we want to pursue a “serious” handmade career? We need money to survive, there’s no doubt about that. For food, for shelter, for medical needs, for clothing. So clearly cost of living comes into play too. Should Australian’s work for less because we have socialised medicine? Should American’s raise their rates to help cover their medical costs? If you “would be sewing anyway”, should you cut your rates because there’s such a large element of love involved?
If we want to actually make quilting a viable career, but then spend 30+ hours making a quilt and sell it for $200 because “that’s what people will pay”, something needs to change. Working a whole work week and getting only a couple of hundred dollars? We need to start challenging people. We need to tell them about the amount of time and effort and money that we spent on our products. Oh this won’t be an overnight process, we are in for the long haul here folks!
But the biggest value in our quilts? Us. Our blood, sweat and tears that literally go into making our creations. We cannot underline the importance of valuing ourselves enough. Don’t settle for less than what you believe you are worth! And maybe that means not selling quilts, but instead giving more. Giving away quilts to our loved ones and charities is worth our sweat, blood and tears, for they understand our value! And this value does not change according to location, governments or living prices.
Jenelle says
I think you just hit on a huge social problem here in the U.S.. Yeah it’s embarrassing to admit that our society doesn’t provide for all of our workers in an equitable way. There are currently huge strikes going on now dealing with this very issue coming from the food service industry:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/fast-food-workers-strike-minimum-wage
I hope you can find a way to pay yourself a decent wage while communicating the added value that your handmade quilt has. I know how frustrating it is to find that the market really isn’t educated about the amount of skilled labor involved in making handmade items.
Gemma @ Pretty Bobbins says
What I have come to realise is that it is up to me to set my prices, to tell the world what I’m worth and to charge it. I used to ask quilting friends for advice pricing quilts and their suggestions were so soul destroyingly below the value of the quilt (I’m talking only $50 above covering my costs) that it allowed me to accept a higher but still way too low amount for a quilt. So after a two years of being a quilter (yes, you can say I’m a newbie and have no idea!) and a eighteen months of selling quilts, I’ve realised that I have to charge what my quilts are worth. Essentially I’m not going to undercharge just so I can find a buyer. And I’m not going to take commissions anymore because it’s too hard to give an accurate quote. It’s up to me to tell the world what I’m worth and that takes bravery but I have to find it in myself to do it because it is devastating to put your heart into something and get paid a pittance. And please don’t think that I’m stingy, I’ve given away over half the quilts I’ve made and been very happy to do so. It’s the ones that I sold too cheaply that I regret.
barbara woods says
if i say 200.00 dollars , they say thats to much so i just make for grandkids
Susie says
Great post and thought provoking. I would love to quilt for a ‘living’ but there would be no living off this wage calculated at present. It is about the love of it for me. As an accountant I totally understand the costings and reason for them but as a consumer that does not have loads of money, I couldn’t afford to pay what the quilt is truly worth.
Paula says
I’ve often been told I should sell my work but my answer is always the same: I’d love to but people just wouldn’t pay what it’s worth, and if nothign else it defintiely costs a lot more to create a quilt here in Switzerland than it does in the US. Here fabric is a ridiculous cost. Last week I priced some Art Gallery Oval Elements – they were $37 a meter (about $34 a yard) – this is admittedly the higher end of the scale, most quilting cottons will be between $18-25 a yard (still high). That alone bumps up the price of each item if you source materials locally. Needless to say I don’t because even after I pay shipping and import taxes and charges I still save significantly, but of course pay more than those in the US.
When it comes to payment for work done then that too would be considerably higher here. Minimum wage doesn’t officially exist here yet but there is an initiative in the works that would introduce a minimum of $23 per hour. For the self emplyoed then there are all sorts of insurances that also must be paid so if you were quilting as a buisness then these too would have to be taken into account when costing out the hourly rate.
Want to forget hourly rate and take the value charged by longarmers ? Well from the few cost estimates I’ve gotten here I believe the longarm fees here are at least 2-3 times those in the US.
At the end of the day any quilt I make is going to cost more in terms of raw materials and my time than an identical quilt made in the US. Is it more valuable for that, not as such, but there is no doubt that were I to consider selling my quilts i would be likely to be charging a lot more than someone in the US would for an identical piece.
Ruth says
I think one of the problems is when people undervalue their time and only charge $2 an hour for it. This then makes it harder for those who want to make a real living from selling their quilts as it devalues all quilts for sale.
Sharon says
Always count your fabric at full price – if you have to replace it, you will be paying full price. I have been selling quilts for 5 yrs – my Mom for over 40 yrs. We use this formula – full cost of ALL materials at full value + .70 for your time (so $200 materials = $140 of time) + quilting (we charge the same as any long armer and twice that for hand quilting). If we feel the quilt (due to size of specialty quilting need) needs to be sent to a longarmer, we have 4 we recommend – write up our paperwork and the client visits the long armer to discuss. If they set up an agreement, it is added to the paperwork with turn-around time. They get a copy of the contract. This commission contract/pricing is used on our in-home shop as well. And those quilts are written up on an inventorial sheet for insurance and tax purposes.
Serena @ Sewgiving says
Well said … Charities do well out of quilters – and long may it continue!
I’m always having to pay (sometimes extortionate) fees for things that I can’t do myself – electric work on a house, new fridge (try as I might I can’t make a fridge myself!) – so when someone has a skill or a talent that I don’t possess, then I have to pay. If I make a quilt and a client wants one because they can’t make it themselves – then, well, they are paying for my skill that they don’t possess. Simples.
Lorna McMahon says
Yes, giving a quilt to someone in need…. The rewards are greater than any monetary value. And make it all worth while!
Teje says
Hi! Great post! I’m interested hearing about wages in other places – here ther are so low now with the econimical crise that I don’t dare to mention. I think most of the quilters would like to sell quilts but it’s hopeless business. Perhaps it is because now the world is full of cheap things to buy so the value has changed totally. Only few can appreaciate real handmade so much to pay a lot. Sometimes I see that a quilt has been sold in expencive price (and doesn’t always even look that special) but there I think the seller was lucky to find just the right person to love that quilt.
Only an other quilter can really value the work one quilt needs, and she makes her own quilts! The second best is to make quilt patterns. There is always quilters who like to use patterns, new quilters just learning etc. But that’s an other story.
Happy weekend! x Teje
Carol a.k.a. Beulah says
“Don’t settle for less than what you believe you are worth!”
Amen!
And I shall add: reach for the stars and NEVER underestimate yourself!
Louise Allana says
Nice headline 🙂 I have a few random thoughts. As your quilting skill progresses, presumably the time it takes to complete the same quilt will drop too, somewhat evening out the hourly rate increase that you would be entitled to. Of course that stops at some point – a quilt will take a certain amount of hours to make no matter how much skill you have acquired. After acquiring more experience I guess you are then charging extra for the superior quality of your work – which may be harder to define and market in order to stand out from the crowd and make people desire to pay more for your work. I think the designs would have a huge role to play in demonstrating superior skill.
Melanie Sim says
Wow, this is a thought-provoking topic that sure hits close to home! Thanks for sharing Alyce. I’m really divided on this issue. I believe most of the points of view that people have are valid. On one hand, we work hard to make a beautiful quilt. There is the dreaming and planning, risk involved in trying a different combination, the dedication required to push through to a finished product. It’s worth far more than most of us dare to charge. Off the top of my head, I know of two quilters who are able to charge what their quilts are worth, and pay themselves a decent wage at the same time. And the one factor that makes them a success (besides talent) is the economic principle of supply and demand. They are massively popular and have waiting lists for custom slots – and ready made quilts fly off the shelves too!
On the other hand, there are relatively ‘undiscovered’ gems. Quilters whose blogs I follow, work I admire, but struggle to sell their work even when it’s discounted. I can’t pinpoint why they aren’t as successful. Maybe they don’t have the same cult following?
Recently I tried to sell a single bed quilt for $250. It cost me $150 in materials and between 40-50 hours of work. I know deep down it was worth more. I realised, however, that I didn’t have the the clamouring masses knocking at my door to buy my work…and at the end of the day, that was $150 down the drain. Unless I recovered some money back, I couldn’t afford to go out and buy heaps more supplies. And I reached a point where I’d rather keep quilting than sit back and proudly declare that I’m worth more.
People will disagree with me, and that’s cool. I think my long winded (sorry!) essay is reaching this conclusion: quilting hobbyists just want to recover enough money to keep buying stuff they love, to pursue a past time they love. If they can inflate prices to get paid for some time spent, that’s a great bonus. Serious quilters who make a living out of quilting have probably put their butt on the line a lot, got discovered and promoted early enough to keep viable, and have possibly diversified by selling patterns/designing fabric.
P.S. the $250 quilt I tried to sell? Didn’t sell. I’m not surprised, but of course was a little sad. I guess the potential buyers who saw it just weren’t willing to pay that much money.
Angela Bullard says
I have to agree with Melanie ^. I usually make a quilt just because:
1. I love sewing
2. I want an excuse to use a certain line of fabric
I think it’s great that people donate quilts but would it maybe be better to sell the quilt below what it’s worth and give the money to the charity? Would they get more use from a single quilt or $100 from a quilt you sold and donated that could be used to buy 4 cheap mass produced quilts? Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to knock those that donate their time, effort, and love. It’s simply something I’ve wondered in the past. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on pricing!
Molli Sparkles says
Preach, Alyce, preach! The more we talk about this, the more chance for change it has. Thank you for neon so clear in your point about localization. Yes, in Australia that is the minimum wage, but do remember the minimum wage is also based on the type of work you are doing and the industry. As I said previously, retail employees start at $19/hour plus those benefits you described. Surely your sewing skills are worth more than someone folding t-shirts at GAP all day? Also, you would need to add your 9.25% Superannuation (retirement fund) on top of your wage like any other self-employed person would. So to your ultimate point, yes, some parts of the world are more expensive than others. Because of this it means the goods and services in those countries are also more expensive. As to their true value? Well that’s up to the beholder, isn’t it? Thank you once again!!!
Joanna says
Just nitpicking, but $19 would be a casual rate for a retail worker, not a full time rate (so no benefits, except super). A fulltime rate in retail would be $16-$17; it’s not that much over minimum wage. I was a supervisor, one step under management, and as a full timer I was getting $20.52hr. A bottom level retail employee on $19hr fulltime, would be very rare.
Molli Sparkles says
Apologies, yes, I was speaking to the casual rate minimum for a retail employee. No paid holiday time or sick leave (but I suppose if you’re working for yourself as a quilter it would be similar flexibility), but you do still receive superannuation (aka retirement for the US folks!).
Janice says
I have never tried to sell a quilt but I made a quilt for my niece for her graduation. My sister’s son envied her so my sister asked me to make him a quilt. I couldn’t come up with a nice way of explaning how expensive it is to make and made him one for his birthday. I got my sister into quilting last year, which she loves, and she know understands how expensive it is. In fact she know goes on and on about how expensive it is and how no one understands except another quilter.
Rebeckah says
Amen sister! I have finally learned to price my quilts accordingly.
Meredithe says
Nobody thinks twice at paying a fortune for a painting or huge money for a doona cover, so why should we quilters be paid less than what our quilts are worth?!
Rita says
Oh, Alyce, you can sing this song all day long! It’s a lovely tune! I agree wholeheartedly and I was totally on board with Ms. Molli too! He’s my new quilting crush because he fights for our equality in the paying world. I’m sew worth it! And sew are you, sister!
Hilary says
This is such an amazing post. Being a stay at home mom with a sewing business (though it is quite small) is difficult when I quote people prices and they think it’s too expensive for what they want. I have even caught myself slashing prices because I was worried people would think they were too much.
Lea says
I’ve given all of my quilts to family, frinds and charity. I’ve been making quilts for 36 years. It has only been recently that I’ve made some and kept for our home. As quilters we all understand the time, costs, skill and knowledge in making a quilt. And if I were selling them I’d include the time and travel getting materials for the quilt, or mailing costs as well as hourly rate of skilled labor in my community. I’m not sure that non-quilters understand it, unless they know a quilter and the time we put into our art. People can buy cheap quilts in box stores and the way our economy is I think they are more inclined to do just that, out of necessity. I wouldn’t ask someone to repair my washer, dryer or refridgerator for a pittance yet people feel free to do this with quilters … so I hear.
A quilting friend sent this article to me “The Anonymous World of Quilting Viewed Through the Eyes of a Feminist” in Huffs Art and Culture. It made me wonder again why the valuable quilts and talents of women who make them are undervalued, in my opinion. I know more and more men are making quilts and I’m glad they are. But quilting is still mostly art created by women. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/23/workt-by-hand_n_4312371.html
Then I read this and can say at least the appreciation of our art is moving in the right direction.
http://sarahquilts.com/2013/11/22/inspired-by-ann-loveless-art-quilter/
wendy says
I’d like to know what company that is in England that gives 5.6 weeks holiday! I get 4 weeks and that is pretty much standard. We do get bank holidays too but we only get 8 of those a year, including Christmas and New Year!!
I don’t make quilts but I make other things to sell and people just aren’t willing to pay for them. They expect to pay less than an inferior quality Chinese import. It’s just not worth it.
Joanna says
I make quilts as a hobby, for fun. At this point in my quilting, I still find myself a learner and so I don’t mind only charging for the cost of materials as i find the experience in making the quilt to be just as valuable as earning some extra cash. As much as I agree with the argument “charge what you think you are worth”, I don’t think it works realistically, because I think I’m worth a million bucks, but that’s not going to happen. And honestly, I would raise my eyebrows and scoff a bit at someone trying to charge a high hourly rate, one that matches executive level professionals or management for sitting behind a sewing machine.
I’ve made a quilt that someone asked for and paid for, once, and I had complete creative control over it, apart from the directions “girly”. I felt kind of awkward about it and was terrified they wouldn’t like what I came up with. So I think I prefer to just making what I feel like and people choosing to buy out of that, rather than me trying to make something specific for them because I don’t think I would enjoy the experience of making the quilt as much, I do quilting for fun, as a hobby, and I don’t want to make it stressful!!
Kristel says
This is such an interesting topic and I haven’t got a huge amount to say about it, but skimming through the comments, I’m reminded of a scene from Six Feet Under, where Claire is entering a photograph of hers into an art show, and she can’t imagine anyone will buy it, so she puts $50 as a price. It’s the cheapest item in the show, and the only one that doesn’t sell (until her mom or boyfriend or someone like that buys it). Anyway, the point being that she undervalued her work and that made the viewers undervalue it as well, so much so that it wasn’t even worth the bother for them.
People never understand why I refuse to sell my quilts, but I wouldn’t undervalue my time/energy/effort, so I’m not sure anyone would want to pay for them.
It’s an interesting topic, anyway.