In which I am not a Chinese sweatshop worker

[Pixilated]

Wha? Did she think you had magic elves sewing for you or something? Does she not realize the amount of work that goes into quilting, hand sewing, custom patterns, etc? The woman is out of her mind, and I hope she realizes what you're worth and comes crawling back!

(Emphasis mine) I'm assuming she does not quilt -- it seems that, as the ability to DIY recedes into the far distance for more and more people, too many people have no clue what's involved in anything handmade. "What do you mean, you want $XX for that?? I can get it at [giant box store] for $X!!"

Well ... don't let me detain you.

[bhskittykatt]

"What do you mean, you want $XX for that?? I can get it at [giant box store] for $X!!"

Well ... don't let me detain you.

Thought I don't think you could even get that at the rates this woman was asking. I think we paid around $80 for our king-size comforter. Not a quilt, just a plain ol' blanket, and that was the cheapest one they had. I could see $250 for one big quilt!

Offering $35 per quilt is insulting and delusional. I don't know how big the quilts she was asking for, but even for just a small baby blanket, that's low for a handmade custom job.

[Seshat]

Stick to your guns, Kanalah.

Handmade work is worth much, much more than minimum wage!

[wagegoth]

Kanalah, you should not back down. But please consider how much you're charging. If you charge too little, you devalue your work and people will take advantage of it. It seems it wouldn't make sense, but often people willingly pay more for less, because they think they're getting something special based on the price. It's why those designer bags that are made in China go for thousands of dollars, when you could buy a ripoff for a tenth the price that is the same quality.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Enjoy that chocolate...you earned it!! I have NO idea what goes into quilting, moneywise or anything else, but it's work done by hand and by someone who knows what she's doing...who has the right to charge as she pleases. Don't like it? Hit the road, Jack(ie).

I would love to have a quilt by you. Someday.

[HiddenMica]

I just got a quote on a queen size quilt for five hundred dollars, granted that's including the cost of the fabric, (I asked for the pretty batiks with a lot of appliques) and after shopping around that seemed reasonably priced. She was the third I talked to about this particular quilt. This lady is a bit coo coo for coco puffs if you as me. Certainly doesn't know what she is getting herself into or the kind of work that is needed. Hell I'm giving the lady a few months to get everything in order just in case since it's a birthday present.

Don't lessen your standards and let her realize it on her own. If you really need the money stay polite but don't lower it further or she'll probably tell everyone she knows about you. Then you'll get more of them coming at you in typical "but you did it for heeeeerrrrrrr," fashion. Hopefully she'll smarten up once she asks around some more and concede to your price but even then be careful because she sounds like one that will try and swindle you out of your money's worth.

Maybe I'll get a quilt to go with the one I just ordered from you for a present for myself. lol. I'll have to keep you in mind for that when the time comes!

[Zaiida]

One queen size quilt, four twins and two crib sizes. She already had all the materials and the tops done, just needed them quilted.
Total for all seven quilts came to: $813.02

And she's having a fit?!?That's less than minimum wage. Good onya for telling her to take a hike.

[Argabarga]

I'm amazed you can point out the cost of materials alone will go over their projected payment price, and they STILL dont' see what's wrong....

[ArcticChicken]

Haggling is okay for any sort of custom work, but there's a huge difference between haggling and being downright insulting.

A bit of Haggling may be acceptable for custom work, but if someone told me $850 for that amount of quilting, I'd be all "Here, take my money before you come to your senses!"

[mharbourgirl]

I almost choked on my coffee. And I am NOT a sewer. Handiwork that isn't cooking or gardening makes me twitchy. But my mother is an excellent seamstress, her mother could knit anything and used to make me quilted doll blankets out of sewing scraps. My MIL is a champion knitter and used to make quilts regularly. She and her mother used to make a king-size quilt that was auctioned off at the village fair every year, and I met people who would plan their family vacations around the fair just so they could have a chance at the quilt (to the extent of driving an RV from Arizona to Nova Scotia in hopes of winning!). MIL and GMIL put hundreds of hours into these quilts and they were amazing.

Which is to say, I know intimately just how much work that is when done by hand, and I wouldn't blink at any price you set. I don't haggle with artisans when I don't have the skills to make something myself. That's just rude.

[emax4]

When I buy something from an artisan, regardless of what it is, I don't dispute their price because I have no idea what kind of work it takes to make the magic happen. It's not my job to tell you what your services are worth, after all.

A THOUSAND TIMES, YES! I used to work at Guitar Center and had to deal with haggling. Whatever money I take off is food off of my table, so I hated it. In essence, Whenever I would go somewhere to shop, I never haggled. So if someone priced their wares, whether it was homemade goods or hand-drawn art, I realized both types of artists put in their own handiwork on that, and I'm sure they would tired of people haggling over their prices, so in order to be a good customer and such I just paid whatever they were asking.

[Kanalah]

Well she only needed them assembled and quilted, but a lot of people don't know that that is the most difficult and time consuming part of making a quilt.

For example, I can assemble the top for a queen size in roughly 10 hours, but it takes me 40 hours to get it quilted.

If she wanted me to custom make all 7 quilts, she was looking at $1500 at least.

[AyreBiskits]

if it's not really complicated and she's already got the material and some of the work done, then she should be perfectly capable to finish it herself. she should take pride in something she's completed herself, to see and appreciate how much artistic work goes into making a handmade quilt. and all the joy and exhilaration she will experience in showing off her accomplishment to others, that maybe her handiwork will be carried down for generations. maybe that her outward display of love and affection she has for her family and future generations of her family to make such a fine quilt would even one day be featured in a national media outlet so that others would be amazed at her talent and skill and just maybe she will bring a little bit of happiness into someone's life, bring world peace and end hunger around the world.


oh hell, what am i kidding? she probably can't poor p!ss out of a boot with the instructions on the heel.

tell her to go pound sand.

[XCashier]

-- it seems that, as the ability to DIY recedes into the far distance for more and more people, too many people have no clue what's involved in anything handmade.

They do not have any clue at all. I see it all the time at the fabric store; people who want to sew something and genuinely think they can "whip it together" without using a pattern, taking measurements or knowing how much fabric they will need. It's kind of sad, really. As much as I like to encourage people to try new crafts, one really should know what one is getting in to.

[Seshat]

It's probably watching people like me who can do things without a pattern that confuses them.

What they don't know is that I have a pattern in my head: and I only try it with certain types of things. If there's going to be a curve - and definitely if there's going to be a princess seam - there's going to be at least a cursory pattern!

(If I want a straight, non-bias seam, I cut along the warp or the weft of the fabric. Or a column/row if it's a knit.)