A queen quilt holds $150 of fabric and forty hours of work, the price should know both. Enter materials, your hours and rate, and the quilting (yours or a long arm quilter’s by the square inch); the figure comes back itemized.
The Quilt and Your Costs
Charge at Least
$961
90 × 100 in · longarm at 2.5¢/sq in
Quote it itemized, exactly as the rows read, the number explains itself when the hours show.
- Materials$160.00
- Labor 30 h × $15.00$450.00
- Quilting 9,000 sq in$225.00
- Overhead 15%$125.25
- Your effective wage$19.17/hr
The Formula
price = (materials + hours × rate + quilting) × (1 + overhead %)longarm quilting = width × length × rate per square inchLongarmers bill by the square inch: pantograph edge-to-edge commonly runs a few cents, custom work double and up. Quilting it yourself, the hours belong in your labor line instead.
Worked Example
A commissioned queen, 90 × 100: $160 materials, 30 hours of piecing and binding at $15, edge-to-edge longarm at 2.5¢, 15% overhead:
- Labor: 30 × 15 = $450. Quilting: 9,000 sq in × $0.025 = $225.
- (160 + 450 + 225) × 1.15 = $960: quote $950–1,000.
- Sticker shock is the buyer meeting thirty real hours for the first time. Itemize the quote exactly as this page does and the number explains itself.
What the Formula Says by Size
Materials from typical yardage, 15 dollars an hour, hours scaled by area, edge-to-edge quilting, 15% overhead: arithmetic, not market quotes.
| Quilt | Materials | Hours | Quilting | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Throw 50×65 | $70 | 15 | $81 | $430 |
| Twin 70×90 | $110 | 22 | $158 | $690 |
| Queen 90×100 | $160 | 30 | $225 | $960 |
| King 108×108 | $210 | 38 | $292 | $1230 |
How to Find Your Inputs
- Materials: run the quilt calculator for yardage and multiply by your fabric’s price; batting and thread ride along.
- Hours: time one quilt honestly: cutting, piecing, pressing, basting, binding, label. Most first-timers discover double the hours they guessed.
- Longarm rate: your local longarmer’s price sheet wins; the presets are common figures to start from.
Assumptions and Defaults
- Overhead covers machine wear, rotary blades, electricity, market fees.
- Commissions deserve a deposit: half the materials and quilting up front is customary.
- Heirloom and show work bills higher rates; this page floors the price, it doesn’t cap it.
Quilt Pricing Questions, Answered
How much is a handmade quilt worth?
A handmade quilt is worth its materials plus your hours at a real rate plus the quilting, which brings the queen example to about $1,000 and a throw to about $450 to $600. Comparisons with mass-market quilts miss the point, since a $60 store quilt and forty hours of someone’s handwork are different things entirely.
What do longarm quilters charge?
Longarm quilters charge by the square inch: edge-to-edge pantograph designs commonly run a few cents, custom quilting from double that upward, and most set a minimum of about $75 to $100. A queen at 2.5¢ per square inch comes to $225, so ask your local quilter for their price sheet and enter their rate in the quilting field.
How do I price a T-shirt or memory quilt commission?
A T-shirt or memory quilt commission prices by the same formula plus the preparation hours, since stabilizing twenty shirts adds real time. Take a deposit, write the shirt count and quilt size into the agreement, and reprice by the formula if the count grows.
Can I price a quilt by doubling the materials?
Doubling the materials prices the $160 queen at $320, which pays about $5 an hour for your thirty hours, before longarm fees and overhead. Multiplier pricing hides the labor that makes up most of a quilt’s cost, so hours times rate has to stay at the center of the price.