Quilting Is A Labour Of Love
You may of heard people say “Quilting Is A Labour Of Love.” Do you know why homemade quilts cost so much?
Most people have no idea the amount of labour that goes into making a homemade quilt. If you are one of them, don’t feel bad, you are not alone.
I’ve heard comments like “I’d never pay that much for a blanket for my bed”; “I can get a quilt at Costco for $100 bucks.” Of course that person is right, you can get a factory made quilt at Costco or any department store for a lot less than homemade quilts. You might even see the exact same quilt in different stores.
However, you will never find a your homemade quilt in the home of any of your friends or family because it will be one-of-a-kind custom made quilt. Not a cookie cutter quilt from the factory.
Because I love homemade quilts, and understand the labour involved, I decided to keep track of the cost and all the time to make one of my custom made quilts. Below you will find the break down of the beautiful Ribbon Star Quilt made with Oak Haven fabrics by Kansas Troubles Quilters for moda.
Cost Of Homemade Quilt
Costs for materials, construction & finishing for 83″ x 96″ (211 x 244 cm) custom sized quilt to fit Vera’s Double Antique Bed.
MATERIAL FOR QUILT:
Fabric for the top: (shopped during a 30% off sale) = $184.65
Included fabric for design, background and binding
Backing (3 meters of 108” wide on sale) = $42.24
Cotton batting (90 x 108 on sale) = $36.00
Thread: $ $18.05
Total Cost of Materials = $280.94
CONSTRUCTION:
(Labour based @ $10 per hour)
Minimum wage in Ontario, Canada as of January 1st, 2018 @ $14.00 per hour
Making the top: includes preparing the fabric, cutting the pieces, sewing the blocks, setting into rows, adding borders
49 hours x $10/hr = $490.00
Preparing the quilt for quilting: squaring backing, pressing and trimming all loose threads
3 hours x $10/hr = $30.00
Quilting on Long arm machine – rented – (charged by square inch for free motion all over design) 83 x 96 = 7968 / 144 = 55.3 square feet x $2.00 sq.ft. cost to me quilt on long arm $110.60 + $19.77 tax = $124.98
Custom quilting on long arm charged at $3.00 per sq.ft. for use of rulers, groovy boards, stencils etc.
9 hours labour for quilting on the long arm x $10/hr = $90.00
TOTAL Cost for Construction = $734.98
FINISHING:
Making binding: 1.5 hours x $10/hr = $15.00
Attaching the binding: 3 hours x $10/hr = $30.00
TOTAL Finishing cost = $45.00
TOTAL LABOUR: 65.5 hours
TOTAL COST OF QUILT = $1060.92
Note: larger quilts, a more intricate pattern, an elaborate quilting design (ie. Custom quilting) will cause the cost to increase.