How to Price Handmade Lap Quilts

A lap quilt is sized to fit the lap of a seated person.

Handmade lap quilts require special skill, technique and craftsmanship, making them more valuable than commercially produced quilts. If you are a skilled quilter, you may find it lucrative to sell your pieces, whether online, in a store or at craft or vendor exhibits. However, to maximize profits and sales, it is essential to appropriately price your lap quilts.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator
• Pen and paper

Instructions

1. Research competitor prices, according to QuiltingBusiness.com. Importantly, your competitors are the other handmade quilt makers with whom you will be competing for customers. For instance, if you intend to sell quilts at a local craft store or boutique, visit all the quilt-selling craft stores and boutiques in your area to get an idea of lap quilt prices.

2. Calculate the cost of materials. Typically, lap quilts are considerably smaller than bed quilts, but the squares in a lap quilt may range from 10 to 30. Calculate only the cost of materials that go into a specific quilt. For instance, consider fabric, thread, starch, batting, chalk and embellishments, rather than scissors, needles, measuring tape or other products, which you reuse to make different quilts. Typically, the costs of thread, starch, batting and chalk will be consistent from quilt to quilt. However, the chosen fabric will significantly affect costs. Silk, for instance, is more pricey than cotton or polyester. Embellishments, such as buttons, ribbons or other decorative additions, will also add to costs.

3. Calculate the number of hours you typically spend creating a lap quilt. Multiple this figure by the hourly wage you determine is fair for your labor. Minimum wage in United States is about $5 to $8 an hour, and skilled craftspersons earn at least two times--most likely three times--more than that, according to quilting experts.

4. Calculate fixed costs, including any monthly expenses for advertising, accounting, banking, insurance and transportation, for example. Divide monthly fixed costs by the number of quilts made in a typical month. For instance, if your fixed costs total $300 a month and you make six quilts a month, the fixed cost for a single quilt is approximately $50.

5. Add the figures from your cost of materials, the hourly wage you came up with and your fixed costs per quilt (steps two through four). Multiply this figure by approximately 115 percent or 130 percent, depending on how much markup you want to add to the quilt. Compare this figure to competitor prices you researched in step one and adjust accordingly. Unless your quilts are truly unique, avoid pricing considerably higher than your competitor's quilts. According to QuiltingBusiness.com, a traditional quilt may cost, on average, $480 before mark-up, including $120 for labor, $300 for materials and $60 for fixed costs. However, since a lap quilt is considerably smaller than a traditional quilt, your labor and materials costs will likely reduce the total price of the quilt.

Tips & Warnings

• Ideally, calculate the costs of materials for a specific quilt before making it. This way, you can get a tentative idea of the price that you may be able to charge for the quilt. If the price is too high, reduce the dimensions of the quilt or adjust your materials. For instance, switch from silk to cotton fabric and reduce the number of embellishments.

References

• Quilting Business: How to Price Your Quilt
• Quilt How To: How To Make Lap Quilts
• U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division (WHD)