Pricing is one of the hardest parts of running a quilting business. You want to be competitive enough to attract customers, but charge enough to actually make money. Many professional quilters -- especially those just starting out -- undercharge because they are not accounting for every real cost involved in making a quilt. This guide walks through exactly how to build a pricing structure that is fair to your customers and sustainable for your business.

Why Most Quilters Undercharge

The most common pricing mistake quilters make is charging only for the time they spend sewing. That overlooks a long list of real costs: thread, stabilizer, backing fabric, batting, shipping supplies, the electricity to run your machine, wear on your equipment, the time spent communicating with customers, and the time spent managing and tracking orders. When you add all of that up, quilts that felt profitable often are not.

The goal of this guide is to help you price with confidence, knowing that every dollar you charge is backed by a real cost or a fair return on your skill and time.

Step 1: Know Your Material Costs

Start with the materials that go into every quilt. For most custom quilts, your core material costs include batting, backing fabric, thread, stabilizer, binding material, and any packaging or shipping materials you use for delivery.

Calculate per-quilt materials: Write down every material you use for a single quilt, what you pay for it, and how much of it you use per quilt. Divide bulk costs down to a per-quilt number. For example, if a roll of batting costs $45 and covers three quilts, your batting cost per quilt is $15.

Do not forget consumables you go through regularly -- needles, bobbins, presser feet, and machine oil all have a per-quilt cost even if it is small. A reasonable estimate for consumables is $2 to $5 per quilt depending on your equipment and workload.

Tip: Track your material purchases by project for at least one month. The actual numbers are almost always higher than quilters estimate from memory.

Step 2: Calculate Your Labor Rate

Your labor is the single biggest component of any custom quilt price, and it is the part quilters most consistently undervalue. Start by deciding what you want to earn per hour. This should reflect the level of skill involved, the cost of living in your area, and what the market supports for custom handmade work.

A reasonable starting point for an experienced custom quilter is $15 to $25 per hour for production time. For highly specialized work -- like intricate applique, hand quilting, or one-of-a-kind memorial pieces -- that rate can and should be higher.

Time the full process: For each quilt type you offer, track the actual time from receiving the customer's materials to handing off the finished quilt. Include cutting, piecing, quilting, pressing, binding, and any finishing work. Do this for several quilts and average the results.

Once you know your average hours per quilt type, multiply that by your target hourly rate. That is your baseline labor cost. Everything else -- materials, overhead, profit margin -- gets added on top of that.

Step 3: Factor In Overhead

Overhead includes all the costs of running your business that are not tied to a single quilt. These costs are real, and they need to be covered by your pricing. Common overhead costs for a quilting business include:

  • Machine payments or depreciation (quilting machines are expensive and do not last forever)
  • Machine maintenance and servicing
  • Studio rent or a portion of your home utility costs if you work from home
  • Business insurance
  • Website hosting and domain costs
  • Order management software and other tools
  • Marketing costs, including photography and advertising
  • Business banking fees and payment processing fees

Add up your monthly overhead costs and divide by the number of quilts you complete in an average month. That gives you an overhead cost per quilt. Add this number to your material and labor costs before setting a final price.

Tip: If you process payments through a platform like Square, PayPal, or Stripe, remember that they typically charge 2.5% to 3% per transaction. On a $400 quilt, that is $10 to $12 in processing fees alone. Factor that in.

Pricing by Quilt Type

Different quilt types have very different time and material requirements. It helps to build separate pricing models for each service you offer rather than using one flat rate for everything.

T-Shirt Quilts

T-shirt quilts are one of the most popular and most requested custom quilt types. Pricing for t-shirt quilts is typically based on the number of shirts, the quilt size, and whether the customer wants sashing between blocks or a simple grid layout. Common pricing structures run from $150 to $200 for a small lap-size quilt (12 to 15 shirts) up to $300 to $500 or more for a large throw or full-size quilt (20 to 30 shirts or more).

Be clear in your pricing about what is included. Does your price include batting and backing? Does the customer provide all shirts, or do you accommodate partial sets? The more specific your pricing guide, the fewer surprises there will be for you or your customer.

Memory Quilts

Memory quilts made from a loved one's clothing carry deep emotional weight, and your pricing should reflect both the complexity of the work and the significance of what you are creating. These quilts often require more careful cutting, layout planning, and communication with the customer than a standard t-shirt quilt.

A reasonable range for memory quilts starts around $200 to $250 for smaller projects and goes up to $600 or more for larger, more complex quilts. Many quilters also charge a design consultation fee for memory quilts given the additional communication involved.

Longarm Quilting Services

If you offer longarm quilting as a service for customers who bring their own quilt tops, the standard pricing model is cents per square inch. Rates typically range from $0.015 to $0.025 per square inch for edge-to-edge pantograph work, and $0.03 to $0.06 per square inch or more for custom free-motion quilting. A standard throw quilt (approximately 60 by 80 inches) at $0.02 per square inch works out to $96 for just the quilting service.

Make sure your longarm pricing also accounts for thread cost, loading and unloading time, and any trimming or finishing work you include.

Deposits and Payment Terms

Always collect a deposit before starting work. A deposit protects you from customers who change their mind mid-project or disappear when the quilt is finished. It also helps you cover your material costs upfront rather than carrying them yourself.

Standard deposit structure: Collect 30% to 50% of the total quoted price at the time of booking. Collect the remaining balance at pickup or before shipping. For larger or more expensive projects, some quilters use a three-payment structure: a booking deposit, a mid-project payment, and a final balance at completion.
Protect yourself with a written agreement: Put your payment terms, turnaround time, and refund policy in writing before you start. This does not have to be a formal contract -- even a clear order confirmation that the customer acknowledges is far better than a verbal agreement.
Tip: Be transparent about your turnaround time when you collect a deposit. If you are booked out eight weeks, tell the customer upfront. Setting clear expectations at the beginning prevents friction later.

Building a Price List Customers Can Understand

Once you have worked out your costs and target rates, build a simple price list that customers can reference. It does not need to include your cost breakdown -- just clear starting prices, what is included, and how custom add-ons are priced. Quilters who publish a clear price list tend to attract more serious inquiries and spend less time quoting individual jobs.

Review and update your prices at least once a year. Material costs and your own labor efficiency both change over time, and your pricing should reflect where your business is today, not where it was when you first started.

Tracking Orders and Pricing Together

Once you have a solid pricing structure in place, the next challenge is staying organized as orders come in. Keeping track of what each customer owes, what deposits have been collected, and where each order stands is a full-time job in itself -- especially when you are managing multiple quilts at once.

SewTracker is built for exactly this. It gives you one place to manage your customer orders, track deposits and balances, generate professional invoices, and share order status pages with customers. Instead of juggling spreadsheets, notebooks, and emails, your entire order workflow lives in one organized dashboard. If you are ready to bring that same level of structure to your order management, start your free trial and see how SewTracker fits into your quilting business.