My grandmother was actually famous for her quilts. She would finish a quilt (no custom) and then sell raffle tickets for the quilt. She would have the raffle when she got the amount of money she wanted for it.
My wife quilts for people as gifts. People receive these quilts act like they got underwear or socks for Christmas. It drives me nuts because I watch her work long and hard to craft these one of a kind art works. People who quilt are highly skilled and as you correctly point out material isn't cheap. Thank you for bringing this to light.
You could do what I do when my family are ungrateful with my husbands woodwork. I smile and sigh like I agree with their disappointment however I’m “disappointed” in a different way. Smiling I tell them “yeah, I was not too happy when he bought that crazy expensive wood but lesser wood wouldn’t do for that spa seat… and don’t get me started on how many HOURS it took him to make. He takes NO care of himself. Sigh” and then walk off letting them realize he slaved away for them, bought top quality materials and all with a humble attitude without telling any of this when gifting it (making it seem perhaps to those who has no clue how much work it takes to custom make a seat takes) 😋🤷♀️ gives them a little perspective and mostly everyone goes up after and are much more appreciative after that ☺️ just an idea anyways 👍
I crochet, and I've actually been really lucky with some of the reactions I've had to the blankets I've made. One person I gifted one to (for his new baby) is a knitter himself, so he knew exactly how much it could have cost in time and materials. And recently I made one for my niece. My brother immediately asked me how long it had taken, and then told her that the labour alone would be worth $2000.
I crochet and knit, I'm not good enough to quilt. I'd be so over the moon to be gifted even a quilted pillow! It's such a beautiful craft, it should be cherished for the blood, sweat and tears that go into each piece.
Many years ago, I went to a church sponsored rummage sale and found a beautiful KING size quilt and two pillow shams as well. It was priced at $25.00. It was not only a quilt, but the maker had added cruel needle work and tiny ribbon flowers and bows to various squares as well. Again, just beautiful. I was poor then, but bought it because it was just beautiful to me. I got it home, took it to a good laundry-mat and washed it in a front loader machine, it is well made and heavy. When I got it home and I was just admiring it, I realized that it was actually quilted by hand!!. I can’t image how long that took. I vowed, that I would keep it all my days because I knew how much work went into it. The maker has most likely passed on, but I will honor this beautiful quilt all my life. Glad you made this video, you’re so right! This work is not valued as it should be. God Bless! ❤️❤️
A little while ago, I got a hold of a school quilt, only the face of it survived- something that looked to be 19th, early 20th century, all manner of decorative hand stitches, shapes cut out, cursive names and little designs embroidered. They must've brought scraps from home, it was different all over. It is so beautiful.
@@22lyric Sure sure. It's "cheaper" to buy goods made with what is essentially slave labor in China. We should totally just keep doing that. Good thinking, my friend.
Right, I have done this, and people are 'willing' to pay me $10-$15 for something that takes like 4-5 hours of work. Not even worth it. Although one year, just after Pokemon Go came out, I crocheted pokemon and put them in pokeballs made from plastic ornament forms, and gave them out for halloween. Kids loved them! Time well spent there.
I always look at beautiful hand made toys and plushies at local fairs and it always makes me so sad that they're priced at $20 when I know it took the woman or man waaaaay longer than $20 worth to make it. Especially the micro items omfg I can't even make my hands work or eyes see those tiny things anymore but they are the cutest and I adore them
The kind of thing happens for Knitting. A project can cost me over $100.00 for just the yarn used in it. The labor time is high. The skill level of such projects took me 20 years to master.
I am so glad to hear another quilter put a realistic price on a quilt. If asked for a quilt now I quote $1200 plus fabric and batting. No takers. In the past, I was always invited to baby showers, because everyone knew I’d make a quilted baby blanket. I’m an RN, so quilting is almost meditative for me. However, I gifted a baby blanket to our unit secretary, a star patterned quilt. I quilted it myself because it was small enough to do that. (I’ve also done long arm quilting as a professional, and oh my god it’s hard to make people understand that I charge by the inch!). I ended up putting about 80 hours into the quilt, and then gave it away. Several of the other nurses wanted a quilt. When I said sure, go to the fabric store and buy 100% cotton fabric, in these shades, and X amounts, then I’ll happily make a quilt, and charge per hour, and you can send it off to be quilted. I got no takers. One told me that I was crazy, she wasn’t going to spend $100’s on fabric. Thank you
Someone asked me to make a crochet baby shawl "like granny made for all the family babies". No written pattern because granny had made so many she didn't need one. Eventually I was shown a very blurry tiny photo where the shawl was thrown across the back of a couch that 2 children were sitting on. What little I could see of it was impossible to make out any design except that it wasn't a standard granny square or smaller granny squares. I suggested yarn (nice baby yarn but nothing fancy or luxurious) and something for my time but not the going rate might come to about £50. No surprise I didn't hear from that young woman again and her aunties didn't mention it either. People have no idea.
I wouldn't have bothered making a quilt for that nurse unless she was your best friend or someone you highly valued. Good on you for standing your ground with the other nurses though. People are so used to mass produced dollar store products they have forgotten what it takes to make a home and build a life. We used to make everything ourselves. Grow our own food, build our own houses, make our clothes, etc.
Traditionally for baby showers in my family instead of gifts everyone would contribute to making baby puff quilt and the party would be working on the quilt. Almost everyone in my family has one. I did it for my oldest son and I invited my friends and in laws and they didn't even come because they didn't want to put that kind of work into a gift. We got the puffs made and I had to put the quilt together myself because we didn't have enough people to help.
@@winterrose8174 I had those kind of Aunts. Not my mom, never my mom. By the time I was old enough to be married and have a baby on the way, my Aunts hands has so much arthritis she could not longer hold a needle. I never got a quilt or any needle work from her as her daughter swooped in and took it all. Your tradition is amazing!! I wish I had friends close by to make those traditions with. You and your family sound amazing. I love those puffs quilts. Perfect for babies. 👶😊
I appreciate this video and as long time quilter I’ve had mixed experiences: 1) made an inexpensive basic baby quilt early in quilting journey with Joann’s fabric - it became a family heirloom for a family and is passed onto to every baby born in family for past 15 years. 2) Made a complex quilt with quilt shop more expensive fabric for a charity silent auction and a $40 bid won, for a quilt that cost me at least $400 in fabric and labor. 3) Made a quick panel quilt for a baby shower my husband was attending for his coworker and expectant mother broke down crying she was so moved. 4) made a wedding complex wedding quilt that took six months to complete and never even got a thank you card from the nephew and his wife. I could go on with the stories, but what I’ve learned over the years that it’s the person not the quilt that determines the quilt value to them. I don’t make quilt gifts anymore except for Very Special select people. I make quilts only for me now and I don’t try and sell them because I’ve been burned doing that.
I appreciate your comment. I think you made a good note on the value. I wanted to say that I am quite disappointed by the charity auction, because even some normal blankets sell for over $100!
I resonate with your comment so much as a quilter. As a quilter, I've been shocked to see the lack of appreciation that some of the people I've given quilts to have shown. I spend so much money buying fabric and time actually piecing and quilting and then, sometimes, when the gift is opened, it's tossed aside with the wrapping paper. You almost want to take it back. On the other hand, some people treasure their quilts. One of my first quilts was so well loved it was worn thin and the baby I gave it to is a grown man who still mentions it when I see him. One of my last was for my dying mother during Covid and she told me it was a way for me to be close to her when she was in isolation. When she passed, my grown daughter asked if she could keep the quilt as a memento of her Nana. Those are the quilts that matter.
@@acebaker3623I think most people haven't touched a needle or sewn a button and haven't got any idea of what it takes, hence the lack of appreciation. The same with food!! How is it treated when people grow their own veg in comparison to shop bought or ready meals? It is very sad that such skills aren't taught at school or at home.
I make a bunch of cross stitch and plastic canvas work. I used to try to sell custom but everyone wants to pay $5 or less and say its just easy idle time stuff that I'm greedy for wanting $100 for a cross stitched custom wedding banner. I can hand embroider but nobody asks about that since my cross stitch price is so high. Simply i say for 20 bucks ill make you the pattern and you can go mske it yourself since its so easy. Ive had people buy a custom pattern ive never had a single one come back and tell me how easy the project was. Ive never seen the completed project either. Every year it gets harder and more expensive to get the materials but the people wanna pay less and less.
I feel your heartache, God bless you and as hard as it is, forgive...don't forget or hold it against the person who did not see the beauty, time , and love poured into each stitch. In my eyes, every piece I do, whether a quilt, cross stitch, crochet booties and cap each one, to me, is priceless. I have never charged for any thing I have done because they were from the love I have for those I gave them to. Some were treasured, some were a quick thanks, never to see displayed or thought about again. So it is in this world today, but God is close and my Lord will return, he said it and I believe in Jesus.
Everyone is underpaid, except bosses nowadays, I've heard carpenters talk about deck projects in much the same terms as OP, costs of materials and especialy labour make it unviable.
Except that donating your quilts is encouraging people to continue to devalue your hard work. Because they see you donating something they say, oh it really can't be worth all that much if you are giving it away. Even if it is fundraising for charity. Maybe you won't get that money but I guarantee that charity is not going to get the full value of that quilt either. I've been to charity auctions where artists have donated their work and very, very rarely will that work go for what the artist stated it should go for. Most times it is much less. I won't devalue my work that way anymore.
@@andreaslind6338 One of the weirdly most rewarding and highly paid jobs I have ever had was an odd job man in about 2005. I was charging £20 which would be about $50 an hour now I believe. The mistake I made was turning it into a "proper business" making custom garden buildings and that got instantly wiped out in the 2008 crash. It was low stress and really varied work - painting fences, cleaning gutters, mending garage roofs etc. I got to meet lots of different people and I was never bored.
This is exactly what I do. Give the baby quilts that I make away. It is something I do for passion, release, upcycling, skill-building and I have another art practice as my main income - as in these quilts are precious and one of a kind and most people wouldn't pay what it's worth. I rather hustle my other art forms and get paid for sewing in other ways. That pays me for side quilting time
Bravo! I retired 2 years ago. When asked what I was going to do, I said, “quilt and garden.” People always followed up with, “are you going to sell your quilts?” I replied, “No. People won’t pay what they’re worth. I have many loving family members. I make them quilts because they are hugs that last longer than my lifetime. I know they will be cherished.”
Nothing has ever crushed me like spending tens of hours knitting a gorgeous shawl in a very complicated pattern from tempermental light bamboo "wool" (I was considering the weather where this person lived) for someone and seeing her clearly wish she'd been given the $16 initialed necklace I gave someone else. The "wool" alone cost me $50 on a major sale buying bulk to repeat the project for others. I love pouring my heart into things for others, but I'll never again do it for someone who I haven't talked about knitting at length with. That way I'll know if they actually recognize what they're being given. When I found out that my grandmother had knitted my baby blanket I cried and thanked her because I knew how intricate the work on it was (and so perfect that I thought it was machine made). If I hadn't taken an interest in knitting, I never would've known how much effort that took from her, and what a precious gift it is. Maybe it would've gone to the landfill instead of being carefully hand washed and kept.
When I am asked if I sell my quilts, I say no because the price would be prohibitive. I also say that the cost of materials AND my labour would put people off. If I choose to make/gift a quilt to someone, it is for my pleasure. Making it into a business would take all the joy out of it for me. Thank you for putting this video out to the universe.
Great comment! That’s my thoughts as well. I’ve been asked why I don’t make mine and sell them and the reasons you stated why you don’t are the very reason I don’t.
I say yes and put a very high price on it. They can walk away. This one that Kayla is calculating out, I'll say $6,000. If they really want it, I'll sell it for that!
I’m a guy who sews, mostly men’s shirts, and the number of times people ask me to sew them a custom shirt for $20 is just unbelievable. That won’t even cover the fabric. My response nowadays is just, “I don’t do commissions.” Thanks for this video.
Back in the 80's, I used to make blouses for a woman who was very large. She was a bank exec and couldn't get nice, professional clothing. She would buy the fabric, interfacing, buttons... and pay me $40 per blouse. She understood... Now a days, that would be equal to $150, each. I worked with a guy who makes custom jeans, per your body measurements, $200 each. No one blinks an eye at his price. So, there are people out there who "get it", you just have to find them...
@@jilbertbtbh it should be more common, anyone interested in nice clothes especially with the tailored element should be expecting around that cost. I mean people will but mass produced stuff for half that anyways, and not even “quality” stuff
I am 75 years old. I started quilting in the 80s. I made quilts for my family members, I made quilts for friends. I made healing quilts, made with love for friends and family that had to go into the hospital or do cancer treatments. I made lap quilts for nursing home residents that had no one to visit them on holidays, like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. I made quilts for the Children’s hospital. In all that time I didn’t charge anyone, I gave them something that had been made with love for their comfort and perhaps feeling cared for. Over all these years I have maybe had a handful of people truly thank me, let me know that they still have their quilt or that they still remember it. Perhaps the making and giving of a quilt meant more to me than the receiving of one, I’m not sure. I know that I refused to allow myself to make judgements about it but look at it as something that my intention was loving and good. When my sons got married, their wives weren’t interested in handmade items. They wanted everything to coordinate in the baby’s room. I made my grandchildren quilts anyway, when they came to visit me, I got out their quilt and they played on it, slept with it, learned their colors from it. It is theirs when they turn 18 and they can do what they wish with it. I did not want to see my gift to them being declutterred and donated. Thanks for the eye opener of the costs. I think even $25.00 an hour is undervalued. You didn’t even include the wear and tear on our machines. Each quilt required me to oil and clean my machine, as you said replace needles, etc. it does make me sad though that less and less people see quilts as something made with 💕 for them. To be wrapped up in one when you are feeling sad or lonely, is to feel the love of the person that made it for you, giving you a hug.
I think people just don't know how much effort and work and love goes into things like that. Fewer people than ever take up a needle craft or other type of craft such as wordworking so that means fewer people are familiar with how labor-intensive and difficult it all is. I'm 28 and I've tried multiple types of needle crafts and so I got to have a taste of how brutal they are starting out. So my grandma's afghans and cross stitch projects are even more precious to me than somebody who has never tried to learn.
I couldn't agree more. I've tried to sell small quilts and table toppers at our Church bazaar and even then people say they are too expensive. So, I go back to why I love to quilt. For the pleasure of seeing the faces of those receiving them. That warms my heart the most. I'm currently making quilts for my husband's siblings (6 in all) from their mom's dresses. These will be something they can cherish the rest of their lives. And that is why I quilt. 😊 Oh, and I'm 66 and have been quilting since 2015. I love it!
My Great Aunt quilted. I think she gave some as gifts, but when she died there were enough for all the "kids" to have at least one. I Picked out a "normal" color combo, and gave a home to the one nobody liked. Bold color combo across the color wheel. Then someone in the family was griping that she didn't get one...because she didn't claim it! Which was the point of the visit...get you a quilt! So i gave her the normal one and i love the wacky one so much! It suits my style so much and I also know it was very much my great aunt's style.
Good thought, but even then, I've read where a quilt is put on the dog's bed or flipped over because the recipient liked the backing fabric better. Please choose carefully as to who gets your handmade quilts.
My wife is a crocheter and I'm a sewist and I always feel SO SAD when I see BIG crocheted blankets in the goodwill or the thrift because I just know how many HOURS of love and labor when into those things as "basic" as they seem. It's also why I don't make clothes or things for people. People always ask if I could make them a cloak. And i'm like...at my working professional rates this would cost you at minimum $1000 not including materials. It took me 40 hours and most of it was the hand sewing required for the lining and interlining steps. Same with my wedding dress. Slowly constructed over the course of 2 years...not including the year and a half i spent teaching myself sewing from scratch to couture techniques. But in my case I was TRYING to replicate the work of a couture brand lol.
What kind of cloaks do you make? Thats a ridiculous price. At most-4 yards for $50/yard for a good wool is $200 + 2 hours cutting time , 4 hours of pinning and 8 hours of sewing ( being generous) @ $20/ hr is $880. Does your price include S&H? 20% tax?! @@uarestrong76
All my quilts have gone to close relatives. Sometimes not even a thank you card. I can't quilt anymore because of physical disabilities. The few I have kept... 5:31
@@wickiwo1098 this happened to me! I gifted a friend’s mother a complex patterned quilt, but she liked the kittens on the back better and always laid it out that way. The daughter I gave a baby quilt to hung it on the wall by driving 10 penny (read really big) nails through the corner fabric. Made my heart break just a little, that was a 100 + hour project.
I am so glad to hear someone else say this! I am 70, and I have been sewing since I was 16. Over the years I have knitted, crocheted, cross stitch was my true joy, I began that journey in 1978 when I found out I was expecting my first child. Over the years I have completed over 300 pieces, most of which I cut wood for, framed, and stained/painted plus cutting the glass for the frame. Most of these pieces ended up in the homes of my children or other family members. I did these pieces and didn't charge for them, only asked that I keep the book/leaflet, as well as any extra floss if they purchased any for the project. I did my first quilt top in 1980, I never finished it. This top was a Dutch Doll, my Mama showed me how to make ( I have her first quilt which was made in 1930, all hand sewn, it is done in little squares made from the clothes of family members, she was one of 8 children from a poor family living in Eastern Georgia. Sorry, thinking of what was and is today sometimes becomes a struggle. People today do not see the art in what is created by hand and sadly will put a greater value on " store bought " than handmade. Even my own family, I was reminded that it was a gift I gave and the person who owns it should be free to do with it as they please. This was cross stitch, some done on 14 count, most pieces were on 32 or 28 count, hours of love and time which now lie in a box stowed away in an attic. Perhaps I shouldn't care, but I do, to me each of those pieces were Mona Lisa's. In my life I have created and completed a quilt for each of my 3 adult children, 2 kings, 1 full. I made a queen size for myself. I have made many crib size quilts most of which were biscuit type or as some call them " puff " quilts. I have sewn more clothes for children than I can count, as well as sewing for myself. I struggle with tremors and arthritis now, I still try to paint, not that am good enough to brag but it brings me joy to be creative after all, idle hands and minds are the devils workshop. Well I have given you far more than you have asked for, to the point, over the years people would ask me " How much for this or that " after being insulted, not in words so much as the lack of appreciation for my time, and effort did I begin every such conversation with, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Did I bristle the fur of some, yes but truth is, everybody wants something for nothing, and handmade crafts are worthless to those who have never set about crafting themselves. You, dear girl, like myself will be given respect somewhere hundreds of years from now, should our crafts withstand the test of time, If this world remains and the Lord delays his second coming, our artwork will be sold for hundreds of thousands, lol but for now, we are not respected or valued. Take care and please forgive me for being long-winded. 🙏🙏
I have done award winning embroidery and quilting. I have given pieces as gifts. My one son had a short lived marriage to a girl than when I offered to make them a quilt the look on he face was not of appreciation. We went to Target to see their registry. They had a quilt on it. The quilting stitches you could catch your fingernails on all of them. Made in China and not made well. When I saw what she prefer to one of my quilts, I knew I would do a thing for her. My son married again to a totally different type of girl and she took the time to color a quilt to give me a way to go. She is so precious. One year for Christmas I gave her a beautiful tea table cloth and napkins in cross stitch that had never been used that I bought for $2! from our thrift store. The first girl would have sneered at it but the other appreciated it. Like I always tell her, I can never visit their home so she doesn't need to keep things I give her. I have really bad RA and I am not up to traveling 5 hours to see them. These days, I am very fussy about who I give homemade gifts to.
It's nice to read thoughts that reflect my considerations as well. I've actually been in WM and said loud snarky comments about how it pisses me off there's little but Cheap Chinese Crap. Crystal at BagODay did a yarn review of Temu yarn. It easily came apart n was obviously made from? Made by whom? Labor in China is too cheap. Get too many immigrants here n labor wages will be cheapened. Compared to the early 80s a lot has gone to goat digestions. And kids don't get art n music n encouragement to try doing creative things. I occasionally encourage creativity on vids bcos. .we could all use some positive feedback. Btw. Totally agree with pretty much all both of you said. My thing is crochet but I won't make anything for my son again and likely will stick to not making things for others unless a donation of stuff for a shelter or something. Lately I've been working on mostly things for me that I need. I'd still like to crochet me a burnoose but.. lotta work. It's really sad some of the attitudes of appreciation anymore. Like learning about the attitude of Gratitude would be a good start . Many blessings ya'll.
I make beautiful creations as well by crochet or knitting and I don't want to sell anything either, I'm like you said, I would've to charge too much, when I give something as a gift, all I ask is for appreciation 😊
Apparently I significantly undervalue my own labor, even though I'm a man. I've made fudge from basic ingredients and given it as Christmas gifts to my coworkers. And I got an uncomfortable (to me) amount of thanks for it. It was a few cents worth of supplies and a couple hours of cooking. And I also crocheted my grandma a little blanket that was similar to one she had described to me from her childhood; one her mother made her. It was blue with a white duck in the middle, and had hand-tatted lace around the side. I can't seem to tat lace, but I crocheted her a blue blanket with a single white duck on one side, and on the other side were two big ducks with three smaller ones to represent her, grandpa, my aunt, mom, and uncle. And I sewed some lace I bought from Joanne's around the edges. I didn't think the blanket was a huge deal- it was less than $50 to make after all, and she and Grandpa always give everyone a $50 bill for Christmas and for birthdays. And I'd given my parents crocheted items and they'd always wind up buried and unused in the spare sock bag- so my crocheting itself obviously wasn't that valuable. I really just made it for her to show I'd been listening to her. Because I didn't think it would be a big deal, I gave it to her in front of the rest of the family. Apparently I accidentally showed everyone up with that gift. It was a huge deal, and suddenly my parents were bragging about my crochet abilities. Now that I think about it, I once made a rag doll just to see if I could. Once I finished it, I didn't really care to keep it anymore, so on a whim I gave it to that same grandma. I expected her to play with it a little then throw it away or at best maybe give it to a kid. It was made out of garbage after all. Now I wonder if she still has it. I do lots of things for fun: cooking, baking, sewing, embroidery, crochet, knitting, writing stories, singing, guitar, ukulele. They're idle amusement, or they're ways to make unique gifts for my family who have more than enough money to buy whatever they want. They've always just been things that bring me joy, not anything of value. Maybe it's sexism? Maybe it's late stage capitalism making things seem like "if you didn't pay a lot for it, it doesn't have value". Maybe it's a generational thing? I'm 26 years old- so late millennial, early Gen Z... 🤷♂️
Thank you for calculating this!!! I’ve quilted 6 years given away about 30 baby blankets and about 7 regular quilts all to family members. Ones who honor and appreciate my work!!!
My grandmother (passed away 8 years ago) crocheted blankets for all of her grandkids and my wife's grandmother knitted a little jacket and mitts for my daughter when she was about 2. Daughter is now a senior in high school and grandma Verla passed away years ago. Those items are priceless and heirlooms in the family.
When I gift a quilt now I have it appraised and give a year’s insurance cover. Amazing the difference in how those people care for their quilts compared to the ones I just wrapped up and gifted. Sad that an external evaluation makes the gift worthy of more consideration.
I tell anyone that is interested in a piece that: I don't make decor...I make heirlooms. I crochet wedding shawls meant to be passed down to another generation. I go through the whole buying process with a client down to picking the fleece I spin into thread. I require a deposit just on the materials that is NON- refundable. I had a potential catty client ask why so much? Why can't you go to Walmart and just buy some yarn? In return: I told her this is a piece of me; my soul, my very valuable time, and my craft. This is my price and if grandma can make it from "Walmart yarn" then you should get her to make it 😊. Big thumbs up for addressing this topic ❤
My mother-in-law was a fabulous knitter - but tended to buy acrylic "wool" (she always called it wool, no matter the content) because it was cheap. My daughter wore one of her real wool jumpers when she was small (about 4) after it had been worn by several older cousins, and I know it got passed on to others after that, and still looked marvelous. The acrylic ones didn't hold up nearly as well. While she made us many sweaters and cardigans over the years, almost the only time she used real wool was when I (or someone else) bought yarn for her.
@@mggrantcowi9989Sounds like she enjoyed knitting so I suppose thats a good way to do your hobby cheaper and also ensure youve always got people to give them to 😂
Same. I have a crocheted afghan that my maternal grandmother made back in the early 70s..it's a simple chevron pattern, in typical 70s colors and scratchy yarn, but I cherish it because she made it. I also have two quilts one of my aunts made. She is now in her late 90s and no longer quilts, but boy did she make some beautiful things!
I feel so lucky to have cross-stitch gifts from my (thankfully still-living) mom, knitted clothes from my grandmother, and crocheted afghans from my great-grandmother. I don't understand people who don't treasure these things!
I read an article once that said that Sewing to sell is not cost effective. They indicated that sewing a quilt only makes sense if it is given away. They are valued much more when you add up the time and cost. Smiles and tears of joy are worth so much more.
I absolutely agree that it is related to undervaluation of women’s labor, but as a potter I can confidently tell you that it is also an undervaluation of creative work in general.
@@KMF3people tend to have the opinion that whatever is made as a hobby must be for free. they don't even consider that the material has a price, even if someone generously does not put labour costs on the bill. "but it's your hobby" is a phrase i have heard way too often.
@@Hitsugix wow REALLY? I have a hobby business making and selling handcrafted things. I've never had anyone say that to me. But people definitely don't want to pay for the time it takes to make and market items.
@@KMF3i had a former colleague who asked for nice knitted socks. he offered 5€ for two pairs. others didn't even consider paying and just asked me if i could make one (a large crocheted shawl in this case) for them in their preferred colours. when i told them how much they should expect to pay for it they acted like i just told them i shot their grandma AND they said they could get a thing like this from a local KIK store (a very cheap store for clothing in germany). so yeah, people see that we can make nice things and they want them, but they want them for free. i only make things for myself, my mum and my best friend and nobody else anymore.
My grandmother was a master quilter. I was blessed to have hand-quilted quilts my entire life. when they wore out my mom would make, teddy bears or other small things with what wasn't worn through. The last quilt she made for me was a queen size quilt for my wedding. It was constantly on our bed for 10+ years, we kept using it long after it began to fall apart. I still have the pieces in a space bag waiting for me to sew into pillows. I have also yet to find a comforter that feels as nice. These functional works of art are labors of true love and skill and are unmatched by anything available on the open market today. To anyone who wants a "quilt, like Granny used to make" you better learn to quilt because no one is going to make you a quilt for the price Granny did.
So lucky! Quilts started appearing here only recently. our grandmas used to emboider/crossstich large wall hangers - about 1.5 meters long, and some 70 cm wide. These get hanged on the wall by the long side, usually just above the bed. In some cases, they would do bed covers in the same methods.
I had a neighbor who would plow the snow in my driveway- would never take a dime. The third year he did it, I made him a queen size quilt. He asked what it was worth. I went on Etsy, found a quilt just like it (full size) and showed him it was $700. He almost started crying... and he loves it!
Same! I have several from my grandmother who’d complete one quilt per winter. She’d sew by hand on the frame grandfather made her in the evenings. My favourite is the wedding ring pattern I received on the occasion of my marriage. Our grandmothers started sewing at the age of 5. No wonder the stitches were so perfect!
Quilt making is definitely undervalued. I made a quilt for someone recently and during the party she opened up the gift. There were no ooh's or awh's. She just said oh that's nice then put it to the side. I was devastated. I put a lot of time and love into that quilt because I love her. And I know she loves me. I took into consideration that she was pregnant and overwhelmed. But people have no idea how much time money and love goes into quilt making. I think that quilts made by big companies have made a big difference in how valued self made gifts are. I'm making a quilt now that the materials alone costs around $600- fabric, templates etc. It's going to be appliqued upon an applique upon the background fabric. Lots of time. Lots of money. Lots of love. Best part is that the person getting this is going to REALLY appreciate it -ME!!
@@lauracruz2021 it's ok. I've learned to not judge too quickly or harshly. You never know what someone's going through. I know and God knows where my heart was. I do believe in you get what you give. From experience. So even if I didn't get it from her, I know that God was proud of the love I showed through the quilt! And you can never out give God. So keep pouring out my love and God will do the rest. Like I said I know she loves me. I think it was a very long day for her. She really is a very nice person. Thank you for your comment. It's nice to be understood 🥰
If someone gave me a quilt, I'd feel awful because I know a lot of time and love goes into them. I'd hate for them to feel like you did here, but I can't change that patchwork quilts aren't my thing. I wouldn't use it, so for me it would just be another item taking up space -which is tragic given all the effort that went into it. To avoid future disappointment, maybe check beforehand if someone would treasure one of your lovely quilts as much as they deserve.
I don’t make quilts for less than the cost you quoted. People don’t want to pay the price so I quote 1500 to 3000 depending on the size they want. Shut them down and I get to focus on the quilting for my family. I did have a person that his wife inherited Mother’s Flower Garden blocks and did not know how put them together . Asked me how much I would charge to complete the quilt. I had batting and backing so I said 1500.00 and I finished the quilt. His wife and Mother-in- law cried when they saw the quilt. I felt good cause I knew they would cherish this quilt very much.
Quilter here. I was recently given some cut pieces of fabric that belonged to my grandmother. Luckily, she had put two blocks together, so I know what she was doing. Sorted the rest of the fabric, and there is enough for thirty blocks. Your story inspires me to get at it, despite half a dozen quilts in the works.
I mostly sew clothing and this is exactly my strategy. When someone asks for a piece, I give them an outrageous price. There are two outcomes and I'm good with either. 1) they decide it's not worth it. Great, I didn't want to make it anyway. 2) They decide they do want it after all and I make it at a price I'm happy with. I have yet to have anyone choose option 2.
I kept track of everything to me last quilt. It was around $800. Remember, this does not include a sewing machine, cutting matt, blades, lighting, etc. Etc. I love making quilts. So question, what do you do with all of them?
I never take a commission because no one would want to pay what it is worth. I sew for my own pleasure and if I want to gift or donate a quilt that is for my pleasure as well.
I am the same. People are surprised I don't go to the local farmers market and sell things for "fun". Quilting is a relaxing pleasure for me and I would never want to change that!
People ask me why I don't go to farmers markets with my produce. You will never get what you put in it for time spent weeding, picking, washing and sitting and setting up you would get very low pay if you count labor
I knew our work was undervalued, but I never imagined it to be that drastic. The way you explain it makes it so crystal clear and so concise. Thank you😊
I think you're confusing something, men also make things, as a hobby, that they don't sell. The value of a work has nothing to do with the amount of work or material that goes into it.
In using the pronoun "our" I am referring to all creators as I'm well aware that these can be she/he/them. If one is creating something for sale, what else is considered in valuing someone's work?
@@Cre0leD1va An object is worth what others pay for it. Last week I made a wooden toy for my nephew on a CNC router, that was 10 hours of work + 15 € material costs. Nobody is going to pay €200 or more for it, similar things can be mass produced for €20. Four months ago I produced a spare part for a series production on the same milling machine, 3 hours of work at night, but the The assembly line was up and running again within 5 hours, for which they paid ~1200 €.
Not just “women’s work” I feel like the whole creative and craft industry is so undervalued. I paint in oils, draw, do digital art, and hand-paint wood pieces, all without much overhead cost to do. But my time is worth everything, and most people just don’t understand the value; If you want that $40 target quilt, sure, go to target; but then again you are getting cheap fabric sewn together in a factory probably by young kids making a $1 an hour. If I had thousands to drop on a hand crafted quilt you made, I would, because I can understand the thought and craftsmanship that went through it.
I don’t think I’ve come across a quilt anywhere, least of all target, for less than $100. If they want bedding that cheap they’ll have to visit a thrift store.
exactly, industrialisation of manufacturing processes, economies of scale, as well as offshoring labour cost mean that the average person has no idea about what it takes to make something handmade or of a higher quality. Because of this, it really shouldn't be surprising that people balk at this price.
I paint with acrylics, but my art (usually cost me around 7 hours to paint it) is being sold for 40 euro's, including the canvas-and-paint-costs. And still, nobody takes it. Art is being heavily undervalued, since you can easily snap a picture, print it out at home and hang it on the wall if you want. The value of handmade is gone for many.
I don't have any children, but I DO have 4 nieces and 2 nephews. All but one of them received a quilt made by me as a wedding gift. The colors were their choice, the patterns were my choice. The one remaining niece will get one too, but she is not engaged yet. The quilts I make are gifted to them at the Bridal Showers and I am ALWAYS asked if I make quilts for others or do I have a shop. The answer to both questions is always no. Maybe I'll change that a bit and say yes. Then I won't feel at all guilty when I give them a price for it. I'll hold my head up high and look them right in the eye when I quote that $5,000 price! Kayla, I'm your newest subscriber! Thank you for this video.
I hope your nieces and nephews value your gifts already, but I also wanna pitch in that if someone would ask you if you sell quilts and for how much and you'd say the fair price, that they would appreciate your work and skill even more, seeing how much did they get.
This doesn’t have anything to do with men vs women. Try selling a piece of wood furniture right about now. It has to do with authoritarians and those who believe they hold authority. Labor is not valued the way it did when the slaves knew they were slaves, true, but I don’t think ignorance is bliss. The Most Dangerous Superstition is on youtube in audiobook form. It’s pretty good at revealing reality to some people. Maybe you, reader, will find it beneficial too.
I love the tradition of passing along handmade things, but please keep in mind that not every child may be engaged someday or have kids. I'm the last of my siblings to get married and my nana passed before I was engaged. She gave me a "wedding quilt" before she passed and it means so much to me. She said she didn't know if she would ever see me walk down the aisle, but she wanted me to know that she was proud of me whether or not I ever got married, and that as long as I'm happy, that's all that matters. If she would have waited for me to get engaged before she made it, I wouldn't have ever gotten it.
What is even more amazing is, that after you do all this work for people they get tired of what you made them and donate it to a thrift store!!!!!!!!!! I have bought so many BEAUTIFUL quilts, baby blankets, hand made cradles , etc... for almost nothing.
This. It's kind of like finding old family photo albums from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I always wonder what happened that all the old family photos ended up at a thrift store. It always makes me sad 🥺
I wouldn't just assume that the people got tired of the gifts. Especially if you find (older) stuff of high quality that looks brand new in thrift stores it must have been well cared for. There are many reasons why people (have to) give those things away. And it can be just as beautiful if someone finds those wonderful things and gives them a second home and cherishes them once more.
Every craftsman should remember: most people don't care about hand-crafted items, otherwise they would be handcrafting, too. Many simply hate old-style estetics and love modernity only. As result, most of your gifts go straight to the trashcan.
I shared your video. Years, ago at a church craft show, I was admiring one of the most beautiful hand made quilts I had ever seen, the price asked was 250.00 as I recall. Another woman came up gushing over how this would fit her decor perfectly then offered 50.00. I saw the look on the woman's face as she struggled to answer. I piped in and asked her how many hours of labor she had in this quilt, then asked her the the cost of materials... When she finished, I quickly calculated that at her asking price she was asking less than 2.00 an hour for her work! When I said that, I followed it with, this is worth more than double what you are asking, as a quilt, and considerably more as the work of art it truly was. The potential buyer said she had no idea making a quilt required so much labor. She gave me a very appreciative smile as I walked away. I saw the buyer later, with the quilt, I hope she paid the quilter at least her asking price.. To this day the artistic work of women is not apprreciated.
@@ruthgoebel723 That's true but men typically have better practice at standing up for themselves. In most cases girls are taught from a young age to be quiet and compliant and not make a fuss (this teaching is usually unconscious in the way adults react but it's there nonetheless).
@@ruthgoebel723mass production definitely creates unrealistic expectations around creative work. I refinish furniture, typically associated with men but the community is chalk full of women, and I see comments from people saying they'll save the money and just buy a new piece of furniture. It's sad and it's wasteful. Before that I was an artist and a web designer. Similar story. They really seem to think they're entitled to free work with endless revisions.
And how much we care about our projects. It is a ❤️ gift. So consequently I make my artwork for those who will appreciate it or For charity, nursing homes,children or family. It is an artistic endeavor from the heart after all.
I knit, crochet, embroider and some sewing. I have aunts who quit and the cost of materials BEFORE you even start a project would knock most people over. They just have zero points of reference other than what they pay for a sweater, scarf, table runner, it quilt from Target, Walmart, etc. It's also why I can't afford to take up quilting... My fiber arts already zap my bank account. Maybe that's a good thing 😂 And I agree 💯 that we should be paid as skilled labor.
Someone once got snotty with me for pricing my tote bags at $25. It's 1.33 yards (.66 of outer plus .66 lining) fabric plus my time cutting, sewing, pressing ... $25 is paying me less than minimum wage for my time.
And this is why when my cousin said she would make me a quilt and took me to pick out fabric I was incredibly thankful. i have no clue when it'll be finished because she has a few people in line before me, but to have her make me a quilt is such an honor.
The quilt that was made for me, for my bed, is my prized possession. It is the thing I am most careful with and most excited to show people. I feel so spoiled when I look at it. It was a gift, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to afford what it should have cost. The same person made it from start to finish and she is amazing.
My mom is an amazing hand quilter and she makes for everyone in the family. I just got mine and it’s so beautiful. I can’t believe the detail and intricate design. It’s the best gift anyone could receive.
My almost blind cousin made me a quilt. I can't put it on my bed because I have an incontinent cat. But I live for the day that I can spread it out. And, hey, it doesn't take much to crochet an Afghan. I can speak to that. I've been there and done it and I made several as a teenager. Not difficult. 😮 This quilting thing is a whole different situation!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️
@californianorma876 Crochet can be just as intricate and labor-intensive as quilting and can require just as much skill. Every craft has both basic designs and more intricate ones. H8l
As a knitter I’m often asked to make a sweater or pair of socks. They don’t realize the yarn for that sweater cost me $200 and $23 for the socks. And yes, that’s before the hours of labor. My daughters get socks for Christmas and my grandkids get sweaters and hats. I’ve concluded they’re all “knit worthy”.
When I was knitting, my coworker said, "You can sell those for $20. It's beautiful!" All excited. It was a very long, complicated infinity scarf and I was knitting with 100% cashmere and had already been working on it 2 months... If you know, you know.
Great video!! I relate to all of your points! My knitting is undervalued also with people wanting my custom work for bargain prices… it hurts. I knit for loved ones and the homeless only 🙏🏻
So appreciate your video targeting the "real" world! Made my first ever quilt for my great granddaughter (slightly oversized crib quilt, highest end quilt cotton @ $15 PY, min), you've inspired me to go back and calculate materials alone. I don't think anyone ever gave thought to the fact that bc I"m 2K miles away fm family (sadly) I had UPS shipping costs ($89 with my senior discount), along with hand made heirloom day gowns (2) with slips, beautiful cotton lace, etc. Called my gift box a "sprinkle box" since I had to miss baby showers due to distance and very ill spouse. Bless you for your labors of love and to think you're donating to charity (did I hear that correctly?) Be safe and stay well and continue your wonderful educational YT videos, not to even mention your beautiful work. God bless you dear one.
My sister makes the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen. She makes them for the family babies. Each one is based on a children’s poem or story, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, the Wind in the Willows, Just so Stories. Each one takes her about a year, every stitch is done by hand. You couldn’t pay enough to buy one. They are works of pure love.
Agreed. There's love and thoughts of the receiver in every stitch.... there's no more loving a gift, than that that's hand made. Your Sister is wonderful ❤xx
That is so very special. It makes me very happy. She’s uniting the family and she’s created a tradition of love and talent. It sounds like you understand the deep value she has bestowed open each new addition to the family. Y’all should create a scrapbook with photos of each baby, their quilt, and your sister, and the theme she’s put into each quilt. That might be a nice way to sincerely express thanks.
Yes!!! Everybody wants one, but nobody wants to pay the realistic price. Some people even went so far to question the price of the fabrics used, not even wanted to talk about my work!!!
I make a lot of quilts for charity, but I have been a professional seamstress for over 45 years and have a lot of fabric I need to use up. But when someone asks me to "make them a quilt" just because they want one, (Oh, I'll pay for the materials), or they know I don't charge for sewing anymore and they want me to make them something...it does piss me off. I used to need the money, badly, and people would bitch about paying $5. to get a pair of pants hemmed. REALLY? No, people do not appreciate what the work is worth. This is a great video! And...I only do the sewing I want to do now and am finally doing some for myself. Let the cheap people go to Walmart.
When I was growing up in the 1960s, my mother sewed "for pocket money. " People would bring her a pattern and fabric to make a garment, no thread, zipper, buttons, etc. She even made prom dresses and wedding dresses. No one ever wanted to pay what it was worth. And she hemmed pants for a quarter!
I remember in the 60s the dry cleaners charged about $1.50 to hem them. And I have also always supplied the notions. I got old, I'm not as nice as I used to be. What a shame.@@hyacinth4368
This! I could never ever ever sell my crochet itemsi for the time, labor and material it's worth. I've always made things for people when I CHOSE to, andwouldn't even tell them I was making something for them, because I couldn't put a deadline on finishing a project. It needed to come strictly from my desire to gift them something that I knew they wanted, needed or would likely appreciate. And, It was typically worked on during my free time between every day-life responsibilities and other activities. Now, if someone asks me to make something, I simply determine whether or not I have the time to dedicate to another project. If I do, then I charge for the materials (if shipping is required, then shipping charges apply as well). I just never agree to make anything just because someone wants it. I did once for a good friend, although I enjoyed it, it was a slightly more advanced level project, so there was a bit of a learning curve and it took me way longer than most of my similar projects. She even witnessed the time and effort it took me because I worked on it alot when I would come over to her house to hang out. She saw all that was involved and never asked me to make anything for free again lol. She was my only exception because we were that close. I's best for me to just keep my mouth shut and make something when I'm inspired and just show thr recipient when I'm ready to give it to them.
I used to do sewing/mending for people. Only ONE lady paid me without bitchin'. She used to pay me $1/per button (in the 90's!) And $15 to hem her jeans! And I laugh now, seeing a man in a poorly fitted suit - he was too cheap to pay $100 for custom alterations! 😂 (and THAT'S cheap)
As a knitter, I often have this question asked. Once, I wore a shawl I’d made that required me to dye the yarn before making it. When the lady got upset when I told her that she couldn’t afford to pay me for the shawl, my husband, who is a skilled laborer, intervened. He pointed out that the yarn conservatively would cost $150, and then I’d spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months working on the shawl. Resulting in a labor cost of several thousand dollars at just $10/hr. Suddenly, people around me no longer ask if I’ll sell my work. I do give it away when someone really likes it or has a baby coming or a wedding. But quilting, knitting, crochet, tatting, etc are skilled labor.
I was once told to my face by a stranger that because I am "the knitting lady" (I knit in public) she would give me the yarn and I would knit a baby singlet for her to give to a friend. I said that with the cost of my time she'd be looking at a minimum of $150. She laughed at me and walked away. Notice that at no point was I asked whether I would do this, but merely informed.
@@micheinnz The rudeness of that lady to demand you make something for her that would take up hours of your time as if you owed her something….and you didn’t know her?! Some people have no concept of common courtesy and respect. I knit in public, too. And I meet a lot of interesting people. But I’ve never experienced that.
Skilled labor but not valued skill Raising kids (“daycare”) is also very skilled & valuable labor but completely unvalued. It’s just life 🤷🏼♀️ I can’t imagine leaving my kids w/someone 50-60 hrs a week who gets $2 an hr to raise my kid (5 kids at $10 an hr total). Once in a while, a night out, a day to help a sick friend etc, sure. I would still pay $10 an hr for just my kid tho. Ppl do not THINK anymore.
@@YeshuaKingMessiah I cannot agree more about childcare. No matter the opinion on it, paying someone else to raise my children should require something more than a pittance from me. The childcare provider didn’t choose to bring my child into the world; I did. As far as skilled labor vs valued skill, that is a matter of how one views the world. It is a proven fact via many studies that so-called “hobbies” (fiber arts, quilting, painting, etc) are actually beneficial to a person as they age. They help create neural pathways and neuro-elasticity in the brain that can alleviate depression, anxiety, various other mental and emotional illnesses, as well as be beneficial to those suffering with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Another very undervalued area of labor in addition to childcare is food preparation. And survival. And food growth. In America, at least, these things are all relegated to hobbies or things we do for enjoyment. But they are truly what helped humanity survive for centuries. Sorry. I’ll get off my soapbox. It’s an area I’m passionate about.
Yes! I get this All The Time! I also work on projects, mostly shawls, for 6-12 months each. Just recently, a compliment on my massive beaded knit lace peacock shawl "Thanks I made it" omg you could sell stuff! $36 of beads alone. 5 skeins of alpaca silk blend minimum $50. And a YEAR of working on it, 365 hours minimum. And I make $35/hr in my day job. No way I could ever get a fair price for anything I have made. Why would I do that to myself?! I will stick to personal passion projects, thanks. The pressure to monetize hobbies is absurd.
This is why I make my own quilts. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be; it does require precision and care and time. If you can cut a straight edge and sew a straight line you can make a beautiful quilt. And as an added bonus I have a deeper appreciation of the mastery and art of advanced quilters.
That's like when people say if you have a steady hand with the nail polish you can give yourself a pedicure, as though it's the easiest thing in the world. I do not have a steady hand, nor can I cut or sew a straight line. Doesn't stop me from trying, though 😂
I was deployed on a Navy ship, my mother made me a beautiful quilt and I loved it. It was bright and green and so toasty. I got hurt in an accident and sent home. I didn't care that they didn't send my military kit home to me, I don't care that someone stole/lost my clothes, I don't even care about the hundreds of dollars of make-up lost because of people's carelessness. I miss that quilt more than anything. Sure my mum could make a new one, but it really wouldn't be the same. So, the people who value the work you do to make a quilt are the same people who will always value you as a person.
@@Alice-si8uz poor leadership? I would honestly love to know the answer to that question, but no one actually remembered about my things at all in the first place. No one I spoke to knew where it went, or where it was stored. Basically, I got hurt and then didn't exist as far as they were concerned.
We have such a altered perception of what things are actually worth. Decades of the price of goods being really cheap because workers are exploited has made us believe that the costs that we see in target are what we should see. Thank you for this video, I can’t afford a handmade quilt anytime soon but I do believe some handmade things are worth saving up for because it will be the best quality item I ever own. I have a handmade coffee table and that tank will outlive me, I imagine your quilts would do the same if cared for.
It used to be you’d pay a lot of up front but the thing would last years and years if you weren’t stupid. Now you pay barely anything up front and the thing lasts, maybe a year or two? So when people come across the former, it confuses them.
Everything you said about the cost and work is true. But, I made a lap quilt in red, white, and blue to give to a veteran uncle of my son's wife. When they put it in his lap, he burst into tears that someone he didn't even know made it just for him. His gratitude made my cost and work priceless.
I like your comment. After watching this video I realize a few things. 1. I may be really stupid or 2. I like doing my craft and I'd rather do it for cheap and have happy people than not at all. Im doing quilts for 200 to 400. And giving quilts to my old life long friends etc... And im okay with it.
Thank you for doing the math. Lots of people have said to me that I ought to sell the quilts I make. It makes me laugh. No really, it makes me laugh out loud. I ask who would be willing to pay between one and two thousand pounds for a quilt, or five or six hundred pounds for a baby quilt. I make quilts for family and friends, and good causes I want to support. That's all. Thanks again for the video.
I have been quilting for about four years now. I NEVER realized how much my grandma spent in making all her quilts until I started quilting myself! It makes me treasure her quilts all the more!😊
When your grandma was quilting she was using scrap fabrics old clothing and things that she couldn't use anymore but still had good pieces of them. There's a big difference cost now is on new fabric pre-cut fabric patterns that are very complex. Quilters that make quilts from brand new fabrics and brand new items are very very skilled and should absolutely be paid every dollar of their worth but when Grandma made your quilt it was scraps it was made during downtime in the winter when she wasn't doing other stuff like canning and cooking and gardening and cleaning....
People don't seem to care about keeping family stories alive. Diaries n journals n family history spoke of how quilts were made of old clothes most of the time if not all. Many people don't know how much women did just in a regular day. Misogynists are the worst about that. Many blessings
A close friend’s grandmother made around 100 quilts in her life and never started giving any away until recently. I have been incredibly fortunate to have been able to receive one of these quilts. After the blanket my own grandmother crocheted, one someone gave my parents as a wedding gift, the first blanket I ever made myself, and the baby blanket I made my nephew, it is my most prized blanket. When you know something is made with love and care, even if not intended for you, it feels warmer.
Thank you for standing up for all us hand crafters out there. I am a sewer and quilter and people are always shocked when I give them a price for an item. My adult patchwork skirts take 10 mt(yards) of material, 7 spools of thread for sewing and overlocking and 15 hours to make. If I charged the Australian $23.23 minimum wage that would be $348.45 just for the labour so I work for around $4 an hour now and if I get the comment "well i can get that for less at the store" I advise people to do so and support the overseas sweat shops and not me. It is what it is. Thanks again
I can believe that you would use 10 different fabrics in a patchwork skirt. I cannot understand how ONE skirt could use 10 full yards of fabric. Wouldn't that produce multiple patchwork skirts? The cost of the ten yards should be divided among the quantity of skirts. I'm guessing 5 skirts.
@stitcher4729 Depends on width. If the material is a slim bolt and only like 20" wide, it might take more than you think. There's lots of details missing so I'll just assume it's already been broken up per skirt
I have heard the argument that it is better to gift your craft than to under price it, because it undermines the value of crafts more broadly. I'm an artist and i would not have guessed a quilt was quite that expensive. I appreciate you breaking down the costs.
I'm an artist too and I would argue that gifting your craft also undermines the value of crafts more broadly. Because then you've created the expectation among family and friends that you will give them your work. I'm not giving away my work only to find it in a garage sale some years hence.
I crochet. I made a beautiful sunflower blanket for my best friend. She LOVED it. Eventually the cost of making the blanket came up when she asked me why I didn’t just sell crochet for a living as I was obviously talented. I broke it down for her in numbers as it wasn’t the first time she had casually mentioned it. Her massive blanket took me roughly 80 hours of work. If I paid myself $15x80hours the cost of just my labor would be $1,200 not including the cost of yarn. Her jaw literally dropped. Then she thanked me for her super expensive gift. That was the first time she truly understood. ❤ I explained that crochet wasn’t just the item, it is representative of my feelings for them. I sat and thought about the person receiving the blanket, talked about who the blanket was for with my kids and husband, pictured them wrapped up in it, made decisions based on the recipient preferences and kept it a secret from them for 80 HOURS! That’s LOVE.❤
Thank you for making this video! I often say a handmade gift is a sign of true love. The actual costs (as you demonstrated) are astronomical. Anyone receiving such a gift should be extremely grateful. (I knit and sew/quilt.)
It’s not just traditional women’s craft and art work that is under valued. I’ve sewn for 55+ years and have made quilts, lots of kids clothes, home decorative items, etc. I am also a retired architect. I worked for a firm that mostly designed public and commercial projects such as schools, office buildings, etc. Whenever anyone would ask my husband what I did for a living, often they’d come back with “Oh, I have a kitchen remodel (or whatever) she could give me some ideas on!” My husband would immediately tell them what I charged per hour for such work, and their response was inevitably “Oh, she charges for her time? I had no idea!”
Ugh, it's like oh they must be joking...but you realize they aren't. I hope we can all learn that really the best thing to say when we make a blunder like that is something like "Ah I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude" or "Sorry that was really presumptuous" or maybe "You're right my brain jumped to the idea of free labour because it's coming from a friend and I am embarrassed now". I also hope people normalize not joking about free labour from friends, family, and doubly so from women. I wish it was more obvious to people that skill, respect, and compensation aren't things by or for men. Also it's kinda funny because I feel like asking for remodelling advice from an architect is like getting a regular checkup from a brain surgeon. Like their expertise is probably beyond what you'd need for that situation unless you have something truly unique going on. If someone said my wife is an architect I'd probably ask a lame question like "What's her favourite building?"
A quilt made by my grandmother, given to a cousin who used it on the patio for her dogs. No one will value your time and effort or they can’t afford what it really cost. This applies to all handmade items. We make these things for the satisfaction it brings us alone. Great video💗.
I think the most frustrating thing of being someone that creates with one's hands is the realisation that almost no one can afford one's work, even if some people like it. One needs to have so much exposure to find just a few people who can actually pay for one's skills, materials and labour.
Fast fashion and cheaply made imported goods from sweatshops have ruined the market for handmade items, what little they were valued before the industrial revolution.
It's the same with knitting. I just finished a 6'x6'6" throw the materials for which cost around $350 and took me just under 6 months to make. Every step of the way I used the best materials and techniques to make this beauty. NO one would pay for that.
@@E_LithaBeth Back in the early 80's my mom bought a fisherman's knit wool sweater in Ireland, for $250. I was astounded. I still wear that sweater! Can't imagine what it would cost today!? $1000?
I feel super lucky , I provided the fabric and a lovely lady made me a mariners star quilt top for under $400! It has 15+ different mariners stars . Double border… I absolutely love it , going to hand quilt the whole thing .
Thank you for this!!! I cannot tell you how many people have seen me knitting in public and asked me, a total stranger, if I could make them something. I got so tired of the snotty comments that now I just start with “what is your price point?” The number of absolute strangers who are like “oh I have to pay for it?” is astounding. Not once has anyone ever set their price point over 50 bucks, and that person wanted a California king colorwork blanket!
As a professional, certified floral designer, I experienced the same type of feedback and questions ftom my clients. I expect to be paid for my expertise, the many years spent honing my craft. Same applies to my quilting. Well stated.
This is so true. I hook rugs and am often asked if I sell them and I always reply that nobody would pay the price. I have done some on commission but those that asked understood the worth & I got my price. However, the average person doesn't understand what goes into making a hand hooked rug and won't pay. I dye my own wool which takes a lot of time and I like the very finely shaded rugs so I spend many, many hours working on one piece. Each of my children received a wedding rug and family members receive hand hooked items as gifts but I don't sell many pieces. I don't quilt but I do appreciate the work that goes into them and admire the artistry of the maker. We are definitely undervalued by society.
I agree 💯! I sew, crochet, embroider, bead, etc all the beautiful things AND work in cabinetry. Your logic and reasoning is extremely accurate. And what the average consumer doesn't realize is the skills they are asking for are not things a machine is able to execute.
I once made a queen size blanket (knit pieces stitched together for ease because I worked on it during holidays) for a wedding gift. Yarn was $18/skien (200 yards per) and I can't even remember how many I used as I made it while at the lake and didn't keep track - just "Darn, I need a couple more skiens good thing I have more at home". Well, at the gift opening, someone said "That's so cheap! Homemade gifts? It is 2017! Buy a gift!" The bride overheard and stood up, looked at the (older) woman (my age) and said "I'm going to say probably around $500 in yarn. Then there is the time, which was probably at least 200 hours. Even at MINIMUM wage, that's probably close to $2600 for just her time MINIMUM. Plus during those 200 hours, she was thinking about me and my husband and what we would like. Cheap? Hell no! PRICELESS!" I was reduced to tears when she said that. (And the woman who said it? RED RED RED and she left the gift opening declaring how "rude" the bride was.) According to the bride's mother, she and her husband use the blanket every day when they go downstairs to watch television. I also knit socks and have had people ask me to knit socks for their husbands/sons and I laugh and say "Honestly, you can't afford my hand knit socks. IF I did make them to sell, it would be around $80 for an average pair of women's socks. Men's socks usually require I dig into a second skien of yarn so I have to charge $100 a pair. And if you are asking for a pair in black or navy? I charge an additional $45. And those are just plain vanilla socks. If you want cables or twists, the price goes up." So what I'm saying is, IF I take the time to knit a blanket, or socks, or a cardigan, or a dishcloth for you, I do it out of love - NOT because I am "too cheap" to buy you anything.
I made a dozen pairs of socks last year. As soon as the "I would love a pair like that" starts, I give them the price for the yarn I am using, and tell them there are lots of RUclips tutorials.
I'm glad the bride stood up for you she sounds like a gem!. T he other lady should have kept her mouth shut! I was gifted a quit at graduation from college from a wonderful lady who taught me how to sew clothing. I use it every day on my sofa. I love it!
The cost of a hand made Quilt is why I learned how to make Quilts. This is the only way I would be able to afford to have any. I’ve been Quilting for over 20 years now. Love it and them!
My grandma quilts, she’s made me three quilts in my life for my 4th, 13th and 18th birthdays and i treasure each and every one. I did have no idea of the labour and fabric costs of a quilt though so thanks for opening my eyes.
I just finished a t-shirt quilt for my daughter. It was made from shirts from her dad who passed away. I pieced together the other side using his dress shirts in assorted, grays and blacks. It turned out absolutely beautiful (So it has a playful side and a serious side) and I tied it rather than quilted. It was supposed to just be a full-size and it grew to king size. LOL! For the heck of it after I was done I googled the price to send t-shirts off to have somebody put it together and was amazed to see the price to just to do the top and with a plain backing material and unfinished sides. But I absolutely understand it and know that the quilt I made for my daughter would probably have run her over $3,000 with all the work. It was a project with so much love! Thank you so much for the price breakdowns. I will continue to explain this to people
Deeply appreciate this. You talked about the specific costs of labor and material here, but I also think the creative aspect is so important and undervalued. A quilter has to design a quilt before they can make it - and that takes so much time and mental energy. Nobody blinks when a fashion designer or artist is valued based on their creativity (in addition to labor) and I think we should value that in crafts - crochet, quilting, sewing - as well.
Unfortunately making any sort of money as a fashion designer is also very difficult, and as an artist you're lucky to be making minimum wage doing your craft as well. Most artists will need to have another job in order to still do their art as a hobby in their scarce free time. This problem is spread over most creative work, artists of pretty much every type being undervalued. Even the carpenter she mentioned in the video, is most likely not able to ask for a fair price for their labour and expenses. Because people could just get a table from walmart or ikea why would they pay so much for it. Not to mention, most people can not afford real handmade locally created things even if they care about any of this.
I have been crocheting for 30 years and I usually crochet baby blankets for gifts, because people don't want to pay what I ask, I have just started quilting, I value your hard work and dedication.
Thank you so much for making this video. I tried to turn my crochet hobby into a side business. I sold my toys ridiculously cheap, enough to cover the cost of material and make a little extra to make it worth my while to rent space at craft shows. It boils my blood when people think handmade gifts are "cheap".
As I can't afford a beautiful handmade quilt, I can't express how much I appreciate being able to watch quilters and their love of what they do. Thank you.
I hope you will receive one from someone you love or appreciate someday, because you obviously will truly cherish it. Those are the only people I give my quilts to.
I knit, crochet, paint and make tons of other items. I've done craft fairs where people won't pay even half of what the item should sell for because its "too much". If I had a dollar Everytime someone said their grandmom or mom makes "stuff like that" as a weird put down because I shouldnt charge so much I'd be very rich. Instead of treating it like it isnt a hard thing and anybody can do it they should appreciate the work it really is and the time and effort it takes whether it's grandmom or me. I create things your grandkids will be able to pass down to their grandkids....thank you for so clearly and logically spelling it out although i have a feeling most of the people watching are right there with you (and me)being frustrated, not the people who dont get it.
I would tell them to get their grandmother or mother to make then. But they had died!😢😢 I guess you are out of luck unless you learn the skills to make it yourself! MAYBE that will make them think about appreciating what they could have had.
It seems those people don't value their own mothers and grandmothers if that's what they're using to put down you and your price. Those kinds of people need a wake-up call.
This is why I don't do commissions. On top of that, people's favorite colors and patterns are ones I don't enjoy working on and it's TORTURE for me to put 50-60 hrs into something that I dislike. So, what I do if I want to sell a quilt (not often) is make whatever I want and then sell it. The price is the price with no negotiation. I normally quilt for family and those I feel called to make one for. When I was knitting, my coworker said, "You can sell those for $20. It's beautiful!" All excited. I was knitting with 100% cashmere and had already been working on it 2 months... If you know, you know.
And, for every other craft or needlework. People are always "You could make money on that! No, I couldn't. People don't want to pay for the cost of materials, much less anything else. You're better off designing and selling patterns if you have the talent for that. Because no one is interested in paying for labor when they're accustomed to items being made elsewhere with little to no labor costs by prisoners or other nearly enslaved workers.
I quilted on commission for a very good friend. She bought the fabric, and the batting. Had I seen the fabric before hand, I would have told her no. 🤦♀️ and it certainly wasn’t worth the $100 she paid me to look at that fabric.
@@aureyd2515 gouvernments make us habituated to very, very low costs of goods, only made possible by mass production (that has the scaling advantage in price but needs a very high amount of items to be made and great investments in very expensive machinery before it becomes profitable, discouraging small scale unique or personal products) unethical working conditions in very low wage countries (where people even get evicted from their own lands f.i. amazone to produce our foods) and by creating environmental disasters. But this process, ofcourse, happens out of our sight. If these companies were producing in our own country or backyard as they did elsewhere, there would be a national uproar. Low costs consumer products come at a very high price. In fact, we re better off buying nothing or very little and making things rather ourselves. We are destroying the planet and our fellow human beings with our hunger for cheap items.........................imagine you can only sell something you made after you made at least 1000 exactly the same of them........how artistic or personal your project would feel??!! What joy would there be left in the making process?
People who don't sew or quilt have no more idea what it costs in terms of materials or time than most of us would have if we were asked what it would cost to make a car engine from scratch. Your thoroughness in itemizing the COG and the times is impressive. Thank you. You're right: When someone comes back with "But why wouldn't I just go to Walmart and get one for $40?" the easiest thing is to simply let them go. Well, we could educate them on the cost of goods and the amount of time if we want, but there is no way we're going to get them up from their expected $40 to the realistic price of $1620. Even if we get them to go buy the materials on their own, they'd still fight you on the cost of the labor.
I have a 100 + year old quilt thats been passed down multiple generations. I love this blanket so much and the details. Ive been told the pattern is a double wedding ring. Its beautiful white background with multi colors circles.
I have my great grandma's hand sewn quilt and it's an absolute treasure. I need to wash it though and am terrified to do so. I've bought pure soap flakes and read how to do it but I'm still terrified. It's so grubby though 🥺
A family member just gave my mom and I a Victorian era crazy quilt she had had on display in her house for years. It was probably made by my German American great great grandmother. It has two years as part of the design which I assume is a start and end year (1881-1891 I think) and is good condition aside from a couple degraded silk pieces. It’s amazing to have something like this from my female ancestors
Thank you for that lovely cost analysis. I sew, knit, weave, dry felt, wet felt and make jewelry. I've never received enough money to do more than cover my costs. Often I'll use low quality yarn to help me break even. Because of this I'm less willing to do my craft even for the fun of it. I've purchased so much yarn and fabric on sale in order to be able to make a profit, but basically these supplies are sitting on my shelf not being used because I can't bring myself to make something to sell for less than the value of my time. People just don't understand what it takes to create handmade items. Plus underpaid non USA labor with poor quality fabric and yarn is getting sold for really really cheap.
My parents paid $1300 back in 1980 for a commissioned quilt for a design set. It was absolutely beautiful in cream shades of eyelet, velvet, and satin. I inherited it and it’s one of my prized possessions. Definitely yes, charge more. That quilt would cost nearly $4000 in today’s dollars. It’s a work of art made by hand. Charge more and be proud of what you do.
I am very lucky to have been gifted multiple hand made pieces by my relatives. I’ve received two quilts gifted to me, one was my blankie as a child, the second was a high school graduation gift. I treasure both of the quilts, and unless tragedy strikes, they’ll last me through my life. My grandma has also spent what must have been a year or so hand sewing and embroidering a Christmas stocking for me, with my name along the top, and the children in the design tweaked to look like my sister and I. I couldn’t be more happy to have such beloved things, and they’re so valuable to me. Each piece by itself would’ve cost an arm and a leg if they had not been made out of love, but with the intention to sell
i have 2 quilts that others have made for me, one long armmed and one paper-pieced hand quilted. they are absolutely worth 1500+. i am so thankful to the women who created them and gifted them to me.
About 15 years ago I gave a baby quilt as a gift at a baby shower. After the gifts were opened a woman I didn’t know approached me with a $20 bill in her hand. She explained her daughter was pregnant and asked me to make a quilt for her impending grandchild. The $20 was ”to help pay for the material.” You have to laugh, otherwise you’d cry. To your point, Kayla, women’s work is devalued and that’s why quilting is a “craft”, never art.
Yeah.... I'm not sure why people think you're going to pay your own money to make a quilt for someone you don't even know. They genuinely don't seem to understand. I quilt for my family, my church, and donation quilts. That way I don't get upset and don't have any real expectations.
@@lanellehatcher561 Well said. Once I give a quilt, I let it go. I can’t control what becomes of it so I only give to folks I think will enjoy and appreciate it!
This is just so typical and I am laughing along with you, so not to be terribly indignant and scream. I was knitting a baby sweater, years ago. My sister, who does not knit at all, said to me: "That 's easy, you probably knit one in an evening." You know, it takes a whole week of making this sweater a priority in my "spare time" to have it ready to give away as we gift.
People always ask me what I do with my quilts. I always tell them I fold them up and put them on the shelf. Always this response …. Ohhh you could sell those. Always my response back… Uh nope.
I have a quilt made by each of my grandmothers, who are passed on. They’re priceless to me! I also sew and know how much work went into them. One is hand stitched, too. You have a valuable skill! ❤
I figured having a quilt made costs a lot of money; I just never considered how much. As a fellow artist, I appreciate you listing the costs and the hours spent making a quilt. I also appreciate you stating you would not charge less than $20 an hour for your time. I have always hesitated about charging that much for my time in making my jewelry, but I won't anymore. Thank you.
Perfectly reasonable! I straight up refuse commissions because people moan about what I charge. And even if I love you, you’d be lucky to get a handmade present! I create for myself first and foremost
When I was at a women’s refuge I was gifted 3 quilts (one each for me and my two kids) I told them this is such a special gift this is made with love for us! And on the quilt it had a tag that said made with love! I do know what they are worth I still have them and they mean so much to me.
"loved" ones usually do not value our work. I handstitched handquilted a blanket for my brother's first child. I visited them whem M was 2. The quilt I made was nowhere in sight. I asked her mum, my sil, where was the quilt. It was a single size, plenty big enough for my niece to use growing up. My sil, gave it to goodwill. She thought I had purchased it (she knew I sewed, knitted, smocked, tatted, embroidered, crocheted, quilted), so the cavalier attitude toward 8 months of my work upset me. I said nothing and thereafter gave them nothing I made and every gift was a cheap piece of crap from target. My sister was no better. Her 3 girls were to be flower girls. My sister found the $200 price tag for each dress a bit much to chew, especially as that was in 1988. She asked me to make the dresses as she knew I made many fussy dresses for my daughter and had made them for some other girls for free. My sister found a pattern almost exactly like the dresses required by the bride. She wanted to buy some cheap polyester fabric and I told her, no. I wouldn't work on polyester and if she wanted polyester she could find someone else to make the intricate dresses. She finally purchased the very good quality flowered chintz that I had suggested. The dresses had flounce on top of flounce on top of ruffles. I hand smocked the bodice, sleeve band, and the alice-type hairbands. I added lace to their socks. The girls looked marvelous. My sister's response? The bodices were too low cut (I had raised the bodice neck scoop in order to fit the all hand smocking. Not one penny for my labor. Not one thank you for my work on 3 very fussy dresses for three girls, different ages, and different body types so I had to do a great many alterations to make 3 patterns from the one size pattern. I made nothing for my sister again. When she was invited to a very special event, my sister asked me to make the dress for her, I told her I didn't have time, but if she wanted to pay for my time I would make the dress. I quoted $1,100 for the fabric, to make the pattern, to hand sew the seed pearls and beads on the dress and shoes. She declined and purchased a J.C penneys quality matron of honor dress from a local shop. She looked like she was wearing a dishrag. She didn't ask for a freebie again.
I'm greatful to my 8th grade teachers for having us all make banner quilts by hand. We made the pattern in math class and read books about pioneers and learned about their history. We all sat around in quilting circles and had to do everything by hand. It was maybe 15x25 inches but it made me appreciate the art of it so much.
thank you for this extremely important discussion and price breakdown. modern consumer culture has completely twisted public awareness of the price of labour and human-hours that go into producing anything handmade and/or fabric-related - from crafts of love like quilting and knitting for yourself and your loved ones, to mass commercial enterprises like OTR clothing production, where the labourers (predominantly women!) are criminally underpaid and work in appalling conditions. it’s so important to talk about these issues, and remind each other how the production and life-cycle of all goods, consumer or craft, really looks like from start to finish.
I recently received an Amish made quilt as a gift and never thought about the value. I knew to appreciate it because many hours were spent making it. Thank you
Great video, it's shocking how little people value other's labour. A few years ago I gifted a baby quilt to a colleague, and another colleague couldn't understand why I wouldn't make her a queen-sized quilt when she was willing to pay for the fabric and gave me "a bit extra for the time". I told her fabric alone would cost more than she expected, and even offered to show her how to make her own quilt. She turned down the offer because she was "too busy to spend time on hobbies". To get her to stop asking I put together a quote and explained the hourly rate I'd charge for a quilt couldn't be any less than we were paid for our days jobs. I think she finally understood at that point there was skill involved and that other people's time had value too. She said she'd think about it and has never once brought up the subject of quilts again. These days when people ask, I say a basic quilt starts at £1,300, before consultation fees and fabric costs. Most people change the subject.
Kudos - I hand quilt all my quilts, sometimes using three different sized frames. My lap frame is my favorite. I’ve often been told I should sell my quilts but I can’t see the point. Part of the great joy I get from designing, constructing and quilting is that each quilt has to have a person/event before I can even decide what I’m going to design. And then each stitch is embedded with the love I have for the recipient, the materials, and the centeredness I get from the whole project from start to finish. You can’t buy that.
my mom has quilted since befor ei was born. she made one for each of her kids, and the amount of work she puts into her projects is INSANE. i have a lot of expensive hobbies, 3d printing, computers, cars, but my mom spends AT LEAST as much as i do on just quilting. she she puts in way more time into each of her projects then i do, and aside from the enjoyment of working on and finishing a project, their isn't much of a reward. i have a new PC or a faster car, she has a piece of art that is frequently underappreciated or a new blanket. huge respect for quilters.
There is so much LOVE that goes into these! My husband and I received a quilt from one of his grandmother's at a bridal shower. I was so excited to receive it! Even though my colors have changed through the years we STILL have it! And I STILL LOVE IT!
I've wached my sister crochet for 10 years so when I went to buy my 20 yo cousin a rainbow wedding quilt I wasn't surprised to pay $500. It's beautiful and will last the rest of her life! Your work is very neat and probably worth even more ❤
I understand and appreciate the costs and labor that goes into quilting/needlework, etc. Because of what it costs, the product is something that low and middle class income people simply cannot afford. Buying food, paying rent, etc is always going to come before paying thousands of dollars for works of art, as lovely as they may be. What this video is (correctly) saying is that buying/ commissioning quilting isn't for the poor and people should realize and accept that.
So so needed this discussion. As a weaver I have been lucky to find a market that values my work. I am so very grateful for that but it makes me mad and sad when I see people devalued by selling their work super cheaply. I would certainly buy a quilt from you 😊
Thank you for putting this out there. I create beaded jewelry and ornaments. I have a lot of people that say I ask too much for a beaded piece. They don't understand how much time and money goes into that piece. It looks beautiful because I bought quality and took my time to create it. They can buy at my price or pay less for crappy department store stuff. Sad for them to think that we would devalue our work to make some money rather than getting what we are worth. ❤
Let’s not forget the time it takes to shop for those lovely fabrics including gas for transportation and the wear and tear on our machines. My log arm with computer and high end sewing machines were not cheap and they require maintenance as well. And, while I don’t like to brag, it takes talent, tons of tools and lots of practice to be an accomplished quilter. You go girl🎉
My grandmother was actually famous for her quilts. She would finish a quilt (no custom) and then sell raffle tickets for the quilt. She would have the raffle when she got the amount of money she wanted for it.
That was pretty smart marketing from your grandmother!
Wow, your grandmother was smart! What a great idea.
Our church quilt group does this twice a year!
So smart!!
Gosh, amazing XD
My wife quilts for people as gifts. People receive these quilts act like they got underwear or socks for Christmas. It drives me nuts because I watch her work long and hard to craft these one of a kind art works. People who quilt are highly skilled and as you correctly point out material isn't cheap. Thank you for bringing this to light.
Yes, I have had this experience.
You could do what I do when my family are ungrateful with my husbands woodwork. I smile and sigh like I agree with their disappointment however I’m “disappointed” in a different way. Smiling I tell them “yeah, I was not too happy when he bought that crazy expensive wood but lesser wood wouldn’t do for that spa seat… and don’t get me started on how many HOURS it took him to make. He takes NO care of himself. Sigh” and then walk off letting them realize he slaved away for them, bought top quality materials and all with a humble attitude without telling any of this when gifting it (making it seem perhaps to those who has no clue how much work it takes to custom make a seat takes) 😋🤷♀️ gives them a little perspective and mostly everyone goes up after and are much more appreciative after that ☺️ just an idea anyways 👍
I crochet, and I've actually been really lucky with some of the reactions I've had to the blankets I've made. One person I gifted one to (for his new baby) is a knitter himself, so he knew exactly how much it could have cost in time and materials. And recently I made one for my niece. My brother immediately asked me how long it had taken, and then told her that the labour alone would be worth $2000.
I crochet and knit, I'm not good enough to quilt. I'd be so over the moon to be gifted even a quilted pillow! It's such a beautiful craft, it should be cherished for the blood, sweat and tears that go into each piece.
Giving to the wrong people! My family appreciated my sewn gifts and I’d get requests for next Christmas.
Many years ago, I went to a church sponsored rummage sale and found a beautiful KING size quilt and two pillow shams as well. It was priced at $25.00. It was not only a quilt, but the maker had added cruel needle work and tiny ribbon flowers and bows to various squares as well. Again, just beautiful. I was poor then, but bought it because it was just beautiful to me. I got it home, took it to a good laundry-mat and washed it in a front loader machine, it is well made and heavy. When I got it home and I was just admiring it, I realized that it was actually quilted by hand!!. I can’t image how long that took. I vowed, that I would keep it all my days because I knew how much work went into it. The maker has most likely passed on, but I will honor this beautiful quilt all my life. Glad you made this video, you’re so right! This work is not valued as it should be. God Bless! ❤️❤️
Awesome 🤩
It's sad that the woman or her family didn't value it enough to keep it.
Crewel, not cruel.😊 But however you spell it, that quilt was obviously a labor of love. I'm glad it went to someone who treasures it as it deserves.
A little while ago, I got a hold of a school quilt, only the face of it survived- something that looked to be 19th, early 20th century, all manner of decorative hand stitches, shapes cut out, cursive names and little designs embroidered. They must've brought scraps from home, it was different all over. It is so beautiful.
I won a quilt on a raffle, just beautiful. I literally redid my whole bedroom around that quilt. I will keep it on my bed as long as I have a bed.
My wife is a crocheter. She makes cute little monsters and people are always under valuing her time and effort. Thank you for making this video.
They're NOT "under valuing". They just don't want to spend that much. Like cars, houses and everything else!
@@22lyric Sure sure. It's "cheaper" to buy goods made with what is essentially slave labor in China. We should totally just keep doing that. Good thinking, my friend.
Right, I have done this, and people are 'willing' to pay me $10-$15 for something that takes like 4-5 hours of work. Not even worth it. Although one year, just after Pokemon Go came out, I crocheted pokemon and put them in pokeballs made from plastic ornament forms, and gave them out for halloween. Kids loved them! Time well spent there.
I always look at beautiful hand made toys and plushies at local fairs and it always makes me so sad that they're priced at $20 when I know it took the woman or man waaaaay longer than $20 worth to make it. Especially the micro items omfg I can't even make my hands work or eyes see those tiny things anymore but they are the cutest and I adore them
The kind of thing happens for Knitting. A project can cost me over $100.00 for just the yarn used in it. The labor time is high. The skill level of such projects took me 20 years to master.
I am so glad to hear another quilter put a realistic price on a quilt. If asked for a quilt now I quote $1200 plus fabric and batting. No takers.
In the past, I was always invited to baby showers, because everyone knew I’d make a quilted baby blanket. I’m an RN, so quilting is almost meditative for me. However, I gifted a baby blanket to our unit secretary, a star patterned quilt. I quilted it myself because it was small enough to do that. (I’ve also done long arm quilting as a professional, and oh my god it’s hard to make people understand that I charge by the inch!). I ended up putting about 80 hours into the quilt, and then gave it away. Several of the other nurses wanted a quilt. When I said sure, go to the fabric store and buy 100% cotton fabric, in these shades, and X amounts, then I’ll happily make a quilt, and charge per hour, and you can send it off to be quilted. I got no takers. One told me that I was crazy, she wasn’t going to spend $100’s on fabric. Thank you
Someone asked me to make a crochet baby shawl "like granny made for all the family babies". No written pattern because granny had made so many she didn't need one. Eventually I was shown a very blurry tiny photo where the shawl was thrown across the back of a couch that 2 children were sitting on. What little I could see of it was impossible to make out any design except that it wasn't a standard granny square or smaller granny squares. I suggested yarn (nice baby yarn but nothing fancy or luxurious) and something for my time but not the going rate might come to about £50.
No surprise I didn't hear from that young woman again and her aunties didn't mention it either. People have no idea.
Fabric prices have gone up!
I wouldn't have bothered making a quilt for that nurse unless she was your best friend or someone you highly valued. Good on you for standing your ground with the other nurses though. People are so used to mass produced dollar store products they have forgotten what it takes to make a home and build a life. We used to make everything ourselves. Grow our own food, build our own houses, make our clothes, etc.
Traditionally for baby showers in my family instead of gifts everyone would contribute to making baby puff quilt and the party would be working on the quilt. Almost everyone in my family has one. I did it for my oldest son and I invited my friends and in laws and they didn't even come because they didn't want to put that kind of work into a gift. We got the puffs made and I had to put the quilt together myself because we didn't have enough people to help.
@@winterrose8174 I had those kind of Aunts. Not my mom, never my mom. By the time I was old enough to be married and have a baby on the way, my Aunts hands has so much arthritis she could not longer hold a needle. I never got a quilt or any needle work from her as her daughter swooped in and took it all. Your tradition is amazing!! I wish I had friends close by to make those traditions with. You and your family sound amazing. I love those puffs quilts. Perfect for babies. 👶😊
I appreciate this video and as long time quilter I’ve had mixed experiences:
1) made an inexpensive basic baby quilt early in quilting journey with Joann’s fabric - it became a family heirloom for a family and is passed onto to every baby born in family for past 15 years.
2) Made a complex quilt with quilt shop more expensive fabric for a charity silent auction and a $40 bid won, for a quilt that cost me at least $400 in fabric and labor.
3) Made a quick panel quilt for a baby shower my husband was attending for his coworker and expectant mother broke down crying she was so moved.
4) made a wedding complex wedding quilt that took six months to complete and never even got a thank you card from the nephew and his wife.
I could go on with the stories, but what I’ve learned over the years that it’s the person not the quilt that determines the quilt value to them. I don’t make quilt gifts anymore except for Very Special select people. I make quilts only for me now and I don’t try and sell them because I’ve been burned doing that.
I appreciate your comment. I think you made a good note on the value. I wanted to say that I am quite disappointed by the charity auction, because even some normal blankets sell for over $100!
I resonate with your comment so much as a quilter. As a quilter, I've been shocked to see the lack of appreciation that some of the people I've given quilts to have shown. I spend so much money buying fabric and time actually piecing and quilting and then, sometimes, when the gift is opened, it's tossed aside with the wrapping paper. You almost want to take it back. On the other hand, some people treasure their quilts. One of my first quilts was so well loved it was worn thin and the baby I gave it to is a grown man who still mentions it when I see him. One of my last was for my dying mother during Covid and she told me it was a way for me to be close to her when she was in isolation. When she passed, my grown daughter asked if she could keep the quilt as a memento of her Nana. Those are the quilts that matter.
@@acebaker3623I think most people haven't touched a needle or sewn a button and haven't got any idea of what it takes, hence the lack of appreciation. The same with food!! How is it treated when people grow their own veg in comparison to shop bought or ready meals? It is very sad that such skills aren't taught at school or at home.
I make a bunch of cross stitch and plastic canvas work. I used to try to sell custom but everyone wants to pay $5 or less and say its just easy idle time stuff that I'm greedy for wanting $100 for a cross stitched custom wedding banner. I can hand embroider but nobody asks about that since my cross stitch price is so high. Simply i say for 20 bucks ill make you the pattern and you can go mske it yourself since its so easy. Ive had people buy a custom pattern ive never had a single one come back and tell me how easy the project was. Ive never seen the completed project either. Every year it gets harder and more expensive to get the materials but the people wanna pay less and less.
I feel your heartache, God bless you and as hard as it is, forgive...don't forget or hold it against the person who did not see the beauty, time , and love poured into each stitch. In my eyes, every piece I do, whether a quilt, cross stitch, crochet booties and cap each one, to me, is priceless. I have never charged for any thing I have done because they were from the love I have for those I gave them to. Some were treasured, some were a quick thanks, never to see displayed or thought about again. So it is in this world today, but God is close and my Lord will return, he said it and I believe in Jesus.
IT's about time someone puts a realistic price on our work. I rather donate my quilts than have people not value my hard work.
Everyone is underpaid, except bosses nowadays, I've heard carpenters talk about deck projects in much the same terms as OP, costs of materials and especialy labour make it unviable.
Except that donating your quilts is encouraging people to continue to devalue your hard work. Because they see you donating something they say, oh it really can't be worth all that much if you are giving it away. Even if it is fundraising for charity. Maybe you won't get that money but I guarantee that charity is not going to get the full value of that quilt either. I've been to charity auctions where artists have donated their work and very, very rarely will that work go for what the artist stated it should go for. Most times it is much less. I won't devalue my work that way anymore.
Very good point! I honestly would rather donate the $250(ish) that my quilt will bring as a fundraiser and keep it for myself.
@@andreaslind6338 One of the weirdly most rewarding and highly paid jobs I have ever had was an odd job man in about 2005. I was charging £20 which would be about $50 an hour now I believe. The mistake I made was turning it into a "proper business" making custom garden buildings and that got instantly wiped out in the 2008 crash.
It was low stress and really varied work - painting fences, cleaning gutters, mending garage roofs etc. I got to meet lots of different people and I was never bored.
This is exactly what I do. Give the baby quilts that I make away. It is something I do for passion, release, upcycling, skill-building and I have another art practice as my main income - as in these quilts are precious and one of a kind and most people wouldn't pay what it's worth. I rather hustle my other art forms and get paid for sewing in other ways. That pays me for side quilting time
Bravo! I retired 2 years ago. When asked what I was going to do, I said, “quilt and garden.” People always followed up with, “are you going to sell your quilts?” I replied, “No. People won’t pay what they’re worth. I have many loving family members. I make them quilts because they are hugs that last longer than my lifetime. I know they will be cherished.”
This is exactly my feeling
As a quilting grandmother (yes, that’s right) i just love your words - ‘hugs that last longer than my lifetime.’
I am going to embroider that on the back of my next quilt. 🩷
Same here!
I loved this comment and your reasoning for not selling !!!!
Nothing has ever crushed me like spending tens of hours knitting a gorgeous shawl in a very complicated pattern from tempermental light bamboo "wool" (I was considering the weather where this person lived) for someone and seeing her clearly wish she'd been given the $16 initialed necklace I gave someone else. The "wool" alone cost me $50 on a major sale buying bulk to repeat the project for others. I love pouring my heart into things for others, but I'll never again do it for someone who I haven't talked about knitting at length with. That way I'll know if they actually recognize what they're being given.
When I found out that my grandmother had knitted my baby blanket I cried and thanked her because I knew how intricate the work on it was (and so perfect that I thought it was machine made). If I hadn't taken an interest in knitting, I never would've known how much effort that took from her, and what a precious gift it is. Maybe it would've gone to the landfill instead of being carefully hand washed and kept.
When I am asked if I sell my quilts, I say no because the price would be prohibitive. I also say that the cost of materials AND my labour would put people off. If I choose to make/gift a quilt to someone, it is for my pleasure. Making it into a business would take all the joy out of it for me. Thank you for putting this video out to the universe.
My thoughts exactly. I am much happier giving them to those who value or need them.
Absolutely 💯!
Great comment! That’s my thoughts as well. I’ve been asked why I don’t make mine and sell them and the reasons you stated why you don’t are the very reason I don’t.
Agreed 💯
I say yes and put a very high price on it. They can walk away. This one that Kayla is calculating out, I'll say $6,000. If they really want it, I'll sell it for that!
I’m a guy who sews, mostly men’s shirts, and the number of times people ask me to sew them a custom shirt for $20 is just unbelievable. That won’t even cover the fabric. My response nowadays is just, “I don’t do commissions.” Thanks for this video.
That has to be so hard to hear because they don't mean it to be insulting because they're just ignorant but it is insulting.
I like your kitty in the pfp.
I sew, but its for a small business that gives me all the fabric and supplies and literally just pays me for my labor.
Back in the 80's, I used to make blouses for a woman who was very large. She was a bank exec and couldn't get nice, professional clothing. She would buy the fabric, interfacing, buttons... and pay me $40 per blouse. She understood...
Now a days, that would be equal to $150, each.
I worked with a guy who makes custom jeans, per your body measurements, $200 each. No one blinks an eye at his price.
So, there are people out there who "get it", you just have to find them...
@@jilbertbtbh it should be more common, anyone interested in nice clothes especially with the tailored element should be expecting around that cost. I mean people will but mass produced stuff for half that anyways, and not even “quality” stuff
I am 75 years old. I started quilting in the 80s. I made quilts for my family members, I made quilts for friends. I made healing quilts, made with love for friends and family that had to go into the hospital or do cancer treatments. I made lap quilts for nursing home residents that had no one to visit them on holidays, like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. I made quilts for the Children’s hospital. In all that time I didn’t charge anyone, I gave them something that had been made with love for their comfort and perhaps feeling cared for. Over all these years I have maybe had a handful of people truly thank me, let me know that they still have their quilt or that they still remember it.
Perhaps the making and giving of a quilt meant more to me than the receiving of one, I’m not sure. I know that I refused to allow myself to make judgements about it but look at it as something that my intention was loving and good.
When my sons got married, their wives weren’t interested in handmade items. They wanted everything to coordinate in the baby’s room. I made my grandchildren quilts anyway, when they came to visit me, I got out their quilt and they played on it, slept with it, learned their colors from it. It is theirs when they turn 18 and they can do what they wish with it. I did not want to see my gift to them being declutterred and donated.
Thanks for the eye opener of the costs. I think even $25.00 an hour is undervalued. You didn’t even include the wear and tear on our machines. Each quilt required me to oil and clean my machine, as you said replace needles, etc.
it does make me sad though that less and less people see quilts as something made with 💕 for them. To be wrapped up in one when you are feeling sad or lonely, is to feel the love of the person that made it for you, giving you a hug.
I think people just don't know how much effort and work and love goes into things like that. Fewer people than ever take up a needle craft or other type of craft such as wordworking so that means fewer people are familiar with how labor-intensive and difficult it all is. I'm 28 and I've tried multiple types of needle crafts and so I got to have a taste of how brutal they are starting out. So my grandma's afghans and cross stitch projects are even more precious to me than somebody who has never tried to learn.
I couldn't agree more. I've tried to sell small quilts and table toppers at our Church bazaar and even then people say they are too expensive. So, I go back to why I love to quilt. For the pleasure of seeing the faces of those receiving them. That warms my heart the most. I'm currently making quilts for my husband's siblings (6 in all) from their mom's dresses. These will be something they can cherish the rest of their lives. And that is why I quilt. 😊 Oh, and I'm 66 and have been quilting since 2015. I love it!
So eloquent. You should write a book about your quilt making!
I couldn't agree more ❤️
My Great Aunt quilted. I think she gave some as gifts, but when she died there were enough for all the "kids" to have at least one. I Picked out a "normal" color combo, and gave a home to the one nobody liked. Bold color combo across the color wheel. Then someone in the family was griping that she didn't get one...because she didn't claim it! Which was the point of the visit...get you a quilt! So i gave her the normal one and i love the wacky one so much! It suits my style so much and I also know it was very much my great aunt's style.
This has been the way of it for generations and is why we would rather just give our quilts to beloved friends and family.
Good thought, but even then, I've read where a quilt is put on the dog's bed or flipped over because the recipient liked the backing fabric better. Please choose carefully as to who gets your handmade quilts.
My wife is a crocheter and I'm a sewist and I always feel SO SAD when I see BIG crocheted blankets in the goodwill or the thrift because I just know how many HOURS of love and labor when into those things as "basic" as they seem. It's also why I don't make clothes or things for people. People always ask if I could make them a cloak. And i'm like...at my working professional rates this would cost you at minimum $1000 not including materials. It took me 40 hours and most of it was the hand sewing required for the lining and interlining steps. Same with my wedding dress. Slowly constructed over the course of 2 years...not including the year and a half i spent teaching myself sewing from scratch to couture techniques. But in my case I was TRYING to replicate the work of a couture brand lol.
What kind of cloaks do you make? Thats a ridiculous price. At most-4 yards for $50/yard for a good wool is $200 + 2 hours cutting time , 4 hours of pinning and 8 hours of sewing ( being generous) @ $20/ hr is $880.
Does your price include S&H? 20% tax?! @@uarestrong76
All my quilts have gone to close relatives. Sometimes not even a thank you card. I can't quilt anymore because of physical disabilities. The few I have kept... 5:31
@@wickiwo1098 this happened to me! I gifted a friend’s mother a complex patterned quilt, but she liked the kittens on the back better and always laid it out that way. The daughter I gave a baby quilt to hung it on the wall by driving 10 penny (read really big) nails through the corner fabric. Made my heart break just a little, that was a 100 + hour project.
I am so glad to hear someone else say this! I am 70, and I have been sewing since I was 16. Over the years I have knitted, crocheted, cross stitch was my true joy, I began that journey in 1978 when I found out I was expecting my first child. Over the years I have completed over 300 pieces, most of which I cut wood for, framed, and stained/painted plus cutting the glass for the frame. Most of these pieces ended up in the homes of my children or other family members. I did these pieces and didn't charge for them, only asked that I keep the book/leaflet, as well as any extra floss if they purchased any for the project.
I did my first quilt top in 1980, I never finished it. This top was a Dutch Doll, my Mama showed me how to make ( I have her first quilt which was made in 1930, all hand sewn, it is done in little squares made from the clothes of family members, she was one of 8 children from a poor family living in Eastern Georgia. Sorry, thinking of what was and is today sometimes becomes a struggle.
People today do not see the art in what is created by hand and sadly will put a greater value on " store bought " than handmade. Even my own family, I was reminded that it was a gift I gave and the person who owns it should be free to do with it as they please. This was cross stitch, some done on 14 count, most pieces were on 32 or 28 count, hours of love and time which now lie in a box stowed away in an attic. Perhaps I shouldn't care, but I do, to me each of those pieces were Mona Lisa's.
In my life I have created and completed a quilt for each of my 3 adult children, 2 kings, 1 full. I made a queen size for myself. I have made many crib size quilts most of which were biscuit type or as some call them " puff " quilts. I have sewn more clothes for children than I can count, as well as sewing for myself.
I struggle with tremors and arthritis now, I still try to paint, not that am good enough to brag but it brings me joy to be creative after all, idle hands and minds are the devils workshop.
Well I have given you far more than you have asked for, to the point, over the years people would ask me " How much for this or that " after being insulted, not in words so much as the lack of appreciation for my time, and effort did I begin every such conversation with, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Did I bristle the fur of some, yes but truth is, everybody wants something for nothing, and handmade crafts are worthless to those who have never set about crafting themselves.
You, dear girl, like myself will be given respect somewhere hundreds of years from now, should our crafts withstand the test of time, If this world remains and the Lord delays his second coming, our artwork will be sold for hundreds of thousands, lol but for now, we are not respected or valued. Take care and please forgive me for being long-winded. 🙏🙏
I have done award winning embroidery and quilting. I have given pieces as gifts. My one son had a short lived marriage to a girl than when I offered to make them a quilt the look on he face was not of appreciation. We went to Target to see their registry. They had a quilt on it. The quilting stitches you could catch your fingernails on all of them. Made in China and not made well. When I saw what she prefer to one of my quilts, I knew I would do a thing for her. My son married again to a totally different type of girl and she took the time to color a quilt to give me a way to go. She is so precious. One year for Christmas I gave her a beautiful tea table cloth and napkins in cross stitch that had never been used that I bought for $2! from our thrift store. The first girl would have sneered at it but the other appreciated it. Like I always tell her, I can never visit their home so she doesn't need to keep things I give her. I have really bad RA and I am not up to traveling 5 hours to see them. These days, I am very fussy about who I give homemade gifts to.
It's nice to read thoughts that reflect my considerations as well. I've actually been in WM and said loud snarky comments about how it pisses me off there's little but Cheap Chinese Crap. Crystal at BagODay did a yarn review of Temu yarn. It easily came apart n was obviously made from? Made by whom? Labor in China is too cheap. Get too many immigrants here n labor wages will be cheapened. Compared to the early 80s a lot has gone to goat digestions. And kids don't get art n music n encouragement to try doing creative things. I occasionally encourage creativity on vids bcos. .we could all use some positive feedback. Btw. Totally agree with pretty much all both of you said. My thing is crochet but I won't make anything for my son again and likely will stick to not making things for others unless a donation of stuff for a shelter or something. Lately I've been working on mostly things for me that I need. I'd still like to crochet me a burnoose but.. lotta work. It's really sad some of the attitudes of appreciation anymore. Like learning about the attitude of Gratitude would be a good start . Many blessings ya'll.
As far as I'm aware, the Torah says nothing about long-windedness being a sin. 💖
I make beautiful creations as well by crochet or knitting and I don't want to sell anything either, I'm like you said, I would've to charge too much, when I give something as a gift, all I ask is for appreciation 😊
Apparently I significantly undervalue my own labor, even though I'm a man.
I've made fudge from basic ingredients and given it as Christmas gifts to my coworkers. And I got an uncomfortable (to me) amount of thanks for it. It was a few cents worth of supplies and a couple hours of cooking.
And I also crocheted my grandma a little blanket that was similar to one she had described to me from her childhood; one her mother made her. It was blue with a white duck in the middle, and had hand-tatted lace around the side. I can't seem to tat lace, but I crocheted her a blue blanket with a single white duck on one side, and on the other side were two big ducks with three smaller ones to represent her, grandpa, my aunt, mom, and uncle. And I sewed some lace I bought from Joanne's around the edges.
I didn't think the blanket was a huge deal- it was less than $50 to make after all, and she and Grandpa always give everyone a $50 bill for Christmas and for birthdays. And I'd given my parents crocheted items and they'd always wind up buried and unused in the spare sock bag- so my crocheting itself obviously wasn't that valuable. I really just made it for her to show I'd been listening to her. Because I didn't think it would be a big deal, I gave it to her in front of the rest of the family. Apparently I accidentally showed everyone up with that gift. It was a huge deal, and suddenly my parents were bragging about my crochet abilities.
Now that I think about it, I once made a rag doll just to see if I could. Once I finished it, I didn't really care to keep it anymore, so on a whim I gave it to that same grandma. I expected her to play with it a little then throw it away or at best maybe give it to a kid. It was made out of garbage after all. Now I wonder if she still has it.
I do lots of things for fun: cooking, baking, sewing, embroidery, crochet, knitting, writing stories, singing, guitar, ukulele. They're idle amusement, or they're ways to make unique gifts for my family who have more than enough money to buy whatever they want. They've always just been things that bring me joy, not anything of value.
Maybe it's sexism? Maybe it's late stage capitalism making things seem like "if you didn't pay a lot for it, it doesn't have value". Maybe it's a generational thing? I'm 26 years old- so late millennial, early Gen Z... 🤷♂️
Thank you for calculating this!!! I’ve quilted 6 years given away about 30 baby blankets and about 7 regular quilts all to family members. Ones who honor and appreciate my work!!!
My grandmother (passed away 8 years ago) crocheted blankets for all of her grandkids and my wife's grandmother knitted a little jacket and mitts for my daughter when she was about 2. Daughter is now a senior in high school and grandma Verla passed away years ago. Those items are priceless and heirlooms in the family.
When I gift a quilt now I have it appraised and give a year’s insurance cover. Amazing the difference in how those people care for their quilts compared to the ones I just wrapped up and gifted. Sad that an external evaluation makes the gift worthy of more consideration.
Exactly!
@@diannehanby1855that's a very interesting idea. Tyfs
I tell anyone that is interested in a piece that: I don't make decor...I make heirlooms. I crochet wedding shawls meant to be passed down to another generation. I go through the whole buying process with a client down to picking the fleece I spin into thread. I require a deposit just on the materials that is NON- refundable. I had a potential catty client ask why so much? Why can't you go to Walmart and just buy some yarn? In return: I told her this is a piece of me; my soul, my very valuable time, and my craft. This is my price and if grandma can make it from "Walmart yarn" then you should get her to make it 😊. Big thumbs up for addressing this topic ❤
She would have asked Michelangelo to paint with acrylic 🥵
My mother-in-law was a fabulous knitter - but tended to buy acrylic "wool" (she always called it wool, no matter the content) because it was cheap. My daughter wore one of her real wool jumpers when she was small (about 4) after it had been worn by several older cousins, and I know it got passed on to others after that, and still looked marvelous. The acrylic ones didn't hold up nearly as well. While she made us many sweaters and cardigans over the years, almost the only time she used real wool was when I (or someone else) bought yarn for her.
@@mggrantcowi9989Sounds like she enjoyed knitting so I suppose thats a good way to do your hobby cheaper and also ensure youve always got people to give them to 😂
@@Lucky9_9 I wish someone had paid Leonardo Da Vinci to paint on wet plaster so that the paint wouldn't chip off.
And this is why I treasure the quilts that were made by my mother and grandmothers. ❤
Same. I have a crocheted afghan that my maternal grandmother made back in the early 70s..it's a simple chevron pattern, in typical 70s colors and scratchy yarn, but I cherish it because she made it. I also have two quilts one of my aunts made. She is now in her late 90s and no longer quilts, but boy did she make some beautiful things!
Same here! I hope to pass mine on to any daughters my son may have in the future.
I feel so lucky to have cross-stitch gifts from my (thankfully still-living) mom, knitted clothes from my grandmother, and crocheted afghans from my great-grandmother. I don't understand people who don't treasure these things!
I have the quilt my great grandma made for my dad 60 years ago, I sleep with it regularly ❤️
I read an article once that said that Sewing to sell is not cost effective. They indicated that sewing a quilt only makes sense if it is given away. They are valued much more when you add up the time and cost. Smiles and tears of joy are worth so much more.
This is true for all crafters. Always insultingly undervalued.
I absolutely agree that it is related to undervaluation of women’s labor, but as a potter I can confidently tell you that it is also an undervaluation of creative work in general.
I don't think it is the under valuation of women's labor. I think it is any handcrafted items.
@@KMF3people tend to have the opinion that whatever is made as a hobby must be for free. they don't even consider that the material has a price, even if someone generously does not put labour costs on the bill. "but it's your hobby" is a phrase i have heard way too often.
@@Hitsugix wow REALLY? I have a hobby business making and selling handcrafted things. I've never had anyone say that to me. But people definitely don't want to pay for the time it takes to make and market items.
@@KMF3i had a former colleague who asked for nice knitted socks. he offered 5€ for two pairs. others didn't even consider paying and just asked me if i could make one (a large crocheted shawl in this case) for them in their preferred colours. when i told them how much they should expect to pay for it they acted like i just told them i shot their grandma AND they said they could get a thing like this from a local KIK store (a very cheap store for clothing in germany). so yeah, people see that we can make nice things and they want them, but they want them for free.
i only make things for myself, my mum and my best friend and nobody else anymore.
@KMF3 It's both. Hand-crafted items are undervalued, but handcrafted items from the category considered "women's work" is even more undervalued.
My grandmother was a master quilter. I was blessed to have hand-quilted quilts my entire life. when they wore out my mom would make, teddy bears or other small things with what wasn't worn through. The last quilt she made for me was a queen size quilt for my wedding. It was constantly on our bed for 10+ years, we kept using it long after it began to fall apart. I still have the pieces in a space bag waiting for me to sew into pillows. I have also yet to find a comforter that feels as nice. These functional works of art are labors of true love and skill and are unmatched by anything available on the open market today. To anyone who wants a "quilt, like Granny used to make" you better learn to quilt because no one is going to make you a quilt for the price Granny did.
My grandma did this for my wedding too 😊 I got the first quilt she ever made
So lucky! Quilts started appearing here only recently. our grandmas used to emboider/crossstich large wall hangers - about 1.5 meters long, and some 70 cm wide. These get hanged on the wall by the long side, usually just above the bed. In some cases, they would do bed covers in the same methods.
I had a neighbor who would plow the snow in my driveway- would never take a dime. The third year he did it, I made him a queen size quilt. He asked what it was worth. I went on Etsy, found a quilt just like it (full size) and showed him it was $700. He almost started crying... and he loves it!
Same! I have several from my grandmother who’d complete one quilt per winter. She’d sew by hand on the frame grandfather made her in the evenings. My favourite is the wedding ring pattern I received on the occasion of my marriage. Our grandmothers started sewing at the age of 5. No wonder the stitches were so perfect!
Quilt making is definitely undervalued. I made a quilt for someone recently and during the party she opened up the gift. There were no ooh's or awh's. She just said oh that's nice then put it to the side. I was devastated. I put a lot of time and love into that quilt because I love her. And I know she loves me. I took into consideration that she was pregnant and overwhelmed. But people have no idea how much time money and love goes into quilt making. I think that quilts made by big companies have made a big difference in how valued self made gifts are.
I'm making a quilt now that the materials alone costs around $600- fabric, templates etc. It's going to be appliqued upon an applique upon the background fabric. Lots of time. Lots of money. Lots of love. Best part is that the person getting this is going to REALLY appreciate it -ME!!
I love what you said. When you're done, enjoy your beautiful quilt!
Love the ending to this! 😁😁🫶
My heart broke when I read her reaction to her quilt, you deserved so much better!!
@@lauracruz2021 it's ok. I've learned to not judge too quickly or harshly. You never know what someone's going through. I know and God knows where my heart was. I do believe in you get what you give. From experience. So even if I didn't get it from her, I know that God was proud of the love I showed through the quilt! And you can never out give God. So keep pouring out my love and God will do the rest. Like I said I know she loves me. I think it was a very long day for her. She really is a very nice person.
Thank you for your comment. It's nice to be understood 🥰
If someone gave me a quilt, I'd feel awful because I know a lot of time and love goes into them. I'd hate for them to feel like you did here, but I can't change that patchwork quilts aren't my thing. I wouldn't use it, so for me it would just be another item taking up space -which is tragic given all the effort that went into it. To avoid future disappointment, maybe check beforehand if someone would treasure one of your lovely quilts as much as they deserve.
I don’t make quilts for less than the cost you quoted. People don’t want to pay the price so I quote 1500 to 3000 depending on the size they want. Shut them down and I get to focus on the quilting for my family. I did have a person that his wife inherited Mother’s Flower Garden blocks and did not know how put them together . Asked me how much I would charge to complete the quilt. I had batting and backing so I said 1500.00 and I finished the quilt. His wife and Mother-in- law cried when they saw the quilt. I felt good cause I knew they would cherish this quilt very much.
That's wicked nice! Good story.
Quilter here. I was recently given some cut pieces of fabric that belonged to my grandmother. Luckily, she had put two blocks together, so I know what she was doing. Sorted the rest of the fabric, and there is enough for thirty blocks. Your story inspires me to get at it, despite half a dozen quilts in the works.
Love this! I too only make things for those who understand the work that goes into it and values it.
I mostly sew clothing and this is exactly my strategy. When someone asks for a piece, I give them an outrageous price. There are two outcomes and I'm good with either. 1) they decide it's not worth it. Great, I didn't want to make it anyway. 2) They decide they do want it after all and I make it at a price I'm happy with. I have yet to have anyone choose option 2.
I kept track of everything to me last quilt. It was around $800. Remember, this does not include a sewing machine, cutting matt, blades, lighting, etc. Etc. I love making quilts. So question, what do you do with all of them?
I never take a commission because no one would want to pay what it is worth. I sew for my own pleasure and if I want to gift or donate a quilt that is for my pleasure as well.
I am the same. People are surprised I don't go to the local farmers market and sell things for "fun". Quilting is a relaxing pleasure for me and I would never want to change that!
This is the perfect description of my quilting. I enjoy making them and the look on the faces when people receive them bring me joy.
People ask me why I don't go to farmers markets with my produce. You will never get what you put in it for time spent weeding, picking, washing and sitting and setting up you would get very low pay if you count labor
I knew our work was undervalued, but I never imagined it to be that drastic. The way you explain it makes it so crystal clear and so concise. Thank you😊
I think you're confusing something, men also make things, as a hobby, that they don't sell.
The value of a work has nothing to do with the amount of work or material that goes into it.
In using the pronoun "our" I am referring to all creators as I'm well aware that these can be she/he/them. If one is creating something for sale, what else is considered in valuing someone's work?
@@Cre0leD1va
An object is worth what others pay for it.
Last week I made a wooden toy for my nephew on a CNC router, that was 10 hours of work + 15 € material costs. Nobody is going to pay €200 or more for it, similar things can be mass produced for €20.
Four months ago I produced a spare part for a series production on the same milling machine, 3 hours of work at night, but the The assembly line was up and running again within 5 hours, for which they paid ~1200 €.
Not just “women’s work” I feel like the whole creative and craft industry is so undervalued. I paint in oils, draw, do digital art, and hand-paint wood pieces, all without much overhead cost to do. But my time is worth everything, and most people just don’t understand the value;
If you want that $40 target quilt, sure, go to target; but then again you are getting cheap fabric sewn together in a factory probably by young kids making a $1 an hour.
If I had thousands to drop on a hand crafted quilt you made, I would, because I can understand the thought and craftsmanship that went through it.
I don’t think I’ve come across a quilt anywhere, least of all target, for less than $100. If they want bedding that cheap they’ll have to visit a thrift store.
I've definitely seen factory made quilts on sale for fifty.
exactly, industrialisation of manufacturing processes, economies of scale, as well as offshoring labour cost mean that the average person has no idea about what it takes to make something handmade or of a higher quality. Because of this, it really shouldn't be surprising that people balk at this price.
I paint with acrylics, but my art (usually cost me around 7 hours to paint it) is being sold for 40 euro's, including the canvas-and-paint-costs.
And still, nobody takes it. Art is being heavily undervalued, since you can easily snap a picture, print it out at home and hang it on the wall if you want.
The value of handmade is gone for many.
@@tj92834 or do some clever marketing instead.
I don't have any children, but I DO have 4 nieces and 2 nephews. All but one of them received a quilt made by me as a wedding gift. The colors were their choice, the patterns were my choice. The one remaining niece will get one too, but she is not engaged yet. The quilts I make are gifted to them at the Bridal Showers and I am ALWAYS asked if I make quilts for others or do I have a shop. The answer to both questions is always no. Maybe I'll change that a bit and say yes. Then I won't feel at all guilty when I give them a price for it. I'll hold my head up high and look them right in the eye when I quote that $5,000 price!
Kayla, I'm your newest subscriber! Thank you for this video.
I hope your nieces and nephews value your gifts already, but I also wanna pitch in that if someone would ask you if you sell quilts and for how much and you'd say the fair price, that they would appreciate your work and skill even more, seeing how much did they get.
This doesn’t have anything to do with men vs women. Try selling a piece of wood furniture right about now. It has to do with authoritarians and those who believe they hold authority. Labor is not valued the way it did when the slaves knew they were slaves, true, but I don’t think ignorance is bliss. The Most Dangerous Superstition is on youtube in audiobook form. It’s pretty good at revealing reality to some people. Maybe you, reader, will find it beneficial too.
I love the tradition of passing along handmade things, but please keep in mind that not every child may be engaged someday or have kids. I'm the last of my siblings to get married and my nana passed before I was engaged. She gave me a "wedding quilt" before she passed and it means so much to me. She said she didn't know if she would ever see me walk down the aisle, but she wanted me to know that she was proud of me whether or not I ever got married, and that as long as I'm happy, that's all that matters. If she would have waited for me to get engaged before she made it, I wouldn't have ever gotten it.
@@AnnaBananaRepublicmy fiance makes snake and insect enclosures out of scrap materials... He makes more per hour doing that than his 9-5.
@@SavageMinnowThat was beautifully said.
What is even more amazing is, that after you do all this work for people they get tired of what you made them and donate it to a thrift store!!!!!!!!!! I have bought so many BEAUTIFUL quilts, baby blankets, hand made cradles , etc... for almost nothing.
This. It's kind of like finding old family photo albums from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I always wonder what happened that all the old family photos ended up at a thrift store. It always makes me sad 🥺
I wouldn't just assume that the people got tired of the gifts. Especially if you find (older) stuff of high quality that looks brand new in thrift stores it must have been well cared for. There are many reasons why people (have to) give those things away.
And it can be just as beautiful if someone finds those wonderful things and gives them a second home and cherishes them once more.
Alot of older people in my city quilt and use recycled materials and donate them. It's beautiful
I'm a quilter myself, but I buy those same things in thriftshops just to give them an appreciative home.
Every craftsman should remember: most people don't care about hand-crafted items, otherwise they would be handcrafting, too. Many simply hate old-style estetics and love modernity only. As result, most of your gifts go straight to the trashcan.
I shared your video.
Years, ago at a church craft show, I was admiring one of the most beautiful hand made quilts I had ever seen, the price asked was 250.00 as I recall. Another woman came up gushing over how this would fit her decor perfectly then offered 50.00. I saw the look on the woman's face as she struggled to answer. I piped in and asked her how many hours of labor she had in this quilt, then asked her the the cost of materials... When she finished, I quickly calculated that at her asking price she was asking less than 2.00 an hour for her work! When I said that, I followed it with, this is worth more than double what you are asking, as a quilt, and considerably more as the work of art it truly was. The potential buyer said she had no idea making a quilt required so much labor. She gave me a very appreciative smile as I walked away. I saw the buyer later, with the quilt, I hope she paid the quilter at least her asking price.. To this day the artistic work of women is not apprreciated.
Male crafters are in the same boat; people want works of art for cheap.
@@ruthgoebel723 That's true but men typically have better practice at standing up for themselves. In most cases girls are taught from a young age to be quiet and compliant and not make a fuss (this teaching is usually unconscious in the way adults react but it's there nonetheless).
@@ruthgoebel723mass production definitely creates unrealistic expectations around creative work. I refinish furniture, typically associated with men but the community is chalk full of women, and I see comments from people saying they'll save the money and just buy a new piece of furniture. It's sad and it's wasteful. Before that I was an artist and a web designer. Similar story. They really seem to think they're entitled to free work with endless revisions.
I love that you did that! People really have no clue.
YES!!! People have zero idea how much we invest in making our quilts, bags, table runners, etc!
It's definitely not cheap, and there is sooooo much time invested!
And how much we care about our projects. It is a ❤️ gift. So consequently I make my artwork for those who will appreciate it or For charity, nursing homes,children or family. It is an artistic endeavor from the heart after all.
I knit, crochet, embroider and some sewing. I have aunts who quit and the cost of materials BEFORE you even start a project would knock most people over. They just have zero points of reference other than what they pay for a sweater, scarf, table runner, it quilt from Target, Walmart, etc. It's also why I can't afford to take up quilting... My fiber arts already zap my bank account. Maybe that's a good thing 😂 And I agree 💯 that we should be paid as skilled labor.
You could make it cheaper by thrifting fabric, but then there's going to be more time invested in cutting and piecing, so...
Someone once got snotty with me for pricing my tote bags at $25. It's 1.33 yards (.66 of outer plus .66 lining) fabric plus my time cutting, sewing, pressing ... $25 is paying me less than minimum wage for my time.
And this is why when my cousin said she would make me a quilt and took me to pick out fabric I was incredibly thankful. i have no clue when it'll be finished because she has a few people in line before me, but to have her make me a quilt is such an honor.
The quilt that was made for me, for my bed, is my prized possession. It is the thing I am most careful with and most excited to show people. I feel so spoiled when I look at it. It was a gift, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to afford what it should have cost. The same person made it from start to finish and she is amazing.
My mom is an amazing hand quilter and she makes for everyone in the family. I just got mine and it’s so beautiful. I can’t believe the detail and intricate design. It’s the best gift anyone could receive.
My almost blind cousin made me a quilt. I can't put it on my bed because I have an incontinent cat. But I live for the day that I can spread it out. And, hey, it doesn't take much to crochet an Afghan. I can speak to that. I've been there and done it and I made several as a teenager. Not difficult. 😮 This quilting thing is a whole different situation!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️
You are a truly grateful person and the kind of person I really enjoy gifting handmade items to! Good for you.
@californianorma876 Crochet can be just as intricate and labor-intensive as quilting and can require just as much skill. Every craft has both basic designs and more intricate ones. H8l
I have a queen sized quilt madeas a wedding gift by a relative. I never realised quite how labour-intensive it is. I've always treasured it though.
As a knitter I’m often asked to make a sweater or pair of socks. They don’t realize the yarn for that sweater cost me $200 and $23 for the socks. And yes, that’s before the hours of labor. My daughters get socks for Christmas and my grandkids get sweaters and hats. I’ve concluded they’re all “knit worthy”.
When I was knitting, my coworker said, "You can sell those for $20. It's beautiful!" All excited. It was a very long, complicated infinity scarf and I was knitting with 100% cashmere and had already been working on it 2 months... If you know, you know.
I love the expression "knit worthy" I don't knit therefore my grandchildren are "sew worthy" 😊
@@anetachen yeah, my sister is not knit worthy.
Great video!! I relate to all of your points! My knitting is undervalued also with people wanting my custom work for bargain prices… it hurts. I knit for loved ones and the homeless only 🙏🏻
@@debbiebelian818 Neither is mine quilt worthy, sewing worthy or anything else.
So appreciate your video targeting the "real" world! Made my first ever quilt for my great granddaughter (slightly oversized crib quilt, highest end quilt cotton @ $15 PY, min), you've inspired me to go back and calculate materials alone. I don't think anyone ever gave thought to the fact that bc I"m 2K miles away fm family (sadly) I had UPS shipping costs ($89 with my senior discount), along with hand made heirloom day gowns (2) with slips, beautiful cotton lace, etc. Called my gift box a "sprinkle box" since I had to miss baby showers due to distance and very ill spouse. Bless you for your labors of love and to think you're donating to charity (did I hear that correctly?) Be safe and stay well and continue your wonderful educational YT videos, not to even mention your beautiful work. God bless you dear one.
My sister makes the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen. She makes them for the family babies. Each one is based on a children’s poem or story, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, the Wind in the Willows, Just so Stories. Each one takes her about a year, every stitch is done by hand. You couldn’t pay enough to buy one. They are works of pure love.
Agreed. There's love and thoughts of the receiver in every stitch.... there's no more loving a gift, than that that's hand made. Your Sister is wonderful ❤xx
"the familie babies"🥰 Love captured in fabric❤
That is so very special. It makes me very happy. She’s uniting the family and she’s created a tradition of love and talent. It sounds like you understand the deep value she has bestowed open each new addition to the family. Y’all should create a scrapbook with photos of each baby, their quilt, and your sister, and the theme she’s put into each quilt. That might be a nice way to sincerely express thanks.
@@Happybidr What a great idea!
I've been quilting for 30+ years. I've had many ask me to make a quilt, I've never had anyone want to pay what it costs.
Yes!!!
Everybody wants one, but nobody wants to pay the realistic price.
Some people even went so far to question the price of the fabrics used, not even wanted to talk about my work!!!
@@m.m.4645hmm. I wonder if they’d feel the same if you gave them a list to buy their own fabric, or took them shopping with you.
And yet I imagine your loved ones you gift them too cherish them forever and it’s worth every penny 🤍🤍🤍 this is why I love quilting!
@@tlsnana9539they would fall over 🤨
@@TheAmericanFrugalHousewife Absolutely! I have 6 quilts lined up to make this year for the family.
My Nana made me a quilt for my wedding. It is probably one of the most treasured item I have.
I make a lot of quilts for charity, but I have been a professional seamstress for over 45 years and have a lot of fabric I need to use up. But when someone asks me to "make them a quilt" just because they want one, (Oh, I'll pay for the materials), or they know I don't charge for sewing anymore and they want me to make them something...it does piss me off. I used to need the money, badly, and people would bitch about paying $5. to get a pair of pants hemmed. REALLY? No, people do not appreciate what the work is worth. This is a great video! And...I only do the sewing I want to do now and am finally doing some for myself. Let the cheap people go to Walmart.
When I was growing up in the 1960s, my mother sewed "for pocket money. " People would bring her a pattern and fabric to make a garment, no thread, zipper, buttons, etc. She even made prom dresses and wedding dresses. No one ever wanted to pay what it was worth. And she hemmed pants for a quarter!
I remember in the 60s the dry cleaners charged about $1.50 to hem them. And I have also always supplied the notions. I got old, I'm not as nice as I used to be. What a shame.@@hyacinth4368
The concept of I'll buy the fabric and think that is all they would need to contribute is ludicrous. They have no clue what fabric costs as well.
This! I could never ever ever sell my crochet itemsi for the time, labor and material it's worth. I've always made things for people when I CHOSE to, andwouldn't even tell them I was making something for them, because I couldn't put a deadline on finishing a project. It needed to come strictly from my desire to gift them something that I knew they wanted, needed or would likely appreciate. And, It was typically worked on during my free time between every day-life responsibilities and other activities. Now, if someone asks me to make something, I simply determine whether or not I have the time to dedicate to another project. If I do, then I charge for the materials (if shipping is required, then shipping charges apply as well). I just never agree to make anything just because someone wants it. I did once for a good friend, although I enjoyed it, it was a slightly more advanced level project, so there was a bit of a learning curve and it took me way longer than most of my similar projects. She even witnessed the time and effort it took me because I worked on it alot when I would come over to her house to hang out. She saw all that was involved and never asked me to make anything for free again lol. She was my only exception because we were that close. I's best for me to just keep my mouth shut and make something when I'm inspired and just show thr recipient when I'm ready to give it to them.
I used to do sewing/mending for people. Only ONE lady paid me without bitchin'. She used to pay me $1/per button (in the 90's!) And $15 to hem her jeans!
And I laugh now, seeing a man in a poorly fitted suit - he was too cheap to pay $100 for custom alterations! 😂 (and THAT'S cheap)
As a knitter, I often have this question asked. Once, I wore a shawl I’d made that required me to dye the yarn before making it. When the lady got upset when I told her that she couldn’t afford to pay me for the shawl, my husband, who is a skilled laborer, intervened. He pointed out that the yarn conservatively would cost $150, and then I’d spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months working on the shawl. Resulting in a labor cost of several thousand dollars at just $10/hr. Suddenly, people around me no longer ask if I’ll sell my work. I do give it away when someone really likes it or has a baby coming or a wedding. But quilting, knitting, crochet, tatting, etc are skilled labor.
I was once told to my face by a stranger that because I am "the knitting lady" (I knit in public) she would give me the yarn and I would knit a baby singlet for her to give to a friend. I said that with the cost of my time she'd be looking at a minimum of $150. She laughed at me and walked away. Notice that at no point was I asked whether I would do this, but merely informed.
@@micheinnz The rudeness of that lady to demand you make something for her that would take up hours of your time as if you owed her something….and you didn’t know her?! Some people have no concept of common courtesy and respect. I knit in public, too. And I meet a lot of interesting people. But I’ve never experienced that.
Skilled labor but not valued skill
Raising kids (“daycare”) is also very skilled & valuable labor but completely unvalued.
It’s just life 🤷🏼♀️
I can’t imagine leaving my kids w/someone 50-60 hrs a week who gets $2 an hr to raise my kid (5 kids at $10 an hr total). Once in a while, a night out, a day to help a sick friend etc, sure. I would still pay $10 an hr for just my kid tho.
Ppl do not THINK anymore.
@@YeshuaKingMessiah I cannot agree more about childcare. No matter the opinion on it, paying someone else to raise my children should require something more than a pittance from me. The childcare provider didn’t choose to bring my child into the world; I did.
As far as skilled labor vs valued skill, that is a matter of how one views the world. It is a proven fact via many studies that so-called “hobbies” (fiber arts, quilting, painting, etc) are actually beneficial to a person as they age. They help create neural pathways and neuro-elasticity in the brain that can alleviate depression, anxiety, various other mental and emotional illnesses, as well as be beneficial to those suffering with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Another very undervalued area of labor in addition to childcare is food preparation. And survival. And food growth. In America, at least, these things are all relegated to hobbies or things we do for enjoyment. But they are truly what helped humanity survive for centuries.
Sorry. I’ll get off my soapbox. It’s an area I’m passionate about.
Yes! I get this All The Time! I also work on projects, mostly shawls, for 6-12 months each. Just recently, a compliment on my massive beaded knit lace peacock shawl "Thanks I made it" omg you could sell stuff! $36 of beads alone. 5 skeins of alpaca silk blend minimum $50. And a YEAR of working on it, 365 hours minimum. And I make $35/hr in my day job. No way I could ever get a fair price for anything I have made. Why would I do that to myself?! I will stick to personal passion projects, thanks. The pressure to monetize hobbies is absurd.
This is why I make my own quilts. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be; it does require precision and care and time. If you can cut a straight edge and sew a straight line you can make a beautiful quilt. And as an added bonus I have a deeper appreciation of the mastery and art of advanced quilters.
That's like when people say if you have a steady hand with the nail polish you can give yourself a pedicure, as though it's the easiest thing in the world. I do not have a steady hand, nor can I cut or sew a straight line. Doesn't stop me from trying, though 😂
I was deployed on a Navy ship, my mother made me a beautiful quilt and I loved it. It was bright and green and so toasty. I got hurt in an accident and sent home. I didn't care that they didn't send my military kit home to me, I don't care that someone stole/lost my clothes, I don't even care about the hundreds of dollars of make-up lost because of people's carelessness. I miss that quilt more than anything. Sure my mum could make a new one, but it really wouldn't be the same. So, the people who value the work you do to make a quilt are the same people who will always value you as a person.
Why didn't you get your stuff back?
@@Alice-si8uz poor leadership? I would honestly love to know the answer to that question, but no one actually remembered about my things at all in the first place. No one I spoke to knew where it went, or where it was stored. Basically, I got hurt and then didn't exist as far as they were concerned.
I am so sorry 😢 I understand the pain of losing a treasured quilt, it happened to me too. They’re really irreplaceable, it’s hard to move on I know ♥️
We have such a altered perception of what things are actually worth. Decades of the price of goods being really cheap because workers are exploited has made us believe that the costs that we see in target are what we should see. Thank you for this video, I can’t afford a handmade quilt anytime soon but I do believe some handmade things are worth saving up for because it will be the best quality item I ever own. I have a handmade coffee table and that tank will outlive me, I imagine your quilts would do the same if cared for.
It used to be you’d pay a lot of up front but the thing would last years and years if you weren’t stupid. Now you pay barely anything up front and the thing lasts, maybe a year or two?
So when people come across the former, it confuses them.
Everything you said about the cost and work is true. But, I made a lap quilt in red, white, and blue to give to a veteran uncle of my son's wife. When they put it in his lap, he burst into tears that someone he didn't even know made it just for him. His gratitude made my cost and work priceless.
I like your comment. After watching this video I realize a few things. 1. I may be really stupid or 2. I like doing my craft and I'd rather do it for cheap and have happy people than not at all.
Im doing quilts for 200 to 400. And giving quilts to my old life long friends etc... And im okay with it.
Thank you for sharing this grest story!!
Thank you for doing the math. Lots of people have said to me that I ought to sell the quilts I make. It makes me laugh. No really, it makes me laugh out loud. I ask who would be willing to pay between one and two thousand pounds for a quilt, or five or six hundred pounds for a baby quilt. I make quilts for family and friends, and good causes I want to support. That's all. Thanks again for the video.
I have been quilting for about four years now. I NEVER realized how much my grandma spent in making all her quilts until I started quilting myself! It makes me treasure her quilts all the more!😊
There were no such thing as "fat quarters" that are very much higher pri Ed than on the bolt.
When your grandma was quilting she was using scrap fabrics old clothing and things that she couldn't use anymore but still had good pieces of them. There's a big difference cost now is on new fabric pre-cut fabric patterns that are very complex. Quilters that make quilts from brand new fabrics and brand new items are very very skilled and should absolutely be paid every dollar of their worth but when Grandma made your quilt it was scraps it was made during downtime in the winter when she wasn't doing other stuff like canning and cooking and gardening and cleaning....
@zimrasawyer18You don't knowvif she was using scraps, that is an assumption. I started out with nothing and had to buy fabric from the get go.
People don't seem to care about keeping family stories alive. Diaries n journals n family history spoke of how quilts were made of old clothes most of the time if not all. Many people don't know how much women did just in a regular day. Misogynists are the worst about that. Many blessings
A close friend’s grandmother made around 100 quilts in her life and never started giving any away until recently. I have been incredibly fortunate to have been able to receive one of these quilts. After the blanket my own grandmother crocheted, one someone gave my parents as a wedding gift, the first blanket I ever made myself, and the baby blanket I made my nephew, it is my most prized blanket. When you know something is made with love and care, even if not intended for you, it feels warmer.
Thank you for standing up for all us hand crafters out there. I am a sewer and quilter and people are always shocked when I give them a price for an item. My adult patchwork skirts take 10 mt(yards) of material, 7 spools of thread for sewing and overlocking and 15 hours to make. If I charged the Australian $23.23 minimum wage that would be $348.45 just for the labour so I work for around $4 an hour now and if I get the comment "well i can get that for less at the store" I advise people to do so and support the overseas sweat shops and not me. It is what it is. Thanks again
I can believe that you would use 10 different fabrics in a patchwork skirt. I cannot understand how ONE skirt could use 10 full yards of fabric. Wouldn't that produce multiple patchwork skirts? The cost of the ten yards should be divided among the quantity of skirts. I'm guessing 5 skirts.
Your skirts sound beautiful ❤
Do you have an instagram page with pictures?
@stitcher4729 Depends on width. If the material is a slim bolt and only like 20" wide, it might take more than you think. There's lots of details missing so I'll just assume it's already been broken up per skirt
And that is exactly why our clothes are "cheap" its made for pennies. Majority of people care more about price than anything else sadly.
I have heard the argument that it is better to gift your craft than to under price it, because it undermines the value of crafts more broadly. I'm an artist and i would not have guessed a quilt was quite that expensive. I appreciate you breaking down the costs.
I'm an artist too and I would argue that gifting your craft also undermines the value of crafts more broadly. Because then you've created the expectation among family and friends that you will give them your work. I'm not giving away my work only to find it in a garage sale some years hence.
Share this like crazy! People need to be woken up about what handmade really means! This applies to handmade anything!
I crochet. I made a beautiful sunflower blanket for my best friend. She LOVED it. Eventually the cost of making the blanket came up when she asked me why I didn’t just sell crochet for a living as I was obviously talented. I broke it down for her in numbers as it wasn’t the first time she had casually mentioned it. Her massive blanket took me roughly 80 hours of work. If I paid myself $15x80hours the cost of just my labor would be $1,200 not including the cost of yarn. Her jaw literally dropped. Then she thanked me for her super expensive gift. That was the first time she truly understood. ❤ I explained that crochet wasn’t just the item, it is representative of my feelings for them. I sat and thought about the person receiving the blanket, talked about who the blanket was for with my kids and husband, pictured them wrapped up in it, made decisions based on the recipient preferences and kept it a secret from them for 80 HOURS! That’s LOVE.❤
Being a fabric artisan myself, I already knew this. Buts it’s so satisfying to hear someone else break it down for the general public.
Thank you for making this video! I often say a handmade gift is a sign of true love. The actual costs (as you demonstrated) are astronomical. Anyone receiving such a gift should be extremely grateful. (I knit and sew/quilt.)
It’s not just traditional women’s craft and art work that is under valued. I’ve sewn for 55+ years and have made quilts, lots of kids clothes, home decorative items, etc. I am also a retired architect. I worked for a firm that mostly designed public and commercial projects such as schools, office buildings, etc. Whenever anyone would ask my husband what I did for a living, often they’d come back with “Oh, I have a kitchen remodel (or whatever) she could give me some ideas on!” My husband would immediately tell them what I charged per hour for such work, and their response was inevitably “Oh, she charges for her time? I had no idea!”
Oh lordie!!
Ugh, it's like oh they must be joking...but you realize they aren't. I hope we can all learn that really the best thing to say when we make a blunder like that is something like "Ah I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude" or "Sorry that was really presumptuous" or maybe "You're right my brain jumped to the idea of free labour because it's coming from a friend and I am embarrassed now". I also hope people normalize not joking about free labour from friends, family, and doubly so from women. I wish it was more obvious to people that skill, respect, and compensation aren't things by or for men. Also it's kinda funny because I feel like asking for remodelling advice from an architect is like getting a regular checkup from a brain surgeon. Like their expertise is probably beyond what you'd need for that situation unless you have something truly unique going on. If someone said my wife is an architect I'd probably ask a lame question like "What's her favourite building?"
A quilt made by my grandmother, given to a cousin who used it on the patio for her dogs. No one will value your time and effort or they can’t afford what it really cost. This applies to all handmade items. We make these things for the satisfaction it brings us alone. Great video💗.
Omg… my heart! 💔
Beware people who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde
I think the most frustrating thing of being someone that creates with one's hands is the realisation that almost no one can afford one's work, even if some people like it. One needs to have so much exposure to find just a few people who can actually pay for one's skills, materials and labour.
Even without the labor (only the materials) people wouldn't pay.
Fast fashion and cheaply made imported goods from sweatshops have ruined the market for handmade items, what little they were valued before the industrial revolution.
It's the same with knitting. I just finished a 6'x6'6" throw the materials for which cost around $350 and took me just under 6 months to make. Every step of the way I used the best materials and techniques to make this beauty. NO one would pay for that.
I crochet. All of this is relatable.
@@E_LithaBeth
Back in the early 80's my mom bought a fisherman's knit wool sweater in Ireland, for $250. I was astounded. I still wear that sweater! Can't imagine what it would cost today!? $1000?
I feel super lucky , I provided the fabric and a lovely lady made me a mariners star quilt top for under $400! It has 15+ different mariners stars . Double border… I absolutely love it , going to hand quilt the whole thing .
Gifting an afghan or quilt is truly an act of love.
FINALLY…SOMEONE who refers to it as an afghan, not a blanket like people want to do tday.
Thank you for this!!! I cannot tell you how many people have seen me knitting in public and asked me, a total stranger, if I could make them something. I got so tired of the snotty comments that now I just start with “what is your price point?” The number of absolute strangers who are like “oh I have to pay for it?” is astounding. Not once has anyone ever set their price point over 50 bucks, and that person wanted a California king colorwork blanket!
As a professional, certified floral designer, I experienced the same type of feedback and questions ftom my clients. I expect to be paid for my expertise, the many years spent honing my craft. Same applies to my quilting. Well stated.
This is so true. I hook rugs and am often asked if I sell them and I always reply that nobody would pay the price. I have done some on commission but those that asked understood the worth & I got my price. However, the average person doesn't understand what goes into making a hand hooked rug and won't pay. I dye my own wool which takes a lot of time and I like the very finely shaded rugs so I spend many, many hours working on one piece. Each of my children received a wedding rug and family members receive hand hooked items as gifts but I don't sell many pieces. I don't quilt but I do appreciate the work that goes into them and admire the artistry of the maker. We are definitely undervalued by society.
I just did latch hook and that took forever! Ppl didn’t care to pay me (enough) so I quit trying to sell.
Wool is so exspensive! The yarn alone for fine wool for gloves sweaters for me starts at $10-15/110yards .
I agree 💯! I sew, crochet, embroider, bead, etc all the beautiful things AND work in cabinetry. Your logic and reasoning is extremely accurate. And what the average consumer doesn't realize is the skills they are asking for are not things a machine is able to execute.
I once made a queen size blanket (knit pieces stitched together for ease because I worked on it during holidays) for a wedding gift. Yarn was $18/skien (200 yards per) and I can't even remember how many I used as I made it while at the lake and didn't keep track - just "Darn, I need a couple more skiens good thing I have more at home". Well, at the gift opening, someone said "That's so cheap! Homemade gifts? It is 2017! Buy a gift!" The bride overheard and stood up, looked at the (older) woman (my age) and said "I'm going to say probably around $500 in yarn. Then there is the time, which was probably at least 200 hours. Even at MINIMUM wage, that's probably close to $2600 for just her time MINIMUM. Plus during those 200 hours, she was thinking about me and my husband and what we would like. Cheap? Hell no! PRICELESS!" I was reduced to tears when she said that. (And the woman who said it? RED RED RED and she left the gift opening declaring how "rude" the bride was.) According to the bride's mother, she and her husband use the blanket every day when they go downstairs to watch television. I also knit socks and have had people ask me to knit socks for their husbands/sons and I laugh and say "Honestly, you can't afford my hand knit socks. IF I did make them to sell, it would be around $80 for an average pair of women's socks. Men's socks usually require I dig into a second skien of yarn so I have to charge $100 a pair. And if you are asking for a pair in black or navy? I charge an additional $45. And those are just plain vanilla socks. If you want cables or twists, the price goes up." So what I'm saying is, IF I take the time to knit a blanket, or socks, or a cardigan, or a dishcloth for you, I do it out of love - NOT because I am "too cheap" to buy you anything.
I made a dozen pairs of socks last year. As soon as the "I would love a pair like that" starts, I give them the price for the yarn I am using, and tell them there are lots of RUclips tutorials.
I'm glad the bride stood up for you she sounds like a gem!. T he other lady should have kept her mouth shut! I was gifted a quit at graduation from college from a wonderful lady who taught me how to sew clothing. I use it every day on my sofa. I love it!
This is what I wished people would understand.
The cost of a hand made Quilt is why I learned how to make Quilts. This is the only way I would be able to afford to have any. I’ve been Quilting for over 20 years now. Love it and them!
My grandma quilts, she’s made me three quilts in my life for my 4th, 13th and 18th birthdays and i treasure each and every one. I did have no idea of the labour and fabric costs of a quilt though so thanks for opening my eyes.
I just finished a t-shirt quilt for my daughter. It was made from shirts from her dad who passed away. I pieced together the other side using his dress shirts in assorted, grays and blacks. It turned out absolutely beautiful (So it has a playful side and a serious side) and I tied it rather than quilted. It was supposed to just be a full-size and it grew to king size. LOL! For the heck of it after I was done I googled the price to send t-shirts off to have somebody put it together and was amazed to see the price to just to do the top and with a plain backing material and unfinished sides. But I absolutely understand it and know that the quilt I made for my daughter would probably have run her over $3,000 with all the work. It was a project with so much love! Thank you so much for the price breakdowns. I will continue to explain this to people
Deeply appreciate this. You talked about the specific costs of labor and material here, but I also think the creative aspect is so important and undervalued. A quilter has to design a quilt before they can make it - and that takes so much time and mental energy. Nobody blinks when a fashion designer or artist is valued based on their creativity (in addition to labor) and I think we should value that in crafts - crochet, quilting, sewing - as well.
Unfortunately making any sort of money as a fashion designer is also very difficult, and as an artist you're lucky to be making minimum wage doing your craft as well. Most artists will need to have another job in order to still do their art as a hobby in their scarce free time. This problem is spread over most creative work, artists of pretty much every type being undervalued. Even the carpenter she mentioned in the video, is most likely not able to ask for a fair price for their labour and expenses. Because people could just get a table from walmart or ikea why would they pay so much for it. Not to mention, most people can not afford real handmade locally created things even if they care about any of this.
I have been crocheting for 30 years and I usually crochet baby blankets for gifts, because people don't want to pay what I ask, I have just started quilting, I value your hard work and dedication.
Thank you so much for making this video. I tried to turn my crochet hobby into a side business. I sold my toys ridiculously cheap, enough to cover the cost of material and make a little extra to make it worth my while to rent space at craft shows. It boils my blood when people think handmade gifts are "cheap".
As I can't afford a beautiful handmade quilt, I can't express how much I appreciate being able to watch quilters and their love of what they do. Thank you.
I hope you will receive one from someone you love or appreciate someday, because you obviously will truly cherish it. Those are the only people I give my quilts to.
Buy one in a thrift store and do some of your own quilting on it to make it yours.
@@XenusMama Interesting. Thank you.
In our world of fast fashion and throw-away mentality, a handmade quilt is a treasure and should be priced and regarded as such. 🙏🏻
I knit, crochet, paint and make tons of other items. I've done craft fairs where people won't pay even half of what the item should sell for because its "too much". If I had a dollar Everytime someone said their grandmom or mom makes "stuff like that" as a weird put down because I shouldnt charge so much I'd be very rich. Instead of treating it like it isnt a hard thing and anybody can do it they should appreciate the work it really is and the time and effort it takes whether it's grandmom or me. I create things your grandkids will be able to pass down to their grandkids....thank you for so clearly and logically spelling it out although i have a feeling most of the people watching are right there with you (and me)being frustrated, not the people who dont get it.
I would tell them to get their grandmother or mother to make then. But they had died!😢😢 I guess you are out of luck unless you learn the skills to make it yourself! MAYBE that will make them think about appreciating what they could have had.
I've been told it isn't fair to charge for my labour because I enjoy making things.
@@ZenaHerbertWow. Talk about devaluing. That takes a high level of insensitivity.
@@ZenaHerbert I guess they have never made anything worth selling or they don't have hobbies they enjoy.
It seems those people don't value their own mothers and grandmothers if that's what they're using to put down you and your price. Those kinds of people need a wake-up call.
This is why I don't do commissions. On top of that, people's favorite colors and patterns are ones I don't enjoy working on and it's TORTURE for me to put 50-60 hrs into something that I dislike. So, what I do if I want to sell a quilt (not often) is make whatever I want and then sell it. The price is the price with no negotiation. I normally quilt for family and those I feel called to make one for. When I was knitting, my coworker said, "You can sell those for $20. It's beautiful!" All excited. I was knitting with 100% cashmere and had already been working on it 2 months... If you know, you know.
Show her this video!
LOL - I got the same comments for my knitting. People have no clue.
And, for every other craft or needlework. People are always "You could make money on that! No, I couldn't. People don't want to pay for the cost of materials, much less anything else. You're better off designing and selling patterns if you have the talent for that. Because no one is interested in paying for labor when they're accustomed to items being made elsewhere with little to no labor costs by prisoners or other nearly enslaved workers.
I quilted on commission for a very good friend. She bought the fabric, and the batting. Had I seen the fabric before hand, I would have told her no. 🤦♀️ and it certainly wasn’t worth the $100 she paid me to look at that fabric.
@@aureyd2515 gouvernments make us habituated to very, very low costs of goods, only made possible by mass production (that has the scaling advantage in price but needs a very high amount of items to be made and great investments in very expensive machinery before it becomes profitable, discouraging small scale unique or personal products) unethical working conditions in very low wage countries (where people even get evicted from their own lands f.i. amazone to produce our foods) and by creating environmental disasters. But this process, ofcourse, happens out of our sight. If these companies were producing in our own country or backyard as they did elsewhere, there would be a national uproar. Low costs consumer products come at a very high price. In fact, we re better off buying nothing or very little and making things rather ourselves. We are destroying the planet and our fellow human beings with our hunger for cheap items.........................imagine you can only sell something you made after you made at least 1000 exactly the same of them........how artistic or personal your project would feel??!! What joy would there be left in the making process?
People who don't sew or quilt have no more idea what it costs in terms of materials or time than most of us would have if we were asked what it would cost to make a car engine from scratch. Your thoroughness in itemizing the COG and the times is impressive. Thank you. You're right: When someone comes back with "But why wouldn't I just go to Walmart and get one for $40?" the easiest thing is to simply let them go. Well, we could educate them on the cost of goods and the amount of time if we want, but there is no way we're going to get them up from their expected $40 to the realistic price of $1620. Even if we get them to go buy the materials on their own, they'd still fight you on the cost of the labor.
I have a 100 + year old quilt thats been passed down multiple generations. I love this blanket so much and the details. Ive been told the pattern is a double wedding ring. Its beautiful white background with multi colors circles.
I hope to make a double wedding ring quilt for my bed! But, after 40 years of quilting, I don’t have one for myself. Just wild.
I have my great grandma's hand sewn quilt and it's an absolute treasure. I need to wash it though and am terrified to do so. I've bought pure soap flakes and read how to do it but I'm still terrified. It's so grubby though 🥺
A family member just gave my mom and I a Victorian era crazy quilt she had had on display in her house for years. It was probably made by my German American great great grandmother. It has two years as part of the design which I assume is a start and end year (1881-1891 I think) and is good condition aside from a couple degraded silk pieces. It’s amazing to have something like this from my female ancestors
Thank you for that lovely cost analysis. I sew, knit, weave, dry felt, wet felt and make jewelry. I've never received enough money to do more than cover my costs. Often I'll use low quality yarn to help me break even. Because of this I'm less willing to do my craft even for the fun of it. I've purchased so much yarn and fabric on sale in order to be able to make a profit, but basically these supplies are sitting on my shelf not being used because I can't bring myself to make something to sell for less than the value of my time. People just don't understand what it takes to create handmade items. Plus underpaid non USA labor with poor quality fabric and yarn is getting sold for really really cheap.
My parents paid $1300 back in 1980 for a commissioned quilt for a design set. It was absolutely beautiful in cream shades of eyelet, velvet, and satin. I inherited it and it’s one of my prized possessions. Definitely yes, charge more. That quilt would cost nearly $4000 in today’s dollars. It’s a work of art made by hand. Charge more and be proud of what you do.
I am very lucky to have been gifted multiple hand made pieces by my relatives. I’ve received two quilts gifted to me, one was my blankie as a child, the second was a high school graduation gift. I treasure both of the quilts, and unless tragedy strikes, they’ll last me through my life. My grandma has also spent what must have been a year or so hand sewing and embroidering a Christmas stocking for me, with my name along the top, and the children in the design tweaked to look like my sister and I. I couldn’t be more happy to have such beloved things, and they’re so valuable to me. Each piece by itself would’ve cost an arm and a leg if they had not been made out of love, but with the intention to sell
Absolutely with you! People want me to paint or draw for them for nothing! They have no ideal and would not pay if they did!
i have 2 quilts that others have made for me, one long armmed and one paper-pieced hand quilted. they are absolutely worth 1500+. i am so thankful to the women who created them and gifted them to me.
Not to mention they are bespoke, unique items with quality workmanship.
About 15 years ago I gave a baby quilt as a gift at a baby shower. After the gifts were opened a woman I didn’t know approached me with a $20 bill in her hand. She explained her daughter was pregnant and asked me to make a quilt for her impending grandchild. The $20 was ”to help pay for the material.”
You have to laugh, otherwise you’d cry.
To your point, Kayla, women’s work is devalued and that’s why quilting is a “craft”, never art.
Yeah.... I'm not sure why people think you're going to pay your own money to make a quilt for someone you don't even know. They genuinely don't seem to understand. I quilt for my family, my church, and donation quilts. That way I don't get upset and don't have any real expectations.
@@lanellehatcher561 Well said. Once I give a quilt, I let it go. I can’t control what becomes of it so I only give to folks I think will enjoy and appreciate it!
I am betting those of us who quilt have all been there.
This is just so typical and I am laughing along with you, so not to be terribly indignant and scream. I was knitting a baby sweater, years ago. My sister, who does not knit at all, said to me: "That 's easy, you probably knit one in an evening." You know, it takes a whole week of making this sweater a priority in my "spare time" to have it ready to give away as we gift.
People always ask me what I do with my quilts. I always tell them I fold them up and put them on the shelf. Always this response …. Ohhh you could sell those. Always my response back… Uh nope.
I have a quilt made by each of my grandmothers, who are passed on. They’re priceless to me! I also sew and know how much work went into them. One is hand stitched, too. You have a valuable skill! ❤
I figured having a quilt made costs a lot of money; I just never considered how much. As a fellow artist, I appreciate you listing the costs and the hours spent making a quilt. I also appreciate you stating you would not charge less than $20 an hour for your time. I have always hesitated about charging that much for my time in making my jewelry, but I won't anymore. Thank you.
Perfectly reasonable! I straight up refuse commissions because people moan about what I charge. And even if I love you, you’d be lucky to get a handmade present! I create for myself first and foremost
When I was at a women’s refuge I was gifted 3 quilts (one each for me and my two kids) I told them this is such a special gift this is made with love for us! And on the quilt it had a tag that said made with love! I do know what they are worth I still have them and they mean so much to me.
You are so right. It is NEVER possible for the average person to pay for what it is worth. That's why I only give them to loved ones!
"loved" ones usually do not value our work. I handstitched handquilted a blanket for my brother's first child. I visited them whem M was 2. The quilt I made was nowhere in sight. I asked her mum, my sil, where was the quilt. It was a single size, plenty big enough for my niece to use growing up. My sil, gave it to goodwill. She thought I had purchased it (she knew I sewed, knitted, smocked, tatted, embroidered, crocheted, quilted), so the cavalier attitude toward 8 months of my work upset me. I said nothing and thereafter gave them nothing I made and every gift was a cheap piece of crap from target.
My sister was no better. Her 3 girls were to be flower girls. My sister found the $200 price tag for each dress a bit much to chew, especially as that was in 1988. She asked me to make the dresses as she knew I made many fussy dresses for my daughter and had made them for some other girls for free. My sister found a pattern almost exactly like the dresses required by the bride. She wanted to buy some cheap polyester fabric and I told her, no. I wouldn't work on polyester and if she wanted polyester she could find someone else to make the intricate dresses. She finally purchased the very good quality flowered chintz that I had suggested. The dresses had flounce on top of flounce on top of ruffles. I hand smocked the bodice, sleeve band, and the alice-type hairbands. I added lace to their socks. The girls looked marvelous. My sister's response? The bodices were too low cut (I had raised the bodice neck scoop in order to fit the all hand smocking. Not one penny for my labor. Not one thank you for my work on 3 very fussy dresses for three girls, different ages, and different body types so I had to do a great many alterations to make 3 patterns from the one size pattern.
I made nothing for my sister again. When she was invited to a very special event, my sister asked me to make the dress for her, I told her I didn't have time, but if she wanted to pay for my time I would make the dress. I quoted $1,100 for the fabric, to make the pattern, to hand sew the seed pearls and beads on the dress and shoes. She declined and purchased a J.C penneys quality matron of honor dress from a local shop. She looked like she was wearing a dishrag. She didn't ask for a freebie again.
I am glad you made this video. People do not appreciate how expensive quilts are.
I'm greatful to my 8th grade teachers for having us all make banner quilts by hand. We made the pattern in math class and read books about pioneers and learned about their history. We all sat around in quilting circles and had to do everything by hand. It was maybe 15x25 inches but it made me appreciate the art of it so much.
thank you for this extremely important discussion and price breakdown. modern consumer culture has completely twisted public awareness of the price of labour and human-hours that go into producing anything handmade and/or fabric-related - from crafts of love like quilting and knitting for yourself and your loved ones, to mass commercial enterprises like OTR clothing production, where the labourers (predominantly women!) are criminally underpaid and work in appalling conditions. it’s so important to talk about these issues, and remind each other how the production and life-cycle of all goods, consumer or craft, really looks like from start to finish.
Sooo glad you brought this up! I have wondered for years why handmade quilts sell for so little!! Stay on it!
I recently received an Amish made quilt as a gift and never thought about the value.
I knew to appreciate it because many hours were spent making it. Thank you
Great video, it's shocking how little people value other's labour. A few years ago I gifted a baby quilt to a colleague, and another colleague couldn't understand why I wouldn't make her a queen-sized quilt when she was willing to pay for the fabric and gave me "a bit extra for the time". I told her fabric alone would cost more than she expected, and even offered to show her how to make her own quilt. She turned down the offer because she was "too busy to spend time on hobbies". To get her to stop asking I put together a quote and explained the hourly rate I'd charge for a quilt couldn't be any less than we were paid for our days jobs. I think she finally understood at that point there was skill involved and that other people's time had value too. She said she'd think about it and has never once brought up the subject of quilts again. These days when people ask, I say a basic quilt starts at £1,300, before consultation fees and fabric costs. Most people change the subject.
Kudos - I hand quilt all my quilts, sometimes using three different sized frames. My lap frame is my favorite. I’ve often been told I should sell my quilts but I can’t see the point. Part of the great joy I get from designing, constructing and quilting is that each quilt has to have a person/event before I can even decide what I’m going to design. And then each stitch is embedded with the love I have for the recipient, the materials, and the centeredness I get from the whole project from start to finish. You can’t buy that.
my mom has quilted since befor ei was born. she made one for each of her kids, and the amount of work she puts into her projects is INSANE. i have a lot of expensive hobbies, 3d printing, computers, cars, but my mom spends AT LEAST as much as i do on just quilting. she she puts in way more time into each of her projects then i do, and aside from the enjoyment of working on and finishing a project, their isn't much of a reward. i have a new PC or a faster car, she has a piece of art that is frequently underappreciated or a new blanket. huge respect for quilters.
There is so much LOVE that goes into these! My husband and I received a quilt from one of his grandmother's at a bridal shower. I was so excited to receive it! Even though my colors have changed through the years we STILL have it! And I STILL LOVE IT!
I've wached my sister crochet for 10 years so when I went to buy my 20 yo cousin a rainbow wedding quilt I wasn't surprised to pay $500. It's beautiful and will last the rest of her life! Your work is very neat and probably worth even more ❤
I understand and appreciate the costs and labor that goes into quilting/needlework, etc. Because of what it costs, the product is something that low and middle class income people simply cannot afford. Buying food, paying rent, etc is always going to come before paying thousands of dollars for works of art, as lovely as they may be. What this video is (correctly) saying is that buying/ commissioning quilting isn't for the poor and people should realize and accept that.
So so needed this discussion. As a weaver I have been lucky to find a market that values my work. I am so very grateful for that but it makes me mad and sad when I see people devalued by selling their work super cheaply. I would certainly buy a quilt from you 😊
Thank you for putting this out there. I create beaded jewelry and ornaments. I have a lot of people that say I ask too much for a beaded piece. They don't understand how much time and money goes into that piece. It looks beautiful because I bought quality and took my time to create it. They can buy at my price or pay less for crappy department store stuff. Sad for them to think that we would devalue our work to make some money rather than getting what we are worth. ❤
it helps to see the cost breakdown and the cost of your labor. it makes one appreciate this artwork. one just doesn’t know unless one does this
Let’s not forget the time it takes to shop for those lovely fabrics including gas for transportation and the wear and tear on our machines. My log arm with computer and high end sewing machines were not cheap and they require maintenance as well. And, while I don’t like to brag, it takes talent, tons of tools and lots of practice to be an accomplished quilter. You go girl🎉