Welllllllllllllllll....

1.) How good a friend???? :-))))))) Really, if she's a very good friend, the charge is not the most important thing...

2.) What did she spend for the fabric??? I mean is it JoAnn's? Hancocks? Something she had? $9.00 a yard quilt shop?

3.) It was your machine, thread, time, effort...

4.) Was it a learning experience for you?

5.) Did you "just" piece it or did you pin/baste it and quilt it also?

Generally (and I mean GENERALLY) we are told to figure all the costs of making the quilt then tripling it for a sale price...

For making the entire thing and quilting... even for a friend I don't think $100 is too much to ask for the project... but so many things go into it. To get a lap quilt for her cost of materials and $100 is REAL reasonable, heck, quilters get $.01-$.015 per sq inch just for quilting.

One thing I do recommend... anyone who is going to do projects for someone else, a fee is best decided on ahead of time... then it's all out in the open and your dilemma won't come up.

You *so* should have discussed this before taking on the job!!

My price for piecing AND quilting would be about 5 cents per square inch for a simple pattern - and that would not include applique.

But you mentioned "heavy fusible web". Did you stitch the appliques down, or just fuse them? All of these things matter in the pricing of a quilt.

Congrats on finishing the job, and evidently you are pleased with the results. Always, always talk price before you take on any projects, not only with a friend.......but ESPECIALLY with a friend, and super especially if that friend is not a quilter. People who don't quilt have no clue the amount of love and work going into even simple quilts. Well, actually I think they do, or they'd be quilters themselves.

I have seen people walk into quilt shops to purchase one as a momento of their trips to our part of the world, and gasp. LOL. What we in this area would know is a fine, reasonable charge, strikes them as exhorbitant. If this was a learning experience, you can price it as an OJT. If she is a really good friend, use your heart. Only you can hang a price tag on your time where a friendship is involved.

Thanks for the advice. I called a quilting friend and she said the same thing you said. So I have to decide what it is really worth. But I have learned to talk money before taking on the project. yes I love to quilt but I don't want to do it for nothing either. yes I am very happy with the finished project.

Non-quilters might innocently think "Gee, I could have gone to (insert department store) and bought a quilt for $39.99" and be insulted when they hear your price.
I made a small quilt for a friend's husband, out of his silk ties. It took me a LOT of time and effort, and it was not agreed to up-front that they would owe me anything. When I gave it to them they wanted to know what they owe me, and I refused to take money. They are friends; we do nice things for one another. They are not customers. If they were customers, they would have been treated as such, and in advance.
If the friend you made the quilt for is really a friend, she might do something nice for you in return. You might even hint at what you would like in return instead of $$. It depends on how close a friend this is.
BlueBars

I'm afraid that it's a bit late in the day to start talking charges. For future reference, I charge by the hour, which I feel is the fairest way to charge--the easier the quilt chosen, the quicker it is to make it and the less it costs.

As others have pointed out, most non-quilters have NO idea how labor-intensive quilting is and are usually shocked when they learn how much it will cost to have a quilt made. Even a relatively small wallhanging can run into hundreds of dollars if the pattern chosen is particularly complex or requires a lot of handwork.

Annie

I think I agree with everyone else on all these comments. Your friend could very likely be shocked with a bill of $100 and that would not be good. What I would do, if it was a good friend I wanted to keep as a good friend, is tell her that if I had done it for a customer I would charge $100 (or whatever you determine a fair price would be) but because you are such a dear friend I only need $xx to cover expenses (thread, wear and tear, etc) and a batch of fudge or whatever she is really good at. That way you don't risk resentment but you put the true value on your work. The last thing you want to do is charge her $20 and then next week get an order for 10 more.

Bottom line, if you expected to be paid I think it should have been discussed up front.

Good luck... and where is the picture??

Faye

I like what Faye said. Make me some fudge!

Years ago when I was still able to hand quilt, my sister made a quilt top and asked me to hand quilt it. When I gave it back to her she asked how much she owed me. I told her she couldn't afford me so she owed me nothing. A few years down the road, she was making bride/bridemaids/flowergirl dresses for my daughter's wedding and when I asked her how much I owed her, she told me the same thing I had told her.

SharonG/FL

"The last thing you want to do is charge her $20 and then next week get an order for 10 more." I started laughing out loud at this one because that sort of stuff has happened to me. I own a greenhouse/nursery and sometimes have fav customers. I've been known to slip them some plants, with the price surgically reduced just enough to let them maintain their pride yet get a special gift. Then had them bring back friends to load up. LOLOL