The Cost of Making a Quilt Can't Really Be Measured
All kidding aside, how much would it REALLY cost Quilt Girl to make that wedding quilt? Let’s take a look. First off, let’s assume she is making a queen sized quilt. A queen sized mattress is 60” x 80” and for a comforter sized quilt, she would need to add a 12” drop on 3 sides, for a total quilt size of 84” x 92”. With quilting cottons easily creeping up to $12 per yard for good quality quilting cottons, her expenses would be as follows:
Quilt Top – The amount of fabric she would need for the quilt top is highly variable, depending on her chosen design. For example, let’s consider my all-time favorite quilt design, Eleanor Burn’s Quilt in a Day log cabin quilt. Eleanor is known for her efficient use of fabric so hers is a good conservative metric. This quilt requires a total of 10 yards of various fabrics to make the top. $120
Backing – Adding an extra 4” all around to accommodate the quilting, she would need 7 ½ yards for the backing. $90
Batting – Let’s use a pre-cut here to minimize the overages. Warm & Natural queen sized batting, 90” x 108” - $32
Binding – Assume she is going to use 3” strips, she’d need a total of ¾ yard - $9
Long Arm Quilting – Let’s go with a standard rate of $0.02 per square inch for a basic all-over pattern - $155
Pattern – As a supporter of independent quilt designers, Quilt Girl would definitely buy a pattern as she would never copy one - $12
The total cost for Quilt Girl to make a queen sized quilt for her and her new Hubby would come to $418. This assumes all of her labor is “free” and she does the binding herself, as opposed to paying the long arm quilter for applying the binding.
Over $400 for a quilt is a significant financial commitment, but the dollar amount pales in contrast to the amount of time and love that goes into creating a quilt. Well worth the investment, I am sure both she and Train Guy would agree.
Please join us here every other Wednesday for another fun, fiber-filled installment of By the Yard. You can read more from By the Yard and find more comics at: www.bytheyardcomics.com.
