Momofeat Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 For Christmas, we made this shirt for the men in our family: http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-...patternid=4793 (view B). We used wool blends for the material, and it was quite a project. My bil made a trip to visit family members up north, and now they are offering to pay for us to make shirts for them! I am not much of a seamstress, but my dd(11) would love to earn some money towards her Chihuahua fund. How much would you charge for something like that? I was thinking that I would have them pick the material & pay for that, but then how much for the labor? I'm sure we work much slower than a professional. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have faced this a few times over the years. I try to figure out how many hours it will take me to sew it and then try to figure out how much an hour I think I am worth...that's the hard part. I would think that shirt would be a 1.5 - 2 hour project and go from there. They might be happier with just a flat rate of supplies and labor, rather than a bill for supplies and then labor. If you are making more than one, you can usually sew faster than one at a time. Meaning, do all the cutting out, then do all the same steps on each shirt, before moving on to the next. That way you don't have to stop to think thru each step each time you come to it. Chain sewing is really helpful with this kind of a project. You don't stop and cut thread between seams, you just stop, put the next sleeve seam or whatever and keep going. Cut them apart and clip the threads after you have done a bunch of seams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have faced this a few times over the years. I try to figure out how many hours it will take me to sew it and then try to figure out how much an hour I think I am worth...that's the hard part.I would think that shirt would be a 1.5 - 2 hour project and go from there. They might be happier with just a flat rate of supplies and labor, rather than a bill for supplies and then labor. If you are making more than one, you can usually sew faster than one at a time. Meaning, do all the cutting out, then do all the same steps on each shirt, before moving on to the next. That way you don't have to stop to think thru each step each time you come to it. Chain sewing is really helpful with this kind of a project. You don't stop and cut thread between seams, you just stop, put the next sleeve seam or whatever and keep going. Cut them apart and clip the threads after you have done a bunch of seams. :iagree::iagree: You have to make yourself a production line, and think of the fastest, most efficient way to get it done. Take the amount of the materials per shirt, add in labor. At *least* minimum wage. You are not a production worker in China getting paid bupkis, you know? (which is why China supplies most of out clothes...but that's another thread) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Well, first, I ask people like that if they're looking for a bargain, or a one of a kind handmade item. If they're assuming they'll make a screaming deal by having me sew it, they're mistaken and I will suggest a local store that carries the item instead. If they really are interested in paying handmade prices for a handmade item, I ask them to pay all the costs of the supplies, right down to the thread, and $20 an hour for labor. That shirt would take *me* an hour at most, from tracing the pattern to putting the hem in. Decent wool usually runs $10+ a yard and it would take about 3 yards to make my husband one. To make sure thread and any other piddly notions are covered, I'd ballpark $55 each, *if* I know they won't want more expensive wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 If it's family and she's just learning to sew you probably aren't going to get the money a seamstress would. You might do better buying the fabric on sale :) and charging a price similar to what they would pay for a good shirt at a store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momofeat Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Thanks for all the tips! We will charge separate for the material, because cost can vary widely. I'm pretty sure we'll take this project on. We're having quite the winter here, so we might as well sew while we're snowed in! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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