Putting a Pig on Lip Stick

Why?

Once upon a time I was standing at a bus stop in Baltimore and this old rusted out Oldsmobile Cutlass rattled by.  I was new to Baltimore at the time so you can imagine my surprise when I noticed the $3k chrome spinners that adorned the wheels of the rust bucket.  I later learned that this was a common practice in certain neighborhoods.  Why would you put $3,000 on a $300 car?  I know a lot of us are guilty of doing just the opposite.  Here are two common examples.


Low Quality Fabric.  Yes I know the good stuff can be upwards of $11 a yard.  I also know you can get first quality goods in our store and most other shops for as little as $5 a yard if you shop clearance.  Why would you want to put 10 hours of work into something that will fall apart in a couple years?  One of my favorite quilts that mom made for me is in a closet and unusable because it was made before she became a fabric snob.  The quilt is worn out in spots, and irreparable because there is nothing substantial to sew patches too.  For a couple bucks more per yard that quilt could have been passed down to my kids.  The Math:  Lesser quality goods  10 yards @ $8.50/yd = $85  or First quality 10 yards @ 10.50/yd = $105.  These are just rough averages, but a $20 bill is the only thing between a family heirloom and a dog bed.

Stingy with the backing. I see this one a lot as a machine quilter.   Machine quilters ask for an extra 4-6 inches for a reason, we need that to properly attach a quilt to the machine.  When a back is the same size as the top the finished results is less than perfect.  The Math:  Extra Wide Backing $16.95/yd.  So an extra quarter yard is less than $5.  This is less than a 3% increase of the total cost of the quilt using the top from our first example and 2 yards of backing.  Most of this can also be applied to batting. And in case you missed the memo bed sheets are sheets, not quilt backing.

A classic pattern

There are numerous other cost cutting techniques that I have seen that leaves me scratching my head so I'll just wrap this post up with some numbers for a queen size Yellow Brick Road.

Total cost for materials at $10.50/yd average plus batting is $250 figure another $175 for some basic quilting and you are into the quilt for a total of $425. figure your time is worth $10/hour so we add another $100 for labor  $525 minimum value of your investment.  You could cut some corners and do less than the best and save yourself maybe a $100.  That 20% you might save is the difference between a quilt done right to  stand the test of time and a disposable comforter that you could have picked up at Pier One for $150.

Quilting is a hobby, we commit our time and resources to it because it makes us happy.  Do it right and make something timeless, there are a lot worse things you could spend your time and money on.