# Best place to buy reasonably priced handmade quilts?



## farmergirl

I'm not a quilter, though I wish I had the time to learn.....someday. I'm looking for a nice quilt that I can use on a queen sized bed in our guest room. Can y'all point me in the direction of a person who sells handmade quilts?


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## susieM

China


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## farmergirl

Not quite what I had in mind


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## susieM

Okay. But anything else is bound to not be so cheap, although perhaps better quality...and not made with slave labour.

ou might want to go and ask at your local quiltshop. Maybe if you offered to pay for the fabric, new students could make you a 'learner's quilt'.


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## farmergirl

susieM said:


> Okay. But anything else is bound to not be so cheap, although perhaps better quality...and not made with slave labour.
> 
> ou might want to go and ask at your local quiltshop. Maybe if you offered to pay for the fabric, new students could make you a 'learner's quilt'.


I said "reasonbly priced", not "cheap". I just can't afford a small fortune.


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## susieM

farmergirl said:


> I said "reasonbly priced", not "cheap". I just can't afford a small fortune.


Maybe ask at the quiltshop about finding a 'real' quilter who could do one.

But don't be afraid of beginners...especially if they are being led/taught by someone who knows what she's doing and teaches them well. I used to teach quilting, and some of my beginners learned right away about precision and quality of work, plus they often had a better eye for colour than I did.


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## farmergirl

Ok. I'll check in at a local quilt shop. Thanks for the ideas. I wish Texas had an Amish community.....


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## jesuisdiana

go to domestications.com
they have many styles some with the handmade quilty "look"
with shams, dust ruffles and all to match
extremely reasonably priced for queen/king sizes 

I've ordered from them several times and never been disappointed 
Diana


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## Lucy

I recently bought a nice set at Penney's. They have all kinds there. I do quilt, but it was cheaper and faster to buy the one I got. It is nice quality. They had a great clearance sale on the handcrafted quilts. The set I got was only $99 with shams and a dust ruffle, too. It was regular over $300. There were matching lined curtains to order to match, too.


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## MTDeb

There's a reason it's hard to find a "reasonably priced" (whatever that is?) handmade quilt. You may not realize how many hours and hours of work goes into making a quilt. And, then there's the fabric which isn't cheap either. 

For a simple quilt it probably costs $50 - $100 just for the fabric, maybe more. 

At the VERY LEAST, a simple quilt can probably be made in 10 to 15 hours for piecing and making the quilt top, a lot more for more complicated quilts. 

And then there's many more hours required to do the quilting, especially if you don't have a quilting machine. 

It's really hard to price a handmade quilt at it's true value.


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## AngieM2

There's a really nice quilt shop in Dumas if you are near there.
They do the quilting there and teach. It's around what I call the square. (a courthouse or something like that is there).

Angie


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## bare

Sheesh, what is it with all you "quilters". If I was a quilter, I'd be sayin', Sure, I can make you a beautiful quilt at a very reasonable cost. The last few quilts I've made were valued in the area of blahblah.

When someone says they are in the market for something, you have no idea what they might find to be "reasonable". The OP may think that 1000 bucks for a beautiful, personalized, hand-made quilt is a bargain!


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## keljonma

Not sure where you are located but when we lived in Harris County, Texas, we found some reasonably priced quilts at Traders Village or at some of the smaller arts & crafts shops. 

Our personal favorite place for quilts was a small craft shop in Tomball. I've only been gone for 4 years, but can't remember the name of the place. It was on FM 2920 (Main Street) in the same shopping plaza as Klein's IGA and The Nook restaurant. I'm not even sure it's there anymore, since I can't seem to locate it on Tomball's online business directory. Anyway, we got a couple queen/king size quilts for $145 each. They were made by a local woman and are cotton with a lightweight batting and hand quilted. 

Have you tried the Mennonite communities south of Fort Worth?

If you want to learn to quilt, Georgia Bonesteel's Lap Quilting books are probably available at your local library. I found they were clear and easy to follow. If you're not familiar with her, she machine pieces and then quilts the block sections by hand using a large hoop, not a quilter's rack.


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## sewtlm

OK I'll bite what do you consider resonable cost?
I have 15 or so tops ready to be quilted if you are interested.


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## Alice In TX/MO

Texas does have Amish communities. There's at least one near Gonzales, and there are Mennonites in El Campo. Fredericksburg would be a good place to look for a quilt, too.

Let us know what part of Texas, and we can point you to quilt shops, too.


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## tallpines

We have 3 different Quilt auctions coming up in the next few weeks amoungst nearby Amish communities.
Average cost of a beautiful handmade Amish quilt is in the ballpark of $200 - $300...............with some going much higher.


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## mamajohnson

Well, there is also a Mennonite community in the Kemp Area. They have a bakery outside of Kemp, could probably find someone willing to sell a quilt there.


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## westbrook

ebay!

Queen size quilt

http://cgi.ebay.com/HOMEMADE-QUILT-...1QQihZ020QQcategoryZ38160QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-QUEEN-S...0QQihZ002QQcategoryZ38160QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Romantic-Garden...433QQihZ003QQcategoryZ947QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

these are examples there are 7 pages... pick and choose.

then 23 pages under Handmade quilts.

if not.... got a serger? http://www.sewvac1.com/Library/serger_baby_quilt.htm


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## MTDeb

Try etsy.com. I was just looking on there and they have a whole category for quilts.


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## QuiltingLady2

farmergirl said:


> I'm not a quilter, though I wish I had the time to learn.....someday. I'm looking for a nice quilt that I can use on a queen sized bed in our guest room. Can y'all point me in the direction of a person who sells handmade quilts?


Farmgirl - I love that you want a handmade quilt and you are frugal about how much you want to pay for it. But, as I read you don't know how many hours and hours and thought goes into a handmade quilt. 

Reasonalby priced and handmade quilt do not go in the same sentence.  

Suggestions - Find an older used quilt at a secondhand store and fix the small problems to your satisfaction. Might score and get it for under a hundred or you might pay 250 or so for a nice used one. That would be great! 

Or - Go to a quilt store and see what they have availible to sell. Bring your wallet cause you are going to pay 175 - lap quilt to 500 or more for a nice queen and up. Worth every penny imo. 

or - Buy a china made quilt. Really I've seen some that are nice enough. Most people are not quilters and would never know that it's a manufactured quilt. 

I'm not trying to come down on you. I just find it funny that hundreds of hrs of handwork and beauty should be thought to sell so cheap. 
 
QLady


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## Ravenlost

Got my favorite quilt on ebay. Well, my favorite quilts were made by my grandma, granny and hubby's nana, but you know what I mean! I've also found some nice quilts at Kohl's on clearance.


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## farmergirl

Rose said:


> Texas does have Amish communities. There's at least one near Gonzales, and there are Mennonites in El Campo. Fredericksburg would be a good place to look for a quilt, too.
> 
> Let us know what part of Texas, and we can point you to quilt shops, too.


I'm near Austin.


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## keljonma

Austin Area Quilt Guild
http://www.aaqg.org/

Find a Quilt Retailer in Austin
http://www.thumbtackonline.com/freespirit/core-pages/findstore.php?state=TX

Honey Bee Quilt Store - Austin
http://www.honeybeequiltstore.com/index.html

Texas Quilt Appraiser - Austin
http://www.texasquiltappraiser.com/

Hope this helps!


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## chamoisee

Don't know if you've found one yet, but you can occasionally find quilt tops at yard sales and then tie or quilt them yourself. Is the quilt you want for utility or looks? Looks, go Walmart. :nono: Utility, it's hard to beat a denim bedspread. I've never put batting in mine because I don't know if I'd be able to lift or wash them if I did. They are very heavy and warm, and you don't even need to finish the edges...they make a nice fringe. 

If you're looking to buy a completely handmade quilt, be prepared to spend quite a lot of money. 

I've tried to sell mine...a handmade crib quilt for only $40. It was in the store for months before I finally brought it back home for my daughter. I'm so glad, because it was worth a lot more than that. 

In fact....a friend and I just met with a gal a few days ago to show and tell our quilts. She was making potholder sized miniature quilts without any batting at all, and selling them on Ebay for $17. She sounded very proud of the price. She said it takes her 6-7 hours to make each one. For the time alone, she would be better off pumping gas or serving fast food.  So you can just imagine what a full sized handmade quilt might go for. If you can get one that you love for under $500-$600 dollars, it's a steal.


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## CJ

Quilt shop quality fabric now average $8-9 per yard. A queen size quilt will take 6 yards of backing fabric alone. At least 13 yards, total. Batting, roughly $25-$40 It will take multiple spools of thread to piece and quilt it. Average cost of a spool of thread, $5.

Add in labor... now you all might laugh, but I wouldn't consider making a queen size quilt for hire for under $1000. I'll make them as gifts, but not for hire. The labor that goes into them, whew.

For the life of me, I can't see how a quilt can be bought for $150. I quilt, nonstop. A quilt at that price must be made of the poorest quality fabric and threads available, and isn't likely to hold up. Slave labor. :shrug: 

The Wandering Quilter's Life in a Box!


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## ELOCN

The quilts sold at Penney's, Target, and other similar stores ARE made in China! They use slave labor in China. They use child labor in China.


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## QuiltingLady2

CJ said:


> Quilt shop quality fabric now average $8-9 per yard. A queen size quilt will take 6 yards of backing fabric alone. At least 13 yards, total. Batting, roughly $25-$40 It will take multiple spools of thread to piece and quilt it. Average cost of a spool of thread, $5.
> 
> Add in labor... now you all might laugh, but I wouldn't consider making a queen size quilt for hire for under $1000. I'll make them as gifts, but not for hire. The labor that goes into them, whew.
> 
> For the life of me, I can't see how a quilt can be bought for $150. I quilt, nonstop. A quilt at that price must be made of the poorest quality fabric and threads available, and isn't likely to hold up. Slave labor. :shrug:
> 
> The Wandering Quilter's Life in a Box!


AMEN!


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## Wendy

Slightly off topic here, but it's the same with counted cross stitch. I set the price on them & people think it's way too high. Hand made anything is worth the price you pay. My mom does quilts. She hand sews them & hand quilts them. Tiny, tiny stitches. They should bring at least $500 in my opinion. If someone doesn't think they are worth that, they have no idea how much time is involved.


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## elliemaeg

Farmgirl, I have an overstock and return merchandise store and we have our quilts on sale for 25.00 each. They are mostly from Domestications. Also some from Penny's and Macy's. I don't usually solicit on HT and wouldn't but thought I would throw this in because of the cheap price. 
They are selling very quickly but if you will tell me the colors and style you are looking for I will look and see if we have it.


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## Little Quacker in NC

Good discussion! I would ask if Farmergirl has any Farmers Markets, Craft Fairs, SCA get togethers and the like around her. Up north of us we have one and it features booths that carry so much hand made stuff that it's really fun to visit just for that.

I don't know if the poster knew the difference between "handmade" and "manufactured"? Not sure how she would interpret the term? But there's Hand Sewn Quilts...made and pieced all by hand. There's Hand Made Quilts like most all of us quilters do...some may be partly by machine and maybe some by hand...there's All Machine Made Quilts which is usually what I do...the piecing and quilting and everything is on my Bernina machine...and then there's the foreign made Chinese Manufactured product etc which is a whole different catatgory.

It gets a bit complicated! LOL So, I guess it depends on what a person wants and the look they are going for.

There is a reason why so many of us quilters just make quilts for gifts. I can't get up any enthusiasm at all for making a quilt for a stranger.Has to be a real special person that I love to get a quilt from me. Not enough hours, weeks or years(not to mention brain cells!)to get something done just to sell.

Farmergirl..visit some quilt shows and some shops, Big garage sales, craft shows etc. and see what you find. Never know..just the right thing might come up that is within your price range and that you really like.

In your shoes I would also contact some people who do commercial long arm machine quilting. Maybe someone has left a quilt there and never picked it up??

Good luck..I bet you know more about quilts now than you did before. LOL

LQ


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## farmergirl

elliemaeg said:


> Farmgirl, I have an overstock and return merchandise store and we have our quilts on sale for 25.00 each. They are mostly from Domestications. Also some from Penny's and Macy's. I don't usually solicit on HT and wouldn't but thought I would throw this in because of the cheap price.
> They are selling very quickly but if you will tell me the colors and style you are looking for I will look and see if we have it.


Turns out the bed in only a "full" size, not queen. It's for a guest bedroom that has simple furnishings and subdued colors. I like purples and blues and greens, also reds and denims. I really like the look of the "patchwork" type spreads, with little pieces of different fabrics. Do you have a website where I can look at some of the quilts?


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## elliemaeg

We don't have a website. I didn't think ahead about how I could get you a picture of our various quilts. I guess it was a bad idea. Sorry. I just read so many posts where people are seeking something we have and I want them to get our good prices. Wish you all lived close.


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## rkintn

Well, I guess we can all agree that $500-$100 is probably not what most people would consider reasonable. I make my own quilts from start to finish knowing full well I can't sell what I make for anywhere near what it would cost for fabric and time. I usually just keep them or make them for friends and family because they are special. That being said, I would be willing to consider making one for you Farmergirl, if you buy the fabric and the pattern isn't too complicated. A nice little nine patch or charm quilt wouldn't be much trouble to put together and would be pretty reasonably priced as far as your fabric and my time. If your interested pm me for details. I can piece the top and machine quilt it for you as well.


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## Barbara Boyd

I am a quilter but don't sell the quilts I make. Occasionally I will sell a nice estate quilt on eBay in the $150 - $300 range. If you keep looking you can find beautiful handmade quilts on eBay for about $150. Measure your bed's top mattress first to see what measurements you need. Read the description carefully. Read the seller's feedback. Ask questions, such as, "Has the quilt been washed? Is it clean? Any stains? Is the batting thick or thin? Is it 100% cotton fabric? How old is it?".


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## MoBookworm1957

I also quilt whether by hand and machine.
Right now I am working on 3 D Dragon hand pieced quilt in Queen size. There are approximately 6590 2.5 inch square material fabric in 5 colors: Charcoal, Hunter Green, Medium Blue, tone on tone white, little bit of gold. Then I will work on Double Wedding Ring done in Star War fabric also in Queen size. Yearly I participated in charity project. This year it's Project Linus my National Guard Spouse club are making 60 blankets. Before you ask I am the Veteran, but I help out the Spouse club periodically. Good luck in finding your quilt farmergirl.


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## frogmammy

I think the price of quilts has gone up since this conversation started TEN YEARS ago!

Mon


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## MoBookworm1957

Whole bunch!


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## HorseMom

MoBookworm, I would love to see the dragon quilt, my daughter loves dragons!

I must say I'm terribly disappointed in everyone's attitude toward the OP and their snid remarks! No wonder Quilter's get a bad reputation for being snobs! The OP said she did not know how to quilt, that does not mean she's uneducated on the cost of handmade products or quilts. For Pete's sake they are on a homesteading forum!!! Second she said reasonably priced, not cheap! Did anyone ask what she considered reasonable? Not until after many rude comments! The high and mighty attitude in this thread is exactly why I won't join a guild. Y'all want to educate the OP, but did any of you take the time to educate yourselves on what she already knew, and to clarify her actual thoughts? Not all of you were rude, but I believe the OP was scared off by the time anyone asked for clarification. I would have been more then happy to help the OP for a little more then the cost of materials. Why, because I enjoy sewing, and I would have known the quilt was going somewhere where it would be appreciated and used. Not everyone that is gifted a quilt appreciates it or wants it.
Heidi


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## Belfrybat

Horsemom, this thread is 10 years old and hadn't been updated until a newbie with one post responded to it last week. I doubt many of the people on the thread are even around any more. I can understand your anger at some of the responses from 10 years ago, but it seems a bit late to be chastising them now. However, I found most of the responses very helpful, one person even listed several places the OP could find handmade quilts in the Austin area.


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## Katie de ladie Goatherder

frogmammy said:


> I think the price of quilts has gone up since this conversation started TEN YEARS ago!
> 
> Mon


Oh, no wonder! Was about to ask where someone was finding quilt shop quality fabric for $8-9 a yard!


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## Forcast

What do you that sell charge for a baby quilt?


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## Belfrybat

I don't make baby quilts, but depending on the complexity of the pattern, I would think around $250.00 and up. There are quite a lot of nice baby quilts on Etsy for that price or even less.


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## Forcast

I made and gave baby quilts at 2 baby showers this month. Baby boom in my family. One snails trail the other tumbling blocks. About $24 in fabric. Joanns fabric on sale. Anyway people are asking to buy. It always happens. I smock dress and folks want them too. . I dont charge for family unless they are giving it as a gift. Then i ask for fabric costs. Any ideas? How do you handle requests.


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## COSunflower

I have SO many people ask to buy my sewing and crocheting - not realizing how much materials cost and how much time goes into a piece. Now I just tell everyone that I have so many grandkids and family members to sew for that I don't have the time nor energy to make to sell....and its the truth also!!! LOL!!!


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## Dustin

Estate auctions have some beautiful handmade quilts go for a very low price sometimes. It can actually be kind of sad to watch.


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## Forcast

I seen some go for $5.00 then they are cut up to make stuffed animals.


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