Pricing?

When you sew for others how do you figure out pricing? Do I charge an hourly
rate? Do I charge differently for children and adults, plain vs. fancy? How
do you figure costs if they furnish all the materials? Do you add your
shopping time to the hourly rate if you have to do all the shopping or go with
them to help?

Thanks,
Carey

I decide how much I want to be paid by the hour, and estimate how many hours
are involved in the sewing.......I do not shop.........but WRITE DOWN the
kinds of fabric that will work well so client knows what to ask for while
shopping........If they pick something difficult, add on the extra hour or
two for difficulty............Tell them that up front..........

"Carey1003" wrote in message
...
When you sew for others how do you figure out pricing? Do I charge an
hourly
rate? Do I charge differently for children and adults, plain vs. fancy?
How
do you figure costs if they furnish all the materials? Do you add your
shopping time to the hourly rate if you have to do all the shopping or go
with
them to help?

Thanks,
Carey

Pricing?

(Carey1003)
When you sew for others how do you figure out pricing? Do I charge an
hourly rate? Do I charge differently for children and adults, plain vs.
fancy? How do you figure costs if they furnish all the materials? Do you
add your shopping time to the hourly rate if you have to do all the
shopping or go with them to help?
---
Pricing varies from one part of the country to another tending,
quite logically, to be more expensive in the larger metropolitan areas.
Your skill level should be factored in, also.
Are you good at fitting the pattern/garment, in addition to possessing
excellent sewing and finishing skills?
Basics:
Client pays for _all_ materials. I prefer the client to do her own
shopping (since my main thrust is alterations, with the rare dress for a
favored client); many seamstresses will accompany the client, and charge
by the hour for consulting.
Costs can be figured in a variety of ways: by the hour (Not good if
you are a very slow/beginner, as this penalizes the client); by the
pattern piece, combined with extra charges--you could use a menu-type
charge sheet-- for added details (collars, cuffs, pintucks, etc), and/or
hard-to-handle fabrics. Slithery silks, satins, suedes, leather, laces,
knits, bias cut garments (ask Kate about this one!) etc., require
knowledge and skill to handle and sew properly, and, often, need
specialized equipment. For example, I wouldn't sew knits without the
great finish an overlock provides, and no longer do leather repairs, as
I've sold my heavyweight industrial.
Excellent quality children's clothing is not cheap to produce,
especially if you will be sewing little girl's fancy dresses, which can
have a lot of detailing and special notions applied, if not actually
constructed of expensive fabrics. Grandparents are willing to spend
lavishly on the GKids, and parents often seem to have a sky's-the-limit
attitude, especially for christening outfits, or one-of-a-kind garb,
even if it is daywear.
If you google search "What to charge?" and "Pricing Work", you should
turn up past discussions of the subject, as well as actual price list
references. (Mary Mulari, one sewing author, sells books with
price-your-work suggestions.)
Cea

If you google search "What to charge?" and "Pricing Work", you should
turn up past discussions of the subject, as well as actual price list
references.

(Mary Mulari, one sewing author, sells books with
price-your-work suggestions.)

Cea, I think you mean Mary Roehr, right? Her website URL is: www.maryroehr.com


Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Pricing?

(SewStorm)
Cea offered:=A0=A0=A0
=A0If you google search "What to charge?" and "Pricing Work", you
should turn up past discussions of the subject, as well as actual price
list references.
=A0=A0(Mary Mulari, one sewing author, sells books with price-your-work
suggestions.)
---
Cea, I think you mean Mary Roehr, right? Her website URL is:
www.maryroehr.com
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
---
I stand corrected, Karen. Thanks.
Yes, Mary Roehr wrote 'Altering Men's Ready-To-Wear', and 'Altering
Women's Ready To Wear', both books well worth having. Another poster
here put me on to them. I, quite naturally, wanted to see how my prices
compared so I found a copy of the menswear book at Joann's, 50% off.
OTOH, Mary Mulari wrote a nice book about restyling garments, in
addition to all of those sweatshirt books she produces: 'Garments with
Style' contains loads of good ideas.
Another useful book is your affordable treatise on starting a home
business, which I have dragged all over the house, thus cannot lay my
hands on at the moment. Did you say it is out-of-print? I got my copy
new, but one can still find copies at secondhand bookstores.
Kathleen Spike also wrote about home sew businesses: 'Sew to Success',
which is published by Palmer/ Pletsch.
These books can save a lot of money, time, and grief. I highly
recommend them to anyone thinking of starting a home sew business.
What books would you (Dear Reader) recommend? I'd be interested to
see everyone else's favs.
Cea

Another useful book is your affordable treatise on starting a home
business, which I have dragged all over the house, thus cannot lay my
hands on at the moment. Did you say it is out-of-print? I got my copy
new, but one can still find copies at secondhand bookstores.

Yes, Cea, Sew Up A Storm: All the Way to the Bank! is still available at
secondhand joints, but you can also find it at a discount from
www.clotilde.com, in her current catalog. Since I no longer sell the book
directly to the public, that's the only place left to get it. Oh, and also
www.southstarsupply.com They have about a dozen copies, and you might still be
able to find a copy or two at the JoAnn Fabrics stores that carry books.


Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati