A customer shows you a photo and asks, "How much?" The dress does not exist yet. You have not fitted her, you may not have seen the fabric, and she may change her mind about the sleeves. Under pressure to answer, many dressmakers say a low number and regret it.
One poster on the Threads forum described it well after pricing five dresses: "I gritted my teeth and quoted a price of $80 ea, which I felt was about $20 too low for the time/fitting involved." The way out is to stop quoting from memory and build each price from parts. All figures below are made up to show the sums. Your own rate and hours will differ.
Do not price at the first conversation
Give yourself room. Another forum poster warned against agreeing a figure on complex work too early: "Don't box yourself in, and then find out you made an unrealistic commitment."
A good first answer has three parts: a broad range, what would move the price within it, and when she will get a firm figure. Say that you will confirm the price after you have seen the design, the fabric and her measurements. For a difficult design, confirm it after the first toile fitting, which is when most of the unknowns have gone.
Estimate hours stage by stage
A single guess such as "about 20 hours" is usually low, because it hides the stages. Break the dress down the way you will make it:
- Consultation, sketching and taking measurements.
- Pattern work and the toile.
- Cutting, including lining and interfacing.
- Sewing.
- Each fitting, with the unpicking and corrections that follow it.
- Hand finishing and pressing.
Fill in each line from a past dress of the same kind. If you have no records yet, start keeping them now, since your next quote will be far better for it. Time spent shopping for fabric belongs on the list too, if you do it for the customer.
Let the cloth and the design move the hours
The same pattern can be two different jobs. One forum poster wrote, "In fact, I do adjust charges up based on degree of difficulty of fabric." Add hours for what really slows you down: cutting on the bias, slippery silk, matching a print across seams, a boned bodice, hand-rolled hems, a heavy skirt. Adding hours is easier to defend than a vague percentage, and it teaches you more when you check the job afterwards.
Cost the fabric and trims
List every material, even small ones. Fabric, lining, interfacing, zip, buttons, boning, thread that has to match. Measure the fabric needed from your pattern lay, and allow for pattern matching and a wider skirt in larger sizes.
If you buy the materials, add a modest amount for the buying trip and the money you tie up. If she brings her own fabric, check the length before you agree the quote, and write down who pays if more is needed. Customer's fabric changes the materials line, and the hours stay the same.
Worked example: a lined evening dress
Example figures. A shop rate of 30 an hour, with three fittings of 45 minutes each.
| Stage | Hours | At 30 |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation and sketch | 1.5 | 45.00 |
| Pattern and toile | 5 | 150.00 |
| Cutting | 2 | 60.00 |
| Sewing | 9 | 270.00 |
| Three fittings | 2.25 | 67.50 |
| Finishing and pressing | 2.25 | 67.50 |
| Labour total | 22 | 660.00 |
| Material | Working | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | 4 m at 20 | 80.00 |
| Lining | 4 m at 6 | 24.00 |
| Zip, thread, interfacing | Together | 16.00 |
| Buying and holding | 10% of 120 | 12.00 |
| Materials total | 132.00 |
Labour of 660 plus materials of 132 makes 792. Add 10% of the labour, which is 66, to cover the things that go wrong on a one-off piece. That gives 858, quoted at 860. If profit beyond your own wage is not already in your shop rate, add it at this point.
Define what the price includes
Most arguments about dress prices are really arguments about what was promised. Put these in writing with the quote:
- The number of fittings included, and the price of another.
- The difference between a fit change and a design change.
- The last date for changes.
- Whether the price includes tax.
- When she can collect, and how long you will hold the dress.
A fit correction after a fitting is part of the job. Weight change close to the date may need its own rule. A new neckline after the fabric is cut is a design change, and you should price it before you start.
Price changes as they happen
Write a short note for each change, with a new total, and get a yes before you pick up the scissors. Example: she asks for sleeves after the first fitting. That is 3 hours at 30, which is 90, plus half a metre of fabric at 20, which is 10. The change costs 100, so the total moves from 860 to 960.
Take a deposit before you buy anything
You should not be funding the customer's fabric. One forum contributor advised giving the client an estimate and asking for "at least 50% deposit before beginning a project", above all when fabric has to be bought first. In the example, 50% of 860 is 430, which covers the 132 of materials and part of the early labour. With the sleeves added, the balance becomes 530.
A deposit also shows she is serious. State plainly in your terms what happens to it if she cancels, and check with a local adviser if you need that wording to hold up.
Group orders need their own sums
Several dresses for one wedding are often cheaper to make per dress, but less so than customers assume. One poster on the Threads forum noted that a matching size and fabric can save on drafting and fittings. Reduce the stages that really repeat, such as pattern work and the toile, and leave sewing hours as they are. A group with several sizes and body shapes needs its own fittings counted, one person at a time.
Compare the quote with the real job
When a dress goes out, write the real hours beside the quoted ones, stage by stage. After a few dresses you will see where you run over. Perhaps fittings always take longer than you allow, or the toile takes twice what you think. Correct those lines and your next quote will be easier to say out loud.
A notebook can hold this. Tailoq can hold it alongside the order too: a quote turns into an order, hours go in at the bench, and the job cost shows beside the price you charged. If you are weighing up handmade work at a higher level, our note on bespoke tailoring cost looks at where those hours go.
