Quilted Mug Rugs

Hello,

I finished 2 mug rugs last week and another 2 I still need to finish the binding. Though it's not making a dent in my UFO quilts piles, but I am happy that I am making (very) slow progress.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Mug Rug

I was wondering for a few days how to quilt these two very hungry caterpillar mug rugs. I love straight line quilting and also wavy or serpentine. But I don't feel like setting up my HV machine. So I decided to go organic. People love anything organic nowadays :) 

Since the blocks are quite colorful, I decided to use white thread and did the organic wavy lines. One thing I learn that to be creative, it really doesn't matter what machine you have. We should not limit ourselves based on what tools we have on hand, instead the limitation should make us more creative! 

Reversible Snack Mat

Quilted Mug Rug

When I took this picture, my son was about to have his breakfast and I borrowed the bowl for a quick photo session :D.  Don't you love the back of the mug rug? It makes this quilted mug rug reversible!!

Caterpillar Mat

As usual when I am not sure what to use for binding, the black and white stripe is always my first preference. And I love how modern it looked!

Hand sewn binding

The binding is machine stitched on one side and finished by hand on the back. I always use 1.5" wide binding for mini quilts, like placemats, mug rugs, or coasters. 

Apple core patchwork WIP

Meanwhile, I also started apple core patchwork. I'm doing hand piecing this time. It's going to be a tote bag, Insha Allah. I'm sharing the progress photos in my Instagram

Also, more mini quilts are queing to be quilted now. I have so many projects  going on at the same time. I tried to stick on one project at a time but somehow never work out for me. 

But as long as I can be creative, I'm happy! 

What about you? What project are you working on right now? 

Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing

~ Elvira~ 

Linking up to:

Handmade Monday
Finish it up Friday
Show Off Saturday

How to Price Your Handmade Product & Free Calculator

Hello,

A few of my crafter friends often asked me how to price their handmade products when they just started out. It is difficult to determine what price is fair price. Especially with the booming e-commerce, the competition is fierce out there. 

trifold women's wallet

You want to make things that sell, but on the other side you also want to make a decent profit so that you can make the business going and growing without draining your personal resources. 

I'm no expert here, but I've learnt my lesson and I read a lot of blog post and books about pricing handmade. Especially when people around you (your social media followers, friends, etc) seems to think that handmade should be cheaper,because they tend to compare your product with ones in Amazon, Ebay etc. Well, send them to Amazon and Ebay! 

Ooak Handmade Wallet

But they won't get the same high quality product as yours, which everything is carefully chosen, it's unique, one of a kind  and the whole thing is carefully made without sacrificing a child or cheap labor somewhere in a dingy factory. 

But how to run a profitable handmade business without draining your personal resources? Price them correctly! Remember, your handmade is not only the material cost, but the time your spend making them, taking photos, marketing, your internet connection, not to mention your mental torture dealing with difficult customers :D. Well, You may want to read this post from Creative Hive on How to Pay Yourself in Creative Business and Pricing Handmade Guide. 

Bifold Wallet 

Now, I am not math genius here. My hubby dear made a handmade calculator for me, which I am still using it this date. You can download the  file HERE if you want. It's in Indian Rupees but you can use it for any other currency I suppose. 

The rows highlighted with light blue is adjustable. You can adjust your margin percentage for Wholesale and Retail Price too. You can even add a row or two. The labour cost/hour is included the overhead expenses . 

I also included Etsy Pricing formulae in case you want to start selling on Etsy too. The USD exchange rate is adjustable. If you're using Paypal, you may want to check paypal exchange rate, usually 4% lower than market rates). The Etsy  Fees paypal fees are  recently increased. So, do your homework before inputting the number. 

I hope this will help you a bit with your handmade business and when you want to start your business. 

You can download the HANDMADE CALCULATOR for free and start making profit :)

Happy Crafting!!

Elvira