Sewing Project Cost Calculator

Total a sewing project from fabric, notions, pattern and labour, then see the production cost and a suggested selling price.

Sewing

A sewing project costs more than the fabric, and the gap between the fabric price and the true cost is where most makers lose money without noticing. This calculator totals what you actually spent, prices your time at a rate you choose, and turns the result into a selling price at the margin you want.

At a glance

What you enter: Fabric cost, Notions, Pattern cost charged to this project, Tools bought for this project, Anything else, Hours worked, Your hourly rate, Profit margin
What you get: Production cost, Suggested selling price, Profit at that price, Profit per hour worked, Materials share of price, Labour share of price
Formula shown: Yes, every step, right below your results.
Cost and privacy: Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.

See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓

Fabric cost USD

What you paid for the fabric, including shipping and tax.

Notions USD

Zip, interfacing, lining, buttons, thread, elastic, bias binding.

Pattern cost charged to this project USD

Spread a pattern across the projects you make from it.

Tools bought for this project USD

A specialist foot, a punch, a marking tool. Leave out anything you will reuse.

Anything else USD

Dry cleaning, a photoshoot, packaging, a gift box.

Hours worked h

Include cutting, fitting, sewing, pressing and hand finishing.

Your hourly rate USD/h

What you would need to earn for the work to be worth your time.

Profit margin %

A share of the selling price, not a markup on cost.

Reset

Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.

How to use the Sewing Project Cost Calculator

1 Enter Fabric cost (USD), What you paid for the fabric, including shipping and tax.
2 Enter Notions (USD), Zip, interfacing, lining, buttons, thread, elastic, bias binding.
3 Enter Pattern cost charged to this project (USD), Spread a pattern across the projects you make from it.
4 Enter Tools bought for this project (USD), A specialist foot, a punch, a marking tool. Leave out anything you will reuse.
5 Enter Anything else (USD), Dry cleaning, a photoshoot, packaging, a gift box.
6 Enter Hours worked (h), Include cutting, fitting, sewing, pressing and hand finishing.
7 Enter Your hourly rate (USD/h), What you would need to earn for the work to be worth your time.
8 Enter Profit margin (%), A share of the selling price, not a markup on cost.
9 Press Calculate. You get Production cost, Suggested selling price, Profit at that price, Profit per hour worked, Materials share of price, Labour share of price, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
10 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.

Worked examples

Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.

A lined dress to sell

45 dollars of fabric, 18 dollars of notions, an 8 dollar pattern share, 9 hours at 15 dollars an hour, a 40 percent margin.

You enter

Fabric cost: $45.00
Notions: $18.00
Pattern cost charged to this project: $8.00
Tools bought for this project: $0.00
Anything else: $0.00
Hours worked: 9 h
Your hourly rate: $15.00
Profit margin: 40%

You get

Production cost: $206.00
Suggested selling price: $343.33
Profit at that price: $137.33
Profit per hour worked: $15.26
Materials share of price: 20.7%
Labour share of price: 39.3%

Compare the suggested price with what your market actually pays before you make a batch.

Open this example in the calculator →

A small batch of tote bags

20 dollars of fabric for the batch, 10 dollars of webbing and thread, 2 hours at 15 dollars an hour, a 50 percent margin.

You enter

Fabric cost: $20.00
Notions: $10.00
Pattern cost charged to this project: $0.00
Tools bought for this project: $0.00
Anything else: $0.00
Hours worked: 2 h
Your hourly rate: $15.00
Profit margin: 50%

You get

Production cost: $60.00
Suggested selling price: $120.00
Profit at that price: $60.00
Profit per hour worked: $30.00
Materials share of price: 25.0%
Labour share of price: 25.0%

Small accessories carry a higher margin because buyers compare them with other handmade bags, not with the fabric price.

Open this example in the calculator →

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Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge for a handmade dress?

Add up the materials honestly, then price the hours. Six to ten hours at 15 dollars an hour is 90 to 150 dollars of labour before the fabric, which puts a mid range dress at 140 to 220 dollars. That is well above what most shoppers expect to pay for a dress, which is why handmade garments sell at the top of the market or not at all, and why many makers sell patterns and alterations instead.

Should I charge for my time if sewing is my hobby?

Charge for it in your arithmetic even if you choose not to charge for it in your price, because the number tells you what the work is worth. A maker who knows a project costs 150 dollars of materials and 120 dollars of labour can decide to sell at 200 dollars as a deliberate choice. A maker who never counted the hours does not know they are working for 4 dollars an hour.

What margin should I aim for on handmade goods?

Between 40 and 50 percent of the selling price is a common target for craft goods sold direct, and it needs to be higher on a marketplace that takes 10 to 20 percent in fees. A 40 percent margin on a 100 dollar production cost is a 167 dollar price. Check the price against what comparable makers charge before you commit to a batch.

Why do notions cost so much?

Because they are bought in small quantities at retail and none of them scale down. A zip costs nearly the same for a child's dress as for an adult one, interfacing is sold by the metre even when you need 40 cm, and a pattern is a fixed cost whatever the size. On a cheap main fabric the notions can easily be half the material cost.