Cross Stitch CalculatorCross Stitch Price Calculator
Most stitchers undercharge. They add up the fabric and floss, name a price, and forget the twenty or forty hours of handwork that went into the piece.
This cross stitch price calculator fixes that by pricing the two parts separately: what the materials cost, and what your time is worth. The result is a starting point for a fair price — not market advice, since what buyers will pay still depends on your shop and your skill.
A fair price starts with honest material and time numbers — run them all from the cross stitch calculator's home page.
Price calculator
Enter your materials, hours, and hourly rate for a cost-based retail price — then optionally add a wholesale rate and a marketplace fee.
How it's calculated
Labor is hours × hourly rate; retail is labor + materials. The wholesale price is retail × your wholesale rate (default 50%, a rule of thumb you can adjust — wholesale is often about half of retail, but it varies by venue). If you set a marketplace fee, the calculator also shows the list price that nets your retail total after the fee: retail ÷ (1 − fee%). The arithmetic is exact, but the inputs are judgments: the rate you choose, the wholesale percentage, and what you count as materials. The result is a fair cost-based starting point, not a promise of what buyers will pay.
Limits: exact arithmetic on your inputs; the rate and percentages are judgments.
What to include in materials
Materials means everything the piece consumed, priced at what it cost you. That starts with the fabric — count the piece you cut, not the whole length you bought — and the floss, counted by skeins used rather than skeins owned. Most stitchers forget how fast small notions add up.
Add the hoop or frame if it goes with the finished piece, plus the pattern if you bought it for this project. Needles, backing fabric, mounting board, glue, and any framing supplies count too. If you used half a skein, cost half a skein; the goal is the true cost of this piece, not your whole stash.
Keep receipts or a simple list per project. Once you have costed out two or three pieces, you will know your typical material cost by heart, and pricing future work takes minutes instead of guesswork.
Pricing handmade work fairly
The classic beginner mistake is charging for materials and treating the stitching as free. Twenty hours of careful handwork is real labor, and leaving it out of the price means working for nothing. An hourly rate fixes this: it turns your time into a line item with a dollar value.
Pick a rate you can defend. A common floor is your local minimum wage — your time is worth at least that — and experienced stitchers charge more to reflect years of skill. Multiply that rate by your hours, add materials, and you have a price grounded in real costs instead of a guess.
Be clear about what this number is. It is a starting point built from your costs, not a promise that buyers will pay it. Your market, your reputation, and how finished the piece looks all shape the final price. But starting from a fair number beats starting from a guess and hoping.
Wholesale versus retail pricing
Retail is the price a buyer pays you directly. Wholesale is the price a shop pays you so it can resell the piece, and it is usually around half of the retail price. The shop needs its own margin, which is why wholesale looks so much lower.
Only take wholesale work if the volume makes sense at that price. A shop ordering twenty pieces at a fair wholesale rate can be good business; a single piece at half price usually is not. Run the calculator with the wholesale price in mind before you agree.
The same thinking applies to friends-and-family discounts. A discount is fine, but it should still cover your materials and pay you something for your hours. Giving away the labor for free, even to people you like, trains everyone — including you — to undervalue the work.
Worked example
$25.00 of materials and 20 hours at $15.00/hour: labor is 20 × $15.00 = $300.00, plus materials = $325.00 retail. At a 50% wholesale rate that is $162.50. Selling through a marketplace with a 10% fee? List at $361.11 so the $325.00 lands in your pocket after the fee.
Related calculators
- Stitching Time EstimatorThis cross stitch time estimator turns your stitch count into hours and days, so you can plan projects, gifts, and deadlines with real numbers.
- Cross Stitch Material CalculatorPlan your project with the cross stitch material calculator: estimate floss skeins, fabric cut size, and notions.
- Cross Stitch Floss & Skein CalculatorPlan floss by colour with the cross stitch skein calculator.
The homepage calculator has links to every tool.
Frequently asked questions
Should I really charge for my time?
Yes. The hours are the biggest cost in any handmade piece, and skipping them means working for free. Even a modest hourly rate keeps your pricing honest and sustainable.
What hourly rate should a beginner use?
Start with at least your local minimum wage as a floor, since your time is worth no less than that. As your skill and demand grow, raise the rate to match. The rate is your choice — the calculator just does the math.
Do I include the cost of the pattern?
Yes, if you bought the pattern for this piece. Spread it across pieces only if you genuinely reuse it; for a one-off design, the full pattern cost belongs in the materials.
Why is my total higher than similar items I see online?
Many low prices come from mass-produced or machine-made work, not hand stitching. A hand-stitched piece takes hours that a factory does not. Price your actual costs rather than chasing prices built on different labor.
Will this price guarantee my piece sells?
No. This calculator gives you a fair cost-based starting point, but sales depend on your market, your presentation, and buyer demand. Use the number as your floor, then adjust to what your shop can actually support.
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