How do I estimate hours accurately when I've never made this exact garment before?

Break the garment down into construction stages (pattern/drafting, cutting, main construction, hand-finishing, fittings) and estimate each separately, then add them up — this is more accurate than guessing a single total figure. Track actual time on the job and use it to calibrate future estimates for similar garments.

Should I quote a fixed price or charge by the hour for bespoke work?

This calculator produces a fixed quote based on estimated hours, which is what most clients expect and prefer for budgeting purposes. Some makers build in a documented buffer (e.g. quoting for 10-15% more hours than strictly estimated) to protect against underestimation, rather than switching to open-ended hourly billing.

What if a client says my price is too high compared to what they've seen elsewhere?

Bespoke, made-to-measure work is fundamentally different from mass-produced garments and should be priced accordingly — comparing your price to a factory-made equivalent isn't a fair comparison. If pricing is a genuine barrier, consider offering a simpler design or fewer customisations rather than discounting below a sustainable rate.

Custom/Bespoke Commission Pricing Calculator — Free Apparel & Fashion Trade Calculator

🎯

A client has asked for a quote on a custom piece with detailed hand-finishing — before replying, you want a number that actually reflects the time involved, not a figure pulled from memory of the last similar job.

Custom/Bespoke Commission Pricing Calculator

Costing & Pricing

Estimated hours

Hourly rate ($/hr)

Materials cost ($)

Profit margin (%, optional)

Base cost = (Hours × rate) + Materials
Commission price = Base cost × (1 + Profit margin%)

Custom/bespoke work should always be quoted on time actually required, not a flat guess — track your hours on a few jobs to calibrate your estimates over time.

Reference: Standard time-and-materials quoting method used across bespoke trades

ℹ️ Estimate only for business planning purposes. Verify against your actual costs, supplier quotes and local regulations before pricing or committing to a production run.

1 What this calculator does

Calculates a fair quote for a custom or bespoke garment commission by combining labour time (at your hourly rate) with materials cost, then adding a profit margin on top. Prevents underpricing detailed, time-intensive custom work — a common problem for independent makers who price by feel rather than by the numbers.

2 Formula & professional reasoning

Base cost = (Estimated hours x Hourly rate) + Materials cost
Commission price = Base cost x (1 + Profit margin % / 100)

Custom and bespoke work is fundamentally different from standard production runs — it's priced on time-and-materials because each piece is unique and can't benefit from production efficiencies of scale. Underestimating hours (a very common mistake, especially for detailed hand-finishing, fittings and pattern adjustments specific to one client) is the single biggest reason bespoke makers end up effectively paying themselves below minimum wage. Building in a profit margin on top of true cost (not just charging cost price) ensures the business is actually sustainable, not just breaking even on each commission.

3 Worked examples

⚠️ Illustrative example only — not clinical or professional instruction.

Basic

Simple custom alteration-style commission

Given: 3 hours at $30/hr, materials $20, no margin entered

Working: Base = (3x30)+20 = $110.00

Answer: Commission price: $110.00

💡 Without a margin added, this only covers direct cost — consider adding a margin even for simpler jobs to build in business sustainability.

Standard

Custom occasion dress

Given: 6 hours at $35/hr, materials $45, 25% margin

Working: Base = (6x35)+45 = $255.00 | Price = 255x1.25 = $318.75

Answer: Commission price: $318.75

💡 A 25% margin on top of true cost is a reasonable starting point for bespoke work — adjust based on your market and experience level.

Advanced

Complex bridal or costume commission

Given: 18 hours at $40/hr, materials $180, 30% margin

Working: Base = (18x40)+180 = $900.00 | Price = 900x1.30 = $1,170.00

Answer: Commission price: $1,170.00

💡 Complex commissions with significant hand-finishing or fitting time require accurate hour tracking — underestimating hours on jobs like this has the largest absolute impact on effective hourly earnings.

4 Sanity check

Hours estimation accuracy

Track actual hours on a few completed commissions and compare to your original estimates — most new bespoke makers underestimate by 20-40% initially

Build a buffer into hour estimates until your estimating accuracy improves with experience

Effective hourly rate check

Divide final commission price by actual hours worked (including fittings, consultations, admin) to check your true effective hourly rate matches expectations

If effective rate is consistently below target, either the hourly rate charged needs to rise or hour estimates need to be more generous

Typical bespoke margin range

20-35% margin on top of time-and-materials cost is a common range, though highly variable by market, reputation and complexity

Established makers with strong demand can often command higher margins than the base range

Materials cost completeness

Materials cost should include fabric, trim, interfacing, thread and any consumables — not just the 'main fabric' cost

5 Common errors

Error	Cause	Consequence	Fix
Underestimating fitting and consultation time	Only costing hands-on construction time, forgetting client consultations, fittings and any travel time involved	Effective hourly rate ends up well below what was intended once all time is accounted for	Include realistic time for consultations, fittings (including any follow-up fitting adjustments) and communication in the total hours estimate
Not tracking actual time against estimates	Quoting from gut feel without ever comparing estimated hours to actual hours worked on completed commissions	Estimating accuracy never improves, and underpricing patterns repeat indefinitely	Track actual hours on every commission for at least the first several jobs, and adjust future estimates based on the gap between estimated and actual time
Charging the same rate regardless of complexity	Using a flat hourly rate for both simple and highly technical/detailed work	Doesn't reflect that highly skilled, technically difficult work often deserves a premium rate over simpler construction	Consider a tiered hourly rate, or a complexity multiplier, for particularly technical or detailed commission types (e.g. corsetry, embroidery, complex draping)
Skipping profit margin on 'favour' or friends-and-family jobs	Charging cost price (or below) as a matter of course for jobs perceived as smaller or for people you know	Undermines the business's ability to price bespoke work sustainably and can set client expectations that persist beyond the initial job	Even discounted jobs should be priced from an accurate cost baseline, with the discount applied consciously and transparently rather than by simply omitting margin