When To Raise Prices in Your Quilt Shop (Without Losing Loyal Customers)

You know your best customers by name and what upcoming collections they’ll love. Between that personal touch and your quilting clubs and workshops, you’ve built a community, not just a customer base. 

So when vendor costs jump 15% and your margins start shrinking, raising prices can feel like betraying the people who’ve kept your doors open. You can’t bear to imagine what might happen if they leave. But is asking them to pay more really fair, when they’ve already shown you so much loyalty?

Raising prices is essential to keeping your doors open. The reality is that your community loses far more if you close than if your prices go up by a few percentage points. That doesn’t make breaking the news any easier, though. 

This blog shows exactly when and how to adjust your quilt shop pricing without losing the loyal customers who make your business thrive. 

Let’s jump in.

Understanding Today’s Quilt Shop Pricing Challenges 

Most quilt shop owners didn’t open their doors to make a quick buck. They started their business because they love fabric and the community that quilting creates. But as much as that passion drives you, it can’t pay the store lease. 

Raising prices feels personal when you know your customers by name. You might worry that you’re letting them down — or even fear being seen as greedy — when you’re barely breaking even.

Your customer base might be small, so losing a single regular can hurt. Meanwhile, big-box stores and online retailers are competing for your customers, and supplier prices keep ticking up. If you want to keep your doors open and maintain a loyal home base for quilting supplies and community, sometimes raising prices is unavoidable. 

Sustainable pricing is the key to surviving in today’s retail market.

Related Read: 7 Best Wholesale Fabric Suppliers [Pricing & Reviews]

Clear Signs It’s Time To Raise Your Prices 

One of the trickiest aspects of increasing prices is knowing when it’s time to act. You don’t need to make a knee-jerk adjustment every time a supplier changes their rates. So how can you tell when it’s time to make a change on your end? Here’s what to look for: 

• Your profit margins are shrinking even though sales look steady. Revenue might be fine, but profit is disappearing. Pull up your numbers from six months ago and compare. 
• Vendor costs have jumped 10–15% or more. Fabric suppliers raise their prices, shipping costs climb, and if you don’t adjust accordingly, you absorb that loss. 
• You’re dipping into personal funds to cover business expenses. If you’re subsidizing your shop with personal money, you’re already overdue for an adjustment.
• The market has shifted, and you’re now the discount option. Other quilt shops have raised prices, and online retailers have increased rates. If you’re suddenly the cheaper choice, it’s time to make a change. 
• You’re cutting the things that make your shop special. If you need to cut classes or skimp on customer service because you can’t afford it, your pricing may be the problem. 
• Your point of sale (POS) system is flashing warning signs. Modern POS systems track profitability automatically. If your reporting shows you’re dipping into the red, pay attention. 

Spotting these signs is step one. Knowing how much to raise — and where — is step two.

How Much To Raise Prices — and Where To Start 

You don’t need to raise prices on everything to keep your pricing sustainable. Instead, approach increases strategically.

Begin by examining your product categories individually. High-volume staples can handle smaller increases because customers buy them regularly. Specialty items, like limited collections, can often absorb larger adjustments because customers already expect them to cost more.

Start with premium products first. Customers buying designer fabric or exclusive imports expect to pay more. This creates less sticker shock than suddenly raising the price of basic solids.

One advantage of working in the fabric industry is that you sell by fractional measurements, which makes it easier to raise prices incrementally. A 50-cent-per-yard increase sounds minimal, but it adds up when customers buy multiple yards.

Kits and precuts are your friends here, too. Adjust bundled pricing while maintaining perceived value. A $2 increase on a precut bundle feels smaller than raising the base fabric itself.

A general rule of thumb is to keep price increases between 5–15%. Gradual annual bumps of 5–8% work better than shocking customers with a 20% jump every three years.

The real secret is to use your POS data to decide which products to raise prices on and by how much. Identify items with the thinnest margins and your bestsellers. Modern POS systems make it easy to see all this data at a glance and choose the best pricing decisions. 

Related Read: 12 Essential Cross-Selling and Upselling Strategies for Fabric Shops

How To Communicate Price Changes to Your Customers 

The worst way to handle retail pricing adjustments is to simply change the sticker price and hope no one notices. The best way is to adjust prices confidently and communicate directly with your most loyal customers so they don’t feel ambushed: 

• Give your customers advance notice. 30 to 60 days is the sweet spot. It gives regulars time to adjust their budgets or make one last purchase at current prices if they want to stock up. 
• Be direct and confident. You’re not doing anything wrong, so there’s no need to apologize. Try language like: “To continue offering the expert service, curated fabrics, and in-store classes you love, we’re adjusting our pricing starting March 1.”
• Explain the why with real honesty. When you communicate a price increase, be straightforward. Tell customers that vendor costs and shipping prices have gone up, but you want to continue offering the fabrics and classes they love. Transparency builds trust and loyalty — and research shows it strengthens customer relationships.
• Remind them what they’re still getting. Customers can buy fabric anywhere, but they come to you for advice, better service, and curated collections. Your shop is worth more than the products on the shelves.

Finally, when you’re communicating a price increase, end with gratitude. Thank your customers for their understanding and continued support. Remind them that when they shop with you, they’re supporting a local business, not a faceless corporation — and that matters.

Related Read: 10 Retail Customer Service Tips for Fabric Stores

When To Revisit Your Quilt Shop Pricing Strategy

How often should you revisit your pricing strategy to keep it sustainable? The answer is, frustratingly, “it depends.” 

At a minimum, review your prices annually. Compare what you’re paying vendors now versus last year. Look at profit margins by product category. When you make annual, incremental price increases, it’s easier to communicate and easier for your customers to absorb. 

Sometimes, an annual review isn’t enough. Keep a close eye on your expenses and income, and if trends are moving in the wrong direction, it may be time for an ad hoc adjustment. 

If a major vendor raises prices by 15% or more, react quickly. The same applies to rent increases, new overhead costs, the opening of nearby competition, or economic shifts that affect how your customers are spending. 

Stay aware of what’s happening in the market around you. Check what other quilt shops are charging, both locally and online, and track retail pricing trends. The goal is to adjust before you’re in crisis mode, not after your margins have collapsed.

Remember: Your POS system should handle most of this work for you. Set up margin alerts so you know the instant a product drops below your profitability threshold. Run regular reports that show what’s actually making money. Modern systems give automatic access to these reports, making sustainable pricing simple to implement and maintain. 

Manage Quilt Shop Pricing With the Right Tools and Confidence 

Keep in mind that raising prices isn’t an act of betrayal. Your customers need you to stay in business more than they need fabric that’s 50 cents cheaper. Sustainable pricing creates a sustainable shop — and a sustainable shop means a thriving community that can keep growing. 

To keep your pricing sustainable, you need the right tools. A comprehensive POS solution is critical for tracking margins, calculating accurate fractional-yardage pricing, and managing loyalty programs to reward your best customers, even during times of transition. 

Like Sew was built specifically for quilt and fabric shops and includes all these key features. It takes the guesswork out of everything from inventory management to pricing analysis, giving you the tools and data you need to run your store with confidence.

Ready to tackle your next price increase the easy way? Request a demo to see how Like Sew can help today.