Today I’m sharing a breakdown of my 2020 quilting income, as I’ve done in 2019 and 2018. The following notes still apply:
- I do not rely on quilting as a primary income source for our family.
- Therefore, my level of effort in seeking out opportunities is low to moderate.
Let’s go!
In 2020, my total quilting income increased by 38%. (This is the exact same amount that it increased from 2018 to 2019 which is weird!)
Pattern Sales – 26%
I worked hard on patterns this year, releasing new ones and revamping and re-releasing older ones. I also began more actively talking about my patterns on social media, and greatly benefitted from the significant increase in followers I got while doing my 100 day project.
I started the year with 1 pattern in my shop, and am finishing with 6, including 3 that are available in both PDF and print. The print versions have sold well enough and also allowed me to take a couple wholesale orders from shops, so I plan to continue with small runs of print pattern in 2021.
This includes income from my patterns that are/were listed on Bluprint (before they closed), Etsy, and Quilt Pattern Mart.
My income from pattern sales increased by almost 1000% this year. Yes, you read that right. Now, I only sold a handful of patterns in 2019, so 1000% sounds bigger than it actually is…but it’s encouraging nonetheless.
Contract Patterns – 26%
These are patterns I wrote for someone else, sometimes under my own name (such as my MQG Quilt of the Month) and sometimes fully ghostwritten for others.
Editing/Design – 30%
This is tech editing, pattern design and layout, pattern diagrams and illustrations — whatever people need to get their pattern ready to go. I continued to work with several designers, and also picked up several new clients thanks to referrals.
Awards – 0%
2018 may very well be the only year I ever have something in this category. Ha!
Quilt Sales/Samples – 0%
I didn’t sell any quilts this year, nor did I make any on commission.
Teaching – 8%
I taught one class at my local shop in January, and a one virtual lecture/QA session this fall on using Adobe Illustrator and doing quilt math. (In 2021, I will be doing a few guild lectures and I’m looking forward to that!)
Other – 10%
This category is a bit of a catch-all. I had some affiliate income, and a collaboration on a blog tutorial. I also included the money I made selling fabric on Feel Good Fibers. That’s a bit misleading because it’s resale — I bought that fabric at one point and did not sell it for a profit. (I need to figure out how to account for that when I file income taxes.)
So that’s my 2020 breakdown! I’ll have more thoughts on goals for 2021 later this month.
p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blogging challenge.
This is very interesting!
I would think if you buy fabric and then sell it at a loss, you could either ignore it for taxes, or, count it as a loss against your other revenue to reduce the taxes you have to pay.
Also, if you ever start making a significant amount of income (maybe you already are), you should pay yourself a salary and only pay taxes on your profits above that. The time you spent developing those patterns, listing them and any other management, for example, is not free – you have a master’s in the topic and should be able to pay yourself accordingly. I think that would significantly reduce or even eliminate your tax bill.
Sarah, this report is such a generosity to those of us working on our own business startups. Best wishes for a highly prosperous New Year!