craftgrrl | Suggestions about pricing sewing jobs

Hi all,

Every now and then, someone asks me what I would charge to sew something. I know some of the comm members sew for other people, so I thought I'd ask about how you charge sewing jobs. Do you charge per item, depending on how difficult the pattern is or do you charge per hour? Or do you have a scale of some sort, say, for a simple skirt you charge one amount and for a fancy dress with a lot of embellishment, you charge another set amount? I've done a few jobs for other people and just picked an amount depending on how detailed the sewing project was, but have been thinking it might be better to figure out rates in some way.

I'd be thankful for any suggestions.