[WhiteTiger]

A couple years back, I decided to get a full length special style of coat made for my wife by a local seamstress. A price was decided on, and roughly 30% of the (not insignificant) cost was put down as a deposit.

Over the course of the two years (the seamstress had some personal issues that needed dealing with) there have been multiple fittings, mock-up's, material tests, etc

The seamstress today wrote my wife a facebook message (their primary method of communication) saying that she no longer feels that she is capable of continuing the project and is backing out. She noted that she would be refunding the deposit, but didn't say how much of it she'd be returning.

Should I be asking for the full deposit returned? Should I not mention an amount to be returned, and just see what she does? Does a deposit like this cover pre-construction materials and labor or is that on the seamstress?

I'm actually kinda lost on this one. I don't want to be a jerk...but I also feel we've been more than understanding (this is a project initially projected to take 3-4 months, not 2+years) so I'm not really sure where I stand on this.