A couple of weeks ago I did a blog, Put A Label on It, about the info you want to include on your quilt label. I had a few comments asking how to make quilt labels. I thought that will make a great blog post!
There are many ways to make or buy quilt labels. Let me see if I can keep this short and informative :)
Have you ever seen the fabric printed with a variety of different fabric labels? You can find these in quilt shops, or online, and many of them have cute motifs or simple neutral color palettes that coordinate with many different quilts. Some are blank and others have simple prompt lines to fill in.
Cut one of these labels out and turn the edges under, then write your message on the front. Hand-stitch the label to the back of the quilt.
I've made labels using a basic white fabric and added a little border around the edge to frame it. If I did this now, I'd sew the label to the backing fabric before layering the quilt and quilting it… that way, the quilting helps secure the label to the quilt and not just some hand stitching around the edge.
The best pens I have found for writing in labels are these Pigma pens. They come in different size tips for heavy or faint lines, and there are several colors available.
I love a machine embroidered label! I have an embroidery machine and while I do not use it often, it's nice to make something like this.
I made a label for a baby quilt, cut it into a heart shape, then stitched it to the back of the quilt. The nice thing about embroidered labels, you are guaranteed the stitching is not going to come out or fade with washing.
I stitched a little message on some cotton tape to add to the corner of another baby quilt. Many machines have the capability to stitch out an alphabet, even if they are not embroidery machines. This would be an easy way to make a simple personal label.
I used the embroidery function on my machine to make this one, but you wouldn’t have to. I stay stitched the cotton tape to my stabilizer so it wouldn’t move around during the embroidery process. Once it was done, I pulled out the stay stitching and cut away the stabilizer, leaving just the soft cotton tape with words.
How about pre-printed custom labels?! There are super cute varieties available on Etsy and other places. Many of these can be customized with personal messages, or you can buy a variety of different labels with your name pre-printed on them. Add a date or a message with the pigma pens I showed above.
Have you ever tried the labels you can send through your printer? I haven’t tried this in years, and I’m curious if this style has improved over time. This pack of labels makes a pretty cute template for some personalized messages you can print off at home.
Hand embroidered labels are so so sweet! I aspire to do this someday. I love the look. I especially love old quilts with the maker's information hand embroidered into the quilt. I found a couple of nice blogs that show a good process, so I'm linking to them here. If you do hand embroidered labels, please post a pic in the comments! I’m sure we'd all love to see your handiwork.
Do you have any more label making ideas that I missed? I would love to hear your favorite labeling techniques.
Happy 4th of July everyone,
Krista
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