Working on Wednesday - Quilt Labels

Yesterday I chatted about the importance of labeling our quilts HERE.  Let me be the first to say that I am not perfect at labeling my quilts.  My labels are attached to many quilts but not all of them.  Let me show you a few.  I started out mostly self-taught on labeling and continue to progress in my knowledge. 

Here is a label cut from a panel of labels that you can buy in your local quilt shop.  I wrote on it with a permanent fabric pen. 

This label is on the quilt front and in the center.  It was part of a Heart Block Swap.  The Heart Quilt was my design with all the blocks received.  Everyone's quilts turned out so different.  Mine was the largest and back then, I quilted it on my domestic machine.  What a task that was considering its almost queen size. You can barely see the label in the center of the quilt.

 

Below is a label that was printed on treated fabric with a paper backing so you can run it through your home printer.   These have become my labels of choice.  I heat set the printing, trim it down to size and sew strips on the sides to frame it.  With the label printed and pinned on, at least the history is still associated with the quilt.  Not the best way to do things but better than nothing at all and it being a mystery.

 

This is how I label most of my quilts now, but I am putting the town and state on them.  I like to include the inspiration or reason the quilt was made.

 

Again, this is not perfect, but it gives the history of the quilt. the inspiration, origin of the pattern, who made the quilt and who quilted it.

 

Here is my label for Easy Street, the 2013 Mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter at www.quiltville.com or http://quiltville.blogspot.com/.

This label is made to match the front of the quilt.

 

So if you are not familiar with labels, here are a few suggestions.

 

1.  To make a label you can write on fabric with a permanent fabric pen. I prefer the Pentel Gel Roller Pen. Or, print on treated fabric with a paper backing in your inkjet printer.

 

2.  To keep your fabric from moving or stretching you can do a couple of things.  You can put a piece of  blue painter's tape on the back of the area you plan to write, you can iron the shiny side of freezer paper onto the back of your fabric for stabilization,  lay fabric on sandpaper board which keeps fabric from slipping, or use treated fabric with a paper backing.

 

3.  Heat set ink with dry iron.

 

4.  Trim label to size, remember to leave a 1/4" seam allowance around all four sides.

 

5.  Add borders (this is optional). Press under  1/4" seam allowance on outer edges and whip stitch or applique stitch your label to the back of your quilt.  You may add your label before or after quilting.  Talk this over with your longarm quilter. 

 

6.  There is an exception to one of these.  I made labels on my printer adding the baby's picture and all the information about the birth, etc.  After many washings, the labels did wash away.  I suggest you also print the label on paper and give it to the mother for future information.   Maybe they could keep it in the baby book.

 

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

 

I am linking up with Freshly Pieced, Sew Much Ado, and Esther's Blog.

 

Yours in quilting and SNOW,

Terry

 

P. S.  We are having a free snow giveaway.  Please come haul it away!! :)