Friday, September 5, 2014

The finishing touch...making labels

I spent some time recently making quilt labels. I know I should do this as soon as I finish the quilt, but I don't always take the time. So I did some catching up. I like to print the label on June Taylor Colorfast Fabric Sheets. I have had good luck with printing pictures onto these sheets and they work well for labels too. You can add who it's for, your name and date, whatever you want, and print from your ink jet printer.  I like to make several at a time so that I don't waste the fabric sheets. There are easy to follow directions as to what you do after printing to make it colorfast. Then you are ready to cut them apart and attach them.
You can add fusible web to the backs and iron them on if you want to. I worry that they won't last through many washings, so if I do this, I still sew around them.
Normally I sew a narrow border around the edges of the trimmed labels...I try to use fabric that matches the backing, so that they blend in. I then cut out a piece of fabric or interfacing that is the same size as the bordered label.
I put them right sides together and sew all around the outside edges. I then cut a small X on the back fabric/interfacing so that I can turn it right side out. I press around the outside edges and it's ready to sew on to the quilt backing. No need to sew that X closed as it will never be seen.
Now you have a great "watching TV" hand sewing project. As you can see, I have enough labels to keep me busy for a few nights anyway!

Do you put labels on your quilts? Do you have another method of leaving your mark on them? I think it's important to have your name and date on quilts, so if I don't have time to make and attach a label, I sign and date it in an inconspicuous spot on the back of the quilt.

1 comment:

Maggi said...

Your labels are lovely, I like the way that you add the border. I don't have to worry too much about the durability of mine as they are not designed to be washed. I tend to just write my name, quilt title, and year on a piece of fabric, turn in the edges and hand sew it to the back. I have to confess that I didn't have time when I had to get my last two to a show so I wrote the details with a Sharpie marker on the facing of one and on the levee of the other!