Labels

Quilters have been told for years to always attach labels to their quilts, yet it is something I rarely do. It typically becomes just one more thing to fuss with when one is so near finishing. A way to rectify this is to always have ready-made labels on hand.

 

I asked Santa for help in this regard. When the daughters were collecting Christmas lists last November, I included a link to Ever Emblem, an Etsy shop out of Michigan. I'd seen her products sprinkled across quilting accounts I follow on Instagram, which gave me the idea that perhaps this is the route I should go. Santa came through for me, and I am super-thrilled to have these sweet little labels to incorporate into my finishes.

My first label was to be attached to the primary-color baby quilt I made earlier this month.  I've since used a second one - on French General Charm.

You can clearly see that my application method changed from the first to the second. Through trial and error, I am sure to come up with a preferred method - one that is easily doable, and not a hassle. 

I didn't really want the label stitching to show on the front, but this is really very unobtrusive, so I guess I don't mind it so much. 

On the baby quilt, I tried to incorporate the edge of the label into the binding. That was way too fussy, and the fabric of the label is glue-backed, so hand-tacking the binding through it was challenging.

The other problem encountered with this method was positioning it just right to hide what needs to be hidden, yet show what needs to be shown.

I was not entirely successful with keeping my text out of the binding; this method proved way too fussy. I don't want to have to work that hard to position a label every single time I use one.

I have plenty of quilt tops to finish on the long arm, and now I am equipped with plenty of labels to put on them. Problem solved, right? Well, we shall see. Ninety percent of problem-solving comes in the form of follow-through for me. 

This label does not address all the needs some quilt-makers ought to include - date, most especially. Maybe I can come up with a way to solve that on my next Ever Emblem order. For now, I have 98 labels at my disposal, and I plan to use them!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

A Label Tutorial

I don't know that I have ever done a bona fide tutorial, but that's what you are getting today. I spent my entire professional life teaching, so I guess this should not come as a surprise.

It's a well-known fact that I am a Pinterest junkie. I recently saw a really easy method for labeling quilts. (This is the pin that inspired me.) I think I am not alone when I say that I know I should label my creations, but rarely do I actually do it. Any methods I've seen have required more effort that I am willing to expend.

So for me to actually label the last 2 quilts I've finished is a really big deal. And I thought perhaps you'd like to see how easy it is. If you click here you can see the link to the idea that I saw on Pinterest. I am doing mine just a little bit differently, but the result is the same.

 The process is simple and probably doesn't really need explaining beyond these pictures. First take a length of freezer paper and a length of muslin fabric. Iron the shiny side of the freezer paper to the fabric, and cut to size - I have used a 3" square. In step 4, with the paper still on, fold the fabric on the diagonal. This is the space where you will write your label.

I am doing a rather sloppy label for demonstration purposes. I need to get a finer point pigma pen. Be sure to leave enough edge to sew into your quilt. Remove the paper after writing; press for a crisp fold. In step 7, place the raw edges of the label on the corner before attaching binding. I pinned mine in 2 or 3 places. In step 8 you can see the finished label that I put on the baby quilt from yesterday.

Easy-peasy!

Now, you have no excuse not to label your quilts from here on out. I am going to make the effort to do this on all my future quilts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilt Labels

Thanks to those who offered explanations and suggestions for my brief photo crisis! I was not expecting any troubles, and this completely caught me by surprise. Problem solved; I went with a $5 option. Not too painful.

Today's topic: labels. I confess that I am lazy about labeling the quilts I have made. Nearly all have gone without labels. And I read the admonitions and scoldings from quilt historians, and know the importance of labeling, but still I don't do it.

Until now, perhaps.

You see, the flannel quilt Sharon and I made for our former student with cancer is going to have a label. For some reason I just felt this was a must! And, it was my good fortune to have seen recently on Pinterest the directions for making labels. You will not believe how simple and easy this is.

Materials needed: waxed freezer paper, muslin, iron, computer and printer.

Follow these easy steps:
1. Cut a strip of freezer paper slightly larger than an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper.
2. Cut muslin the same way.
3. Layer the two and cut to exact size.
4. Iron the muslin to the waxy side of the freezer paper.
5. Figure out which way the paper goes through your printer. Mine needs to have the fabric side down.
6. In any program you use, type up a label. I use Microsoft Word. I decided I wanted two labels for the page, so the first was personalized for Alexis. The second one is generic and will be filled in with Pigma Pens when used.

I will trim these down, sew a 1-inch border onto them and then stitch to the back of the intended quilts. For future labels I make, I think I will try to make 4 per page, if I'm making the generic labels. If I make personalized labels, I can do the one personalized, and the other 3 generic. I will also be trying to figure out how to add decorative borders and other artwork. Should be fun! And I have quite a few quilts needing labels, you know?

Happy Quilting!