How to Label Your Handmade Quilts
Adding a Label to Your Quilt is Worth the Extra Time and Effort.
Quilts get lost, stolen, sometimes even forgotten. A good label will identify your quilt and help tell its unique story to generation after generation.
Your quilt is almost done! You see the finish line ahead. Do you really want to take the extra time to put on a label now? Absolutely. In just an hour or two, you can create a permanent record that your quilt will carry with it as long as it survives. Anyone who receives, buys, or uses it in the future will thank you for recording the unique facts that make each quilt a bit of living history.
What should you put on the quilt label? You can stick with the basics, or create a label that's a miniature work of art in itself.
Essential Information
- Your name (and the name of the person who quilted it, if you had it quilted by someone else).
- Date.
- Your city, state, and country.
Optional Items to Include
- Your phone number and street address. If your quilt gets lost, these specifics could help you get it back.
- Recipient’s name and a suitable inscription.
- The story of this quilt: how and why you made it, names of the quilt blocks or pattern you used, and any adventures you had getting it finished.
- Washing and care instructions.
HOW TO CREATE A QUILT LABEL
There are lots of different ways to label a quilt. Here are some of the most popular:
- Hand write it with permanent ink. Write directly onto the label or even the quilt backing with a fine-tipped, permanent marker. If you write on the backing, test first to make sure it doesn’t bleed. Sharpie or Pigma pens are both widely used.
- Embroider by hand or machine. You can also buy custom-made labels embroidered with your information.
- Use a computer and ink jet or all-in-one printer. You can design a custom label using any computer graphics program, including photos, special fonts, or any graphic elements you’d like, then print the label on a pretreated printable fabric sheet. You can find printable sheets at any quilt shop or large craft store. Many brands are available, such as Miracle Fabric Sheets, Vintage Workshop, and Color-Plus Pre-Cut Fabric Sheets.
- Put the label on an extra block left over from the front of the quilt.
Place the label where it won't show if the quilt is hung up on a wall or laid out on a bed. Many quilters like to put it on the bottom right corner of the quilt’s back side. To discourage a potential thief from removing the label, sew it firmly to the backing fabric before you assemble the quilt, then hand- or machine-quilt right through the label.
