How to Label Quilts
You’ve poured blood, sweat and many tears into hand stitching your quilt and it’s almost done. Aside from DNA testing, how do you make sure years from now it’s not confused with some mass-produced Pottery Barn factory second? Do what all great artists do — sign your work. Attaching a label to your quilt is the easiest way to ensure future generations will not misplace the credit for your creation. And even if your quilted contribution to the family linen closet was only your keen ability to pick out a really nice wedding present, you can still stitch a thoughtfully worded label to the underside, thus ensuring that your present won’t be returned for a store credit.
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Things You'll Need
- Finished quilt or a nearly finished quilt
- Piece of fabric for the label
- Scissors or pinking shears
- Masking tape
- Indelible fabric markers or embroidery thread
- An iron
- Needle
- Quilting or all-purpose thread
Instructions
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Choose fabric for the label that's a similar type to the quilt. Cotton muslin is a good choice for a quilt made of 100 percent cotton; silk for a silk quilt; a wool label for a wool quilt; and so on. Light colored fabrics work best for most lettering, however a dark colored label with light words could be a stunning combination.
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Wash the fabric in hot water (or according to the care instructions on the end of the fabric bolt) to pre-shrink and set the color of the fabric.
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Dry and iron the fabric.
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Determine how big you want the label to be; 3-by-5 inches or about the size of an index card is a good size. You could also make your label an oval, circle or even a heart — the shape is up to you. Add a margin of at least 1/2 inch to all sides. You'll cut the fabric after you've lettered the label.
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Draft your label on paper before you transfer it to the fabric. Some quilt labels have just the name of the quilter(s) and the date the quilt was finished. Other labels are more elaborate and include the name of the quilt, the pattern, the reason the quilt was made or the name of the recipient. Some quilters include an address or phone number in case the quilt is lost or stolen.
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Tape the fabric to a tabletop to keep it from moving while you are lettering. Use indelible fabric markers (found at most fabric stores); they are an easy way to letter your label. Heat set the ink with an iron to make it permanent. Embroidery also makes a nice label. Keep your design out of the margins; the margins are the stitching area and may not be visible once the label is attached.
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Cut the label to the desired size while leaving the 1/2-inch margin for the stitching area. Use picking shears if you plan to stitch the label to the quilt with the raw edge exposed; it will keep the fabric from unraveling. Use regular fabric scissors if you plan to turn the edges of the label under as you stitch it.
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Hand stitch the label to the back of the quilt. Make sure you stitch only through the backing -- not the batting or the top. You don’t want label stitches visible on the quilt top. Knot your threaded needle and start with the knot on the underside of the label. Stitch around the entire border of the label. Finish by slipping your needle out between the label and the quilt back. Tie a knot in the thread close to the fabric surface and trim.
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Use the needle (now with no thread on it) to tuck the end of the thread under the label so that no thread “tails” are exposed.
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Tips & Warnings
An extra quilt block from the quilt can be used as a label.
Special printer fabric that can run through a desktop printer is available at some fabric stores. Follow the directions provided with the fabric.
Antique autograph quilts are labeled on the front. Each person who made a block signed her name in it.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
