How to Make Your Own Clothing Labels

Adding your own clothing labels is one way to give garments a professional look.

Clothing labels create a more professional-looking finish and add charm to a garment. There are several ways to make your own clothing labels. In most cases, custom labels require either a picture logo or text logo in color or black and white. You can design the logo on your own or hire someone to do this. Transferring the logo to a label is straightforward and can be done by anyone familiar with an iron-transfer sheet or inkjet printer.

Things You'll Need

• Picture or Logo
• Computer
• Inkjet printer
• Fabric printer sheets
• Matte fixative spray
• Needle and thread
• Basting Spray

Instructions

1. Design the clothing label from a picture or logo. Use a computer program such as Adobe Photoshop Elements or PaintShop Photo Pro to create a professional-looking logo for your clothing. Save the file as a .jpg, .tiff or .gif image file. A typical clothing label is about 3 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches tall, so a large graphic file with high resolution is not necessary. If the file is text-only, a resolution of at least 150 dots per inch, or dpi, is sufficient. If the file contains a photo, a minimum resolution of 300 dpi is necessary.

2. Purchase fabric printer sheets to print the logo file onto. Make sure these sheets are tight-weave cotton so they can adequately absorb printer ink. Fabric sheets are available as 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch sheets that are printable in a standard inkjet printer or on a roll that can be cut into sheets. Fabric printer sheets contain a paper backing with a cotton sheet adhered to the top.

3. Place the fabric sheet face up (fabric-side up) into the manual feed of the inkjet printer. Open the file in your computer software and click "File" and then "Print." Choose "Printer Properties" to select a thick paper and high print quality. Save the print properties and then click the "Print" button in the software.

4. Spray the printed sheet with a matte fixative spray to prevent the ink on the clothing label from smearing. Allow the transfer sheet to air-dry for a few hours. Follow the drying instructions on the fixative can label for the exact drying time.

5. Cut the label from the fabric sheet and peel it from the paper backing. Use a basting spray to adhere the label to your garment. Finally, sew around it with a decorative stitch or triple stitch to secure the label.

References

• HP: HP Printing on Inkjet Fabric Sheets
• "Photo Transfer Handbook: Snap It, Print It, Stitch It!"; Laury, J.;1999

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Dick Blick: Matte Spray Fixative
• Spray and Fix: 505 Spray and Fix Fabric Adhesive
• Corel: Paint Shop Pro Free Trial Download
• Adobe: Photoshop Elements Free Trial