Quilt Labels

/ quiltinggail

Do you label your quilts?

Is it important to label your quilts?

I believe that every quilt that YOU make is important enough for a label.

The quilt below was made by my Grandma.  This is a fact.  I believe that it was made for my parents wedding, but there is no one alive to verify that.  They got married in 1950.  A label would tell the whole story,

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Sew what do you put on a label?  Well that depends on the quilt.img_0304.jpg

 

When I made the series of quilts with my Grandma’s Fabric, I numbered each of the quilts … (You can see all the quilts HERE) and just put my name and the year.

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Some labels I put the recipients’ name(s).   The one below is for my nephew and his wife.

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My cousin put the title of the quilt, who it was for, who it was from , her name, the city, the number of quilts she’d made and the fabric used.   (You can see pictures of the front of this wonderful quilt HERE.)IMG_4157

When it’s for a baby … I like to put the baby’s full name, date of birth, weight and sometimes length.img_2566.jpg

Earlier this year, I put the one label right on the backing fabric. You can see the front of the quilt HERE.

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The quilt below took AGES to make and I put it on the label, along with the name and quilt designer.

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When I make donation quilts for the guild, I simply put on the “Made especially for you by Boundary Bay Quilter’s Guild.

How do you make labels?

I have used an embroidery machine to make labels for years.  Before I had an embroidery machine, I used the alphabet on my Janome 6500.  But the embroidery machine is easier!

The labels are either square, rectangles or triangles.  Once the label is make, I like to sew them into the bottom right corner of the quilt. I trim the batting, backing and front once I get to about 8″ from the corner.  The label is glued in place and sewn around the edges.  Then I finish quilting the quilt, quilting right through the label.  When the binding is put on, it secures the label in place.

I admit that my labels are simple.  They do not have cute, quilty sayings on them … but one day they might. (Never say never, right?)

You can make your labels however you want.  You can use fabric pens or machines to put the information on your labels.

There are NO quilt police and therefore there are NO label police.

Happy Quilting!
Gail

16 thoughts on “Quilt Labels”

  1. I haven’t labeled any of my quilts, but I have included a note with ones that have been gifted. I should start making up labels for them! Also, I had to laugh about your “no quilt police” comment!

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  2. I was making individual labels for each quilt but found that i would get bogged down in the labeling stage. I saw a lot of people with custom labels with their names but no info and I didn’t like that since I like to personalize when it’s a gift. So I finally ordered labels on etsy that have my info on them and blank space at the bottom to write in a date and recipient. Now it takes me about 10 minutes to create and sew in the label, so I don’t have a backlog. I really like your embroidered labels!!! I’m so impressed at how nice they look.

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  3. I love your labels, and it’s amazing that I can’t always remember quilts I have made! Luckily I take photos and try to label them. The embroidered labels look perfect to me – which is why I added the embroidery module to the new machine I just bought. I am having trouble with letter size, but I’ll keep trying. Thanks for sharing yours!

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    • Hi Patricia!
      Thank you!
      I have a new embroidery machine and a digitizer. I can use a zillion different fonts and sizes. I’m still experimenting with what works best and what I like the most. I’m finding that I do need to use a few layers of tear-away stabilizer. (Tuck the extra layers under your hoop). Just keep trying! And when you get it how you want it, save it and write a note of what you did.
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

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  4. I do label a lot of my quilts – but by hand written labels. I also use a tag that I have made now which is more appropriate for things like table runners or wall hangings that may be given. I do put name, city, dates of work like Jan 2018 to Jun 2018, and the techniques. Its a good habit and well worth getting in to.

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    • Hi Kathleen!
      Great! You do put a lot of valuable information on your labels! I’m thinking I may have to add more to mine.
      I LOVE the idea of using a tag for smaller projects! That’s a great idea! Thanks!
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

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  6. Great post Gail. It’s nice to see the different examples. Thanks for including how you attach them! I have been hand stitching mine on, and I find that activity relaxing. But I would like to machine sew them to the back for more security. Your post helps me know how.
    As a note…I like to number my quilts partially because when I gift them, people ask me how many I’ve made.
    Cheers
    Terry

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    • Hi Terry!
      I do like quilting through the labels, as well as sewing the perimeter.
      Nubmering your quilts is a fantastic idea! However, I would NOT even know what number to start at! 🙂
      Hugs and Happy Quilting! 🙂

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