Do you hate making quilt labels? I do. I used to be fairly good about labeling the quilts I made, and still am, but only the ones I give away. It seems such a bother, such a last minute after thought. I know how important it is, so for me, it's one more thing to feel guilty about, like not flossing before bedtime, or neglecting to recycle properly.
So, recently I discovered a couple of quilt labels that were made in this very clever manner. I tried it out on the baby quilt Sara made and think this will be my new "go to" method of putting on a label.
So, here's what I did. I cut out a four inch square of white cotton fabric, and a four inch square of freezer paper. I ironed the freezer paper to the fabric and folded the two layers to form a triangle. The purpose of the freezer paper is to make a firm surface to write on. You know how when you try to write on a piece of fabric, it is kind of all over the place? Well, this keeps it all firm and steady and easy to write on without messing up.
Not the neatest printing job, but there you have it, I have written my label. I should have squeezed in the town and state where the quilt was made, but I forgot. When you try this, you will do a much better job than I did.
Now, whip off that piece of freezer paper and discard it.
Place the folded triangle right up to the edge of the back of your quilt, snugging it into the corner. Using your sewing machine, sew a couple of inches along the two short sides of the triangle. Keep back from your quarter inch seam allowance. I think I did a 1/8" seam. Don't bother going all around the triangle, just do the two sides. You can do this before or after you have sewn on the binding (but before you hand sew the edge of the binding down).
The idea is to affix the raw edges of the label to the quilt. Your stitching lines will be under the binding and will not show. The folded edge is now on the outside edge, forming a little pocket in the corner on the back of the quilt. I suppose if the pocket aspect bugs you, you could hand stitch down the folded edge to the backing, but it didn't bother me.
I had already sewn the binding to the quilt, so all I had to do was flip my binding over and hand sew down as usual.
This could not have been faster or easier. Took three times longer to explain than to do it. No more excuses not to attach a label to your quilts!
Such a great tip! Thanks!!! I might need to give this one a try ASAP.
Posted by: Sandy M | February 20, 2015 at 05:40 AM
I love this idea! Now, maybe I will actually put a label on something I finish. Thanks for the great tutorial.
Posted by: Margaret | February 20, 2015 at 06:01 AM
what a great technique! thanks for sharing
Posted by: sissa | February 20, 2015 at 06:12 AM
You go girl. You are right, no reason now to not-label. It's pretty enough, purposeful, and I love it. Now if I could just label all my # of unlabeled quilts. Maybe I can just hope to do labels on the quilts that are in the works. Thanks, Nicole.
Posted by: Stephani in N. TX | February 20, 2015 at 06:32 AM
This is the method that Ami Simms showed for use on all of the donated wee Alzheimer's quilts and they do make wizard labels.
However, if you put these triangles on the top two corners of the small quilts you want to hang - or may want to hang - they're called "hanging triangles". Ever since learning this method, I've put them on the back upper corners of all my little quilts. In fact, on quilts that have no "right side up", I put the triangles in all 4 corners so they can be hung the way the owners likes best.
I've found larger squares -> triangles work well on fabric panels that have no more than a couple of borders. For these, I cut 9" or 10" hanging squares for the triangles. These size wall quilts are hung from a flat piece of wood (like a yardstick) that's been cut to length and that has a sawtooth picture hanger tacked right in the center. Gotta love not making a hanging sleeve!
Sorry for the book.
Hugs!
Posted by: Barbara Anne | February 20, 2015 at 06:53 AM
Great tip. I struggle with making labels and this is a cinchy method.
Posted by: pam Hansen | February 20, 2015 at 07:33 AM
That's a great way to make the dreaded label! I know we should put a label on quilts…just like I know we need to floss at night, as you said…but it's just not fun! The freezer paper to make it easier to write is the best news of all! Thanks, as always, for your helpful tips! (Now, if I could just conquer those exclamation marks!)
Posted by: Jan | February 20, 2015 at 07:36 AM
Sometimes I forget to sew my label into the seams, so I whip stitch it to the seams and then sew the binding down over it. I also stitch down the opening of the label so nothing get caught in it. I also put the county in which I live on the label because we had a lecture at our guild that counties will always be there but towns sometimes are gone and not on maps anymore. Love the baby quilt. Very cute! Thanks for a great blog.
Posted by: Laura Valdez | February 20, 2015 at 07:37 AM
that is the BEST new quilting tip I have seen in a long time. TY so much for sharing. I am soooo bad about labeling anything that stays in my house. I have many quilts that need labels but this should stop my procrastinating on the new finishes for sure. YEAH NICOLE!
Mary
Posted by: Mary Kastner | February 20, 2015 at 07:52 AM
Yet another great tip I will definitely use, and SOON! I am planning a signature quilt as a gift and I was thinking I would tape my fabric pieces to ultra-fine grain sandpaper so people could write on it better, but the freezer paper suggestion is JUST PERFECT! Thanks again!
Posted by: Jennifer Gwyn | February 20, 2015 at 07:53 AM
I do a triangle label like that as well. I hate hand sewing, and so this way my quilts get labeled, because if not, I'm not sure they would
Posted by: Shauna | February 20, 2015 at 08:03 AM
That freezer paper thing is genius! I HATE how squiggly my writing looks when I try and write on fabric.
Posted by: Laura @ Prairie Sewn Studios | February 20, 2015 at 01:52 PM
Oh dear! Please please, please, put the town and state on it also! After you are gone, the quilt may travel to different homes in other places. Let's give future quilt historians a fighting chance.
Posted by: Vic in NH | February 21, 2015 at 07:14 PM
So glad that I took a look at this. I needed a good way to sign my quilts. The way I was doing it took way too long. This will be such a time saver.
Posted by: Robin | February 25, 2015 at 05:02 AM