QUILTING TIPS: Why Make A Quilt Label?

By Margo J. Clabo

Do you have an antique quilt that you think was made by a family member? How about one you got from a yard sale or an antique store? Wouldn't you just love to know for sure who made it, and when? If those quilts could talk, would they have a fascinating story to tell? If they had been labeled by the makers, you would know the history was fact, and not just some vaguely remembered or assumed information. Do you still own one that you used as a child, or have one that was made just for you by a group of your quilting friends? Do these quilts have labels to carry their story to a future quilt lover? You see, it is not only the masterpiece quilts and the show quilts that deserve the distinction of a label.

Of course, you will always want to be sure that you have securely attached a label to your quilt before you send it off for a quilt show. These identification labels will usually carry your name, address and phone number, as well as any additional information required by the show organizers. They can be just the facts, or they can be works of art in their own right. Usually these labels will need to be covered so the show's judges will not know who the maker of the quilt is. If you want your label to be easily seen by show visitors, you might consider making a label guard that will securely cover the information during judging, but can then be easily repositioned so the label can be enjoyed by anyone who is interested.

If you have an older quilt, whether or not it can be called antique, it is easy to create a label to provide whatever history is known so that information will not be lost in time. If you have a quilt with a special story to tell, whether it was made for you, or by you, a label will insure that the story will always be with the quilt. If you have a quilt with special laundry instructions, whether for your own reference or for someone who might not know how to safely launder a quilt, a label will insure that it is properly cared for. And if you make a quilt for a special gift for someone, you may never see it again, and its history is already in jeopardy of being lost if it doesn't carry a label.

Depending on the reason a new quilt was made you might include: who the quilt was made for, what the occasion was, when you made it, where it was made and where it went. Your name, hometown and the date is only the beginning of the information that you can include on your labels.

The techniques that you use to create labels for your quilts can be as varied as the quilts that you own. They may be as simple as hand-written text with a permanent pen on muslin, or as high-tech as a computer generated label. Maybe you want to use this as an excuse to try a new craft, without the investment of money or time for a large project? Try your hand at silk ribbon embroidery, or cross stitch or stamping or photo transfers to give your quilt a unique label. Just be aware of how the quilt is likely to be used, so you can create a label that will be permanent for many years to come. You might not use the same technique for a baby quilt that will be laundered frequently that you would want to use on a wall hanging that will never be washed. Just use your common sense about which techniques to use.

For the most simple, but an effective way to make a quilt label, choose a permanent pen and write your text on a piece of muslin or light-colored fabric. This will be easy to accomplish if you first stabilize the fabric by fusing a piece of freezer paper to the back. After your text has been written, heat set the ink with a hot dry iron, and peel off the freezer paper. You can then applique it to your quilt. Adding a lining fabric to the back of the label not only makes it more opaque so that the label looks better, but it also gives you a nice finished edge that is easy to applique.

For more ideas and detailed how-to information, inspirational pictures and a comprehensive resource list for specialty supplies, please check out my new book, The Ultimate Book of Quilt Labels, published by That Patchwork Place. For a brief review, please see Planet Patchwork Book Briefs at http://planetpatchwork.com/bookbriefs2.htm

You can order the book through the Planet Patchwork Quilters' Bookstore at:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564771466/planetpatchworkA/