Quilt Labels

When I first learned about finishing quilts, I found some great tutorials about sandwiching the layers, quilting with a sewing machine and binding. The final step was to make a quilt label. I hadn't thought of it before, but do see it as an important step. I have generally added labels to clothing and baby carriers I have made, of course I should add something to a quilt I spent hours completing.

Labels can be as simple as using a permanent fabric marker or more involved with some sort of embroidery. My first label I made for Sydney's bed quilt. It was done using the built in alphabet on my sewing machine.  It's functional and good for small applications.

I found this great tutorial for framing a quilt label and am excited to try it. But I have reservations about using my printer for a gift and not knowing if it will hold up or even ruin the quilt.

Every couple years, especially around the time that I am making birthday shirts, I long for an embroidery machine. I think it will make my life easier and be fun to try new things.

This year I started looking at embroidery machines again and thought they would be a great way to make some personalized quilt labels.

Learning about all the features and trying to decide if it's worth it or not is tricky. Fortunately I was able to borrow my friend's embroidery machine and get an idea of how one might work for me. I also spent a good amount of time at the Viking store this week and tried out one machine.

I was able to embroider some nice text with my friend's machine, framed it with coordinating fabric and then sewed a back on, sewing right sides together. Using the tip from the label tutorial, I cut a small slit in the back fabric for turning. I turned, pressed and hand sewed the label on. I made one for the little Bento Box quilt too. For the moment, this was a nice solution to making a quilt label.