All About Quilt Labels

by Quilt Alliance | Dec 18, 2012 | Guest Blogger

Creating Quilt Labels You are FINALLY finished with that wonderful quilt! It has been pain-stakingly pieced, quilted, and bound. If destined for a show, it has a hanging sleeve proudly attached to the top. All set to pack it up and send it to the new owner or the show venue? Not. So. Fast. What about the label? Quilts, like paintings or other art forms, tell a story. They are love-offerings, dimensional forms of artistic expression that have told countless tales of friendship, political activism, and even loss. Quilt historians can offer information about the era in which a quilt has been created based on the textiles used. Still, what every historian, what every descendant who discovers a wonderful quilt in an attic trunk, even the bidder on an eBay auction, wishes for is a label on the quilt. Quilt labels add value to every single quilt. Labels can tell a story that adds so much to the artistry of the piece. Labels can offer as little as the maker’s name, date of completion, and the city where the quilt was constructed. They can offer information about the occasion for which the quilt was created: wedding, birth, anniversary, and more. Every piece of information the quilt artist includes adds meaning to, not only the original recipient, but everyone who encounters the quilt in the future. I am a great “rescuer” of abandoned quilts: those forlorn pieces that are found on eBay, finished and unfinished. I always want to know more than the quilt has to “tell” me. I have a mid-1800s signature quilt that I want to know more about: was it given to a friend who was moving away? Did the quilt commemorate a milestone in the recipient’s life? If only I knew! I wonder what I might find out if only the quilt had the maker’s name, a city, a date, and even more on the label. Making labels is as simple as writing directly on the quilt back with a permanent textile marker or pen, to a more elaborate printed label that has been stitched onto the back. Labeling certainly does not have to be labor-intensive. I’ve come to the conclusion that creating a unique label is the equivalent to an “artist signature” on a painting: an opportunity to express my own creative mark on a finished creation. I’ll show you a couple of very simple methods of labeling a quilt as well as a few images of some of my more “interesting” labels. Labels may be hand or printer-generated. I use both equally. Often, I will create the label and fuse it to the quilt back prior to the quilting. When finished, the label is securely embedded onto the back surface. When adding the label to a finished quilt I fuse, then hand- stitch, the label. Fusing is a means to stabilize the label, but I always add stitching to assure that it will remain in place in spite of use and probable washing (in the case of a bed quilt). Online sources for additional information about labeling: http://quiltwithus.connectingthreads.com/page/quilt- labels http://www.quilterscache.com/Q/QuiltLabels.html http://quiltlabels.com/ http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/techniques/finishing/ making-quilt-labels_1.html http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com/ VictorianaQuilters/PrintableQuiltLabels/ freeprintablequiltlabels.htm Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for creative label ideas, and includes links to more tutorials on label- making. Here are a few: http://pinterest.com/cheri_barnett/quilt-labels/ http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=quilt+labels http://pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=quilt+labels Here is my general Etsy search for quilt labels, which turned up 617 items! http://www.etsy.com/search? q=quilt%20labels&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&ref=a uto1 http://www.etsy.com/people/lillalotta? ref=owner_profile_leftnav  A label will be created using another square from the “Multidot & Delight” charmpack, by French Bull  These die-cut, printer paper-sized sheets of freezer paper provide simple method for printing label information onto cloth. A traditional roll of freezer paper can be cut to size for this purpose. I prefer these as they lay flat!  Fabric is positioned at the leading-edge of the paper, and, in this case, centered. One can heat-set a larger piece of cloth, then cut the edges to the paper size. I use a section of kitchen parchment paper to protect the surface of my iron when heat-setting the fabric to the shiny surface of the freezer paper. Parchment is placed over freezer paper surface.  Dry iron, at medium-setting, moves over the surface to temporarily “set” the fabric onto the freezer paper. Freezer paper clings to the shiny surface of the paper. Run a line of tape across the leading edge of the paper and fabric, which prevents the fabric from getting lifted from the paper surface by the printer rollers. Position the tape with a very thin edge of the tape on the cloth surface to prevent excessive fraying during removal. Fold remainder over to the back of the freezer paper. Tape edge. Computer screen shows the contents of the quilt label, aligned in the center, on a Word document. Selecting “Print” from my file. The fabric after passing through the printer. Be sure to position the freezer paper so the fabric will be on the proper side as it passes through the print rollers! After printing, the fabric is easily peeled from the freezer paper surface. Gently remove the leading edge of the fabric from the tape. Now the label is ready to be sized using a ruler and rotary cutter. Creating a symmetrical size for the label. Using another piece of freezer paper that has been cut approximately 1/8 inch smaller on each edge of the label, the paper is pressed, shiny side down, to the RIGHT SIDE of the label in preparation for appliquéing the label to the quilt back (needle-turned appliqué). Using a coordinating thread color, the label remains stabilized by the freezer paper, which provides a nice edge to support the needle-turned appliqué. Working around the corner of the label. The needle “sweeps” the fabric edge under the surface as the stitching secures the finished edge. Once the entire label is stitched into place the freezer paper is easily peeled off the surface. The result? A fun, colorful label that adds so much to the quilt (no matter what the size or occasion!). Another option: The hand-written label. I love these Pentel Gel Roller Fabric Markers. These are permanent and are really easy to use on most any type of cloth. Writing on the label. One distinct advantage of the hand-written label is the ability to add special design elements to it! I am including 5 examples of labels I have created for quilts using a wide variety of ideas. There is no end to the creative possibilities for quilt labels! This label graces the back of a quilt created for one of my daughters using a note she wrote to me as well as old photos transferred to fabric. This label has several thermofax images printed onto the quilt back prior to quilting, as well as hand-written information. This label incorporates some stitched imagery that reflects a component of the quilt surface. Another example using screen-printing. The label was created on a fabric “plaque” which was added after the quilting was finished. This label uses some “leftovers” from the quilt surface which were fused & stitched in place after the quilting. Finally, I would like to add that, in cases of quilts that have sleeves and are destined for exhibitions, I add yet another label that includes contact information: name, address, contact number, email address, and website. This may be removed at a later time, but while the quilt is traveling it assures yet another layer of information. Leslie Tucker Jenison is a quilt maker & mixed-media artist. Since moving to San Antonio, Texas, she has incorporated hand-dyed cloth and personal imagery into her work. Leslie’s award-winning quilts have been juried into national and international venues, including a first-place award in the digital category in Quilts: A World of Beauty, 2012. She has also participated in creating award-winning group quilts. She serves on the board of the Quilt Alliance, is a professional member of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, Surface Design Association, Art Cloth Network, Texas Federation of Fiber Artists. Leslie is one-half of Dinner At Eight Artists, curating exhibitions and workshops with partner-in-crime Jamie Fingal. Leslie loves hanging out with her husband and three daughters, and is also an avid reader, gardener, cook, and a pilot. Life is good! Leslie may be contacted at leslie.jenison@gmail.com, or visit her at http://leslietuckerjenison.com  and…