hand written quilt labels
 

This may be a silly question, but what do you use to write on quilt labels? I have Sharpie pens and fine tipped markers. Does anyone if these eventually bleed?

Sharpies are not as permanent as they advertise. They need to be heat set and even then I have seen them fade and bleed or run.

Your best bet are micron pigma pens. These also need to be heat set but they are manufactured to permanently write on fabric.

I use the pigma pens and have never had any problems. I usually use the thicker one .5. I've also used the Fons & Porter pens, but have only found them once at JoAnn Fabrics. I've never seen them since! I always iron freezer paper to the wrong side of the fabric to stabilize the fabric when you are drawing or writing on it.

I bought a large assortment of Sharpies in all colors, wasted money. They bleed, run, and still leave partial images. I find them permanent only where I don't want them.

I like the Crayola for Fabric pens and always heat set after writing. Be aware that the Crayola pens that say Washable are the ones that wash out and are often used for markings that you want to get rid of after completion of the project. Tulip also makes fabric pens. Whichever line you choose, a piece of freezer paper with shiny side ironed onto the wrong side of fabric will make it easier to write, then peel off the freezer paper and re-use.

I couldn't get back in to edit my post at 09:18 AM, so am adding this. With any ink pen you can draw lines on the shiny side of the freezer paper and use those lines as guides for writing. The lines will stay on the paper, but show through to provide a straight line to write.

I agree with feline fanatic. I have only used Micron pigma pens for any labels I made for quilts.

I use micron pig a pens, they allow a nice crisp line without fuzzy edges, they are permanent and acid free, archival quality. If the quilt is laundered a lot they may fade some but I only had that happen once and I went over it again. I also heat set the ink after it has had time to dry.

same with me

I actually performed a test recently using various pens (regular ball point, gel, sharpie brand, Pigma, and an "industrial permenant" marker). I tested with two fabrics ... one pre-treated with InkJet2000 and one untreated - two sheets of each. I test one of each fabrics with heat-setting (with iron) after I wrote, and other without heat setting (4 total pieces of fabric).

The winner was ... Pigma Pens with or without InkJet2000 and with heat setting.

I still have the fabric pieces so I can do a longevity test. Right now they're only a few months old and have only been through 4 washes.

I use a pen made just for that. I think they might be made by Dritz. I have had no problem with bleeding.