Do you put labels on your quilts? Why/why not? If you do, what's your favorite technique?

I want to label the quilts I give away as gifts this year... and the ones I keep. I think it's nice for people to know the name of the quilt and adds to the homemade-love of the gift.

I usually put my name, town and state, year, and if it is a gift I add the appropriate info about recipient and occasion.

I have been using some pre-printed labels and just write on them with my name, location, year and who quilted it and the name of the pattern & designer.

I know some one will be appaled at my response , but here goes. I NEVER put a label on my quilts. It just seemed to me that by doing so it implied it would be around after I am gone. I refuse on the grounds that I want the quilt "consumed" in my lifetime by the people I lovingly made it. Not to sit on a closet shelf and have the next generation say "oh this is another one of Crazy Aunt Lori's quilts.. what do we do with this one!".
Even though many of my quilts are intricate and very labor intensive... all the more reason to have the recipient "consume" it.

When I first started making quilts I didn't label them. As time went on, more and more people either said that they wanted a label or that I should label them for the future people who will wonder where the quilts came from. So now I do label most of my quilts, but not all. If they are charity quilts for Linus or Wrap a Smile, etc. I still leave the label off.

I "sign" all of my quilts with the same symbol (a small spiral in the bottom right corner when I quilt it - DH came up with it), but only gift quilts get labels... I know my MIL has a BUNCH of quilts from past family members and can't remember who made which one which I think is kind of sad. It's like a part of history being lost. At least with my "signature" even if I don't have a label, if the information is passed down then they should be able to figure it out (assuming they are still around that long).

I use my embroidery machine to crank out labels for me. It's a good way to rationalize such a big expenditure and then find use for it;>

I label mine, if they're gifts. I guess I should put one on every one, for posterity -- I am gettin' on up there in age! hahahaha

If I designed it, I label it.
If I made it, I label it.
If I handquilted it, I label it.
Even commissioned work.
And, I've even been known to write my name and info on an inside seam with permanent marker so it couldn't be removed. No one can see that either, but I know it's there, and where, if I ever had to identify it someday.

Jan in VA

I use my embroidery machine to write the pattern name, my name, city, state, month & year. Ex: Scrappy quilt made for Sophia by Grammy Rose, etc. That's my take on it.

I am trying to label all of mine now... I tend to forget :roll: :oops: :lol:

Put it this way. If I saw two quilts in an antique shop, both beautiful, both in similar condition, both the same price, but one has a label, and the other doesn't. I would go for the one with a label every time. It comes with its own little bit of history that the one without a label is lacking.

Needless to say, I label all mine.

I always label and photograph my quilts!

I've started labeling my quilts. I have several quilts passed on to me by a beloved aunt ( actually, I taught her...she was a knitter rather than a quilter. She took to it like a duck to water and made at least one bed quilt every year her last four years..all hand quilted too). She left all her quilts to me rather than her own daughter after she found the christening quilt she had designed and handmade for her grandson being used in the dog house. She never signed and dated any of hers so I am going back and making labels for every one she made.

Okay, so far I've heard people use their embroidery machines to make labels, or permanent marker (that I've heard isn't all that permanent). Is there any other types? Do you order labels? Wondering about hand embroidery. Or any other options?

I've done one hand embroidered, just to make it extra special. I knew the recipient would really appreciate the quilt and so I wanted to make sure I had a little info on it. I found a fabric pen that is supposed to be more permanent than permanent marker, but I haven't tested out that theory yet. I don't have an embroidery machine so my options are limited. My mom ordered me some "Handmade by _______" with my name on them to use that are pretty cute (I think from the Current catalog).

Before I had my embroidery machine, I did some in Cross Stitch, and I have also used a Laundry Marking pen - I think they are more permanent than some other types.

I have a Husqvarna Sapphire sewing machine. I stitch my labels(usually use calico) by selecting letters and stitching them out. It.s a bit longwinded but I.m happy with them.

I usually do them in cross stitch. Made by ______, for _____, Pattern/design, the date of completion, and my hometown.

Then I bind two edges with the same quilt binding and attach it to the very corner of the quilt - into the binding on the other 2 sides.

I've also started putting a white or cream backing on, so they are easier to read (blocks out the print coming through the holes of cross stitch fabric.

When it is a fast quilt for a sick friend, I have put on a muslin label written on with a permanent fabric pen. OR I've printed a label off the computer onto printable fabric. That way I can add a small image or something else special.

But donation quilts to a layette distribution group or the church comfort quilts do not get a label.

All my quilts get a machine embroidered label attached to the back. At the least it is my name, date, pattern name. For loved ones I include a special message.

I hand embroider my labels on all gift quilts. On my own quilts that I am keeping I always trace one hand of each of my grandchildren along the border and hand quilt it right along with what ever pattern I am hand quilting. In the palm part I include their first name and how old they are. It is just such a sweet reminder of how quickly they grow and how old they were when I was making a particular quilt. I read the idea from an antique quilt article I was reading a few years ago when I first started quilting.

I make a label for every quilt I've made, even a raffle quilt. I think it needs to be on the quilt as part of it's history. It should include the name of the person/s who pieced it and quilted it (if different). Also the name of the designer of the pattern as well as the title of the quilt. I also include the month and year it was finished, town , state and if made for a specific person or event include that too. I've recently seen where people have included if it's won any ribbons at shows or at the State Fair.
I use Pigma pen or a Textile Marker pen. Instructions for heat setting the ink are usually on the packaging. I use a light colored cotton fabric or muslin. If you iron a piece of freezer paper to the wrong side, you can easily print on the right side . Also you can draw lines on the dull side of the freezer paper, which if this is held up to a sunny window, you can see thru, in order to write your info. on the label, while holding the fabric on the window.

I never labelled them at first, I didn't really think about it. Now I label each quilt with the Name of the quilt, the date it was completed, my name and if it is appropriate, I'll add alittle ditty (verse) depending on who it is going to. But I agree with the previous posts, it is sad to loose the little piece of history each quilt represents because we didn't label the quilt. And for the label, I always make a prototype block to see how it goes together, and I usually use that block for my label, usung Pigma Pens to write with.

I only label quilts that are given for a special occasion. Otherwise I just write my initials and the date in an inconspicuous place with a pigmy pen that won't stand out. I don't have children, so the "future generations" argument doesn't apply IMO.

Apparently Apple's spell check has never heard of PIGMA, LOL. And dh is off work distracting me so I didn't catch it in time to edit!

I only use Sharpie Markers. They were originally designed as a laundry marker, so you Mom could write your name in your underwear when you went to camp. :D

However, you MUST heat-set any marker, including Sharpies.

I use the finest tipped Sharpie and write on the front of the quilt - "K. Mills 2010" or whatever year it is/was/will be. I usually find a place on the lightest colored fabric somewhere near the center and along a seam line. I write very small.

Of course, I will put a label on the back if it's going to a show. I will sew it into the quilt on 2 sides when I'm stitching the binding on. Then there are only 2 sides left to hand stitch. I will iron small strips of WonderUnder to those edges to hold it in place until it's stitched down - no pins to stick & stab! Not that I'm worried about the quilt being stolen or anything, but if someone is willing to throw bleach on a quilt at Houston - you never can tell. I can always make another one.

Laundry marker on the sleeve for me, quick and easy.

I always make a label. I used to mark with a pigma pen, but found that those tended to fade after multiple washings, plus my handwriting isn't perfect. So, now, I print my labels on fabric with my ink jet printer. I iron freezer paper to the back of the fabric to stabilize it, then run through the printer. Make sure there aren't any loose threads. Here's an article on how to do it:http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/imagefabric.html . I have also taped down the freezer paper/fabric to a piece of paper and ran that through (when the piece of fabric was too small). I usually print the label on a piece of copy paper to gauge the placement before I run the fabric through the printer. Afterwards, you just iron the label to set the ink.

Oh, yes! Please use your NAME and NOT initials when you label your quilt! As many of the ladies have said...how sad when a quilt is found and no name is attached. I always add my full name, city and state, if the quilt is machine pieced, appliqued, quilted or otherwise, the name of the person who machine quilted it, and THE DATE it was finished. Also, if it is made and given to a loved one, I add their name as well. That does not mean you want the quilt stored in the attic...it just means if the quilt lasts past your life then future generations will know who made it and for whom. By all means, label your quilts. :thumbup:

After further thought and hearing that Sharpie markers fade as well as PIGMA pens, I might use my embroidery on my machine to make my labels from now on. I just got a new Husqvarna Viking 875 Quilt machine last Sat.

I have a label maker on my computer. You can write
any thing you want on the label. I list:
Name of quilt
Who will receive quilt
Date
Person making top piece
Person doing longarm.
Special occasion.
Betty Lee

Please label. I so wish my Grandmothers had done so. I have 20+ vintage quilts made by my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother and I don't know which one made what or what year they were made.

I make my quilt labels with an inkjet printer, let the ink dry, then wash in vinegar to set before attaching to quilt. I have also printed using archival pen to make a label, but always set the ink with the vinegar. So far they have survived many washings.

I usually label the ones for the gr-grands. Made by GrannyPat,Year, who for, what occasion. The others I just put my name and year.

I label my quilts. My DH has created many artworks over the years, rarely signs and never dates them. I've told him he should. Our tastes and styles always evolve and I think it's a wonderful personal history.

I label all of my quilts and so far have always used the printable fabric sheets from June Taylor. The labels are usually about 3" square. I have changed the information I put on the labels over the past year or so to include my city and state. I now have the name of the quilt, quilted and pieced by, city and state and date (for me this is usually the date I finish the quilt pre-labeling). If it is for a loved one I will put a little saying.

See attached pictures.

I label mine with the name of the quilt, my name, the recipient's name, and if the block has a name, I give that too. Sometimes I add a little quotation. For my son's wedding quilt I used one I found on the internet:

True love in bloom now fills your life
As you become husband and wife

I gave one to a friend that said:

Friends are golden threads in the quilt of life.

I've used Printed Treasures and printed them off, and I've also used my embroidery machine. At first I didn't think I would label my quilts, but then read something about documenting quilts for historical purposes. I don't think my labels will keep people from using their quilts. I do think they feel special when they receive a quilt conceived and made especially for them. Putting a label on it documents that too.

My grandmother didn't label her quilts. I realized one day that I was the only person left who would know anything about them, and so I donated them to a museum. They are such treasures, and I didn't want some future generation wondering who made them or why. We used most of her quilts, but there were a couple that were kept special.

Thank you for including a picture of your label. I am very new to quilting and would love to put on label on the quilt I am making for my daughter. Is June Taylor an online store?

No. Sorry, I meant June Tailor. Here is a link to the product I use. I usually buy it at Joann's.

http://store.junetailor.com/store/p-...heetspack.aspx

Thanks so much for the link! I am just learning something new every day.... I love this place! Have a great day and thanks again.