I remember the Libby jingle well. LOL! I have only labeled one quilt (My first) and a nice lady on the board made it for me. She did it for free, posted a picture and was deluged with requests for paid labels. It was great to see her be blessed for her kindness. I am glad that you asked this question. I finished my third quilt today and am following the responses carefully and learning new things. I think I want to label the last two. I hope to post a pic of the last two quilts tonight, my son is coming over and I am going to ask him to help me with the pictures.

I just finished labeling a quilt I did for a friend. I put on the pattern name, the date and our names with a messagege - and it was embroidered. I turned the edges of the fabric after embroidering it, then did a zigzag around the edges to secure the edgesw; then I sewed it on by hand. Looks great.

That's the way I do it too. Mine are not heirlooms either but by golly I want them to know who made it 50 years down the road. My grandmother and mother didn't make heirlooms and didn't sign their quilts either. I wouldn't take a million dollars for them. I did go back & put names on them and the guesstimated dates they were made.

I do the White fabric with the pellon underneath, ironed on, then put on the back of the quilt, then write my name, date completed, and pattern name. If there is anything unusual about the quilt I write that also.
Keepsake Quilting has beautiful labels with flowers, ect, on them. I have used them a lot.
Our guild has special labels we used on the quilts we make for Community quilts.
Mariah

I've used many methods over the years. I was horrified to hear from one giftee that the Pigma pen label had faded to the point that they could no longer read it! That's when I started machine embroidering labels on the binding before attaching it. I do it so the embroidery will be on the back of the quilt - and I DON'T use contrasting thread, so it will be somewhat subtle. I embroider the name of the quilt, the date, Pieced and quilted by (my name) and the city and state where I live. That way, if my quilts survive and are handed down, they won't be 'mystery quilts.'

I label..if nothing more than my name, city and state and date finished. I don't make heirlooms either, but should they survive and become an "antique", I will be helping to date fabrics from 2014 into the future. No one who quilted a hundred years ago ever dreamed that we would be oh ing and ahh ing over their beautiful works today.

I have been making a pocket which is attached attached to the side or bottom of the quilt under the binding, then attaching both sides to the quilt back. I do this after making and attaching a label with a ribbon or matching backing material so it can be pulled out of the pocket to look at tehn put back in. The label can be made by your preference, but I do bind the label to match the back. This makes a very neat and inconspicuous label. I cam up with this after forgetting to put a label on a quilt that really needed one.

I like to print my own labels using Printed Treasures. Using Microsoft Word, I will create 4 labels on one page. With clip art, I put 4 different borders on a page with a text box in the center. Sometimes I will just print out a sheet with the basics of Quilted by:, where and a year. Once the ink sets and I've run it under cold water I press the fabric and trim it. Using a piece of fabric that matches my quilt backing I will put it right sides together with my new quilt label and stitch all the way around the edge. I make a small slit in the backing piece on the label to turn it right sides out. I whip stitch the slit closed and then hand stitch the label near one corner on the quilt.

This is why I now use my embroidery machine to make labels. Love your idea about "blending in" labels, BTW.

I know, from a gift to me quilt, that those pens will fade in the wash. We had a 5th grade Awana girls' group make us a quilt with each girl writing a psalm on a square with that pen, and put their signature.

I used the quilt as normal and washed it from time to time. The ink started fading. I quit using the quilt....as I don't want to wash all the pigment right out.

When people post that they want to use these pens so that their quilt will be able to be recognized in 50-100 years, I only smile. We've had that quilt less than 20 years and if I used it a lot, there would be no pen marks at all left. People who make the labels for posterity should use thread and not ink if the quilt is to be used and not just a decoration.

labels
 

I use the lettering feature on my DM to put my name, recipient, date & designer onto the binding. It is bias binding & folded to the back. Sometimes I need to put paper behind it if the fabric is too flimsy -- then tear off excess. This way the label is subtle and does not detract from the quilt. I don't name my quilts, but all other info is on them. If my labels go missing, someone has gone to a lot of trouble.