To label or not to label?
 

So at my local fair, the quilt judges have expressed the need for quilts the have labels with the name of the quilt/year finish/name of the quilter. While I understand the sentiment of marking the quilt for future generations, I'm new to quilting and I haven't really figured out a good way to do this. So for you all I have a couple questions.1)Do you label your quilts? Why/why not?2)What info would you put on the labels?3)How would you make/attach the label?Thanks!

I do label my quilts, and like Tartan, our labels need to be covered for judging.

I label my quilts so that whoever comes across them in the future will know something about them. I put the name of the quilt, whether it is machine or hand pieced, machine or hand quilted, the dates of piecing and quilting, my name and town, the recipient and town, the name of pattern and designer, and if it happens to be all one fabric line, the name of the fabric line and designer.

I print this information on a light piece of fabric with a permanent marker (I tried printing out labels on freezer paper but they jammed), then frame the label, usually with the same fabric as the binding, then turn under the frame edges and hand stitch as with the binding, after quilting.

When I make quilts and other items to sell or give away, I have commercially printed labels (find them on etsy.com). When I am entering a show (which I rarely do nowadays), I would use a small piece of muslin (3.5" square), write the required info on it, and applique it to the lower right-hand side on the back. Sometimes I do this if I'm giving the quilt for a special occasion (e.g., birthday, wedding, etc.).

Our labels need to be covered also for the county fair. They even judge you on how that is done!!

My quilts are not show quality and are given away to pregnant coworkers or for donation to my local humane society fundraiser. I add generic labels that I got from Etsy that say simply "An original by My Name" or "Designed by My Name". They are about 1" x 2.5", have an adhesive backing, and I first iron them on in the bottom right corner of the back and then blind hem around the edges for security.

I only label if the quilt is a gift for a special occasion. On those occasions, I machine embroider the information, which includes who the quilt is for.the occasion, by whom, and the date, then I hand stitch it on, with hidden stitches(mostly).

What kind of pen are you using to write on the label?

I label all my quilts and the ones I make for donation through my Guild are labeled with the Guild label. For my personal ones I make a label on my computer and print it out on my printer and heat set the ink. It will withstand many washings this way. I get high thread count fabric at the fabric store and iron it on to freezer paper to run it through the printer. I have also used permanent ink pens like Micron or Tulip and wrote the label.