Quilt Labels. The very last thing you need to do before the quilt is done! They are so easy to skip but probably one of the most important things for the quilt.
I once found a beautiful quilt at a consignment sale. It was obviously very old, but there was no way to know any information about it without getting it appraised. The only information on it was "1945" and something else that was scribbled out. It was written in permanent marker, on the front of the quilt, probably not by the person who made the quilt.
So do yourself, and everyone who will ever enjoy your quilts, a favor and label your quilt!
Quilt labels can have lots of different information on them and can have lots of varying looks. Let's start by looking at content.
I have compiled a list of things that you can include on your labels.
- Maker's name
- Quilter's name
- Quilt name
- Recipient name
- Date or date range of when the quilt was made
- City or state where the quilt was made
- Contact information of the maker. i.e. email, website, address
- Name of fabric line or fabric company
- Name of pattern or pattern company
- Favorite quote about quilt or recipient or anything else
- Relation to the recipient
- Reason for making the quilt. i.e. special occasion or quilt show
- Fiber content of fabric and batting
- Washing instructions
- Finished size of the quilt
- Baby's stats, if its for a newborn. i.e. height, weight, birth date
- Special wishes to the recipient
This list is not all inclusive, but just ask yourself this question, "If someone finds this quilt in 50 years, what do I want them to know about it?"
Quilt labels can be made in many different ways. They can be ironed on, hand stitched on, or embroidered in.
They can be written on using a permanent marker, machine embroidered, or printed on to fabric by computer.
They can be a scrap of extra fabric, an extra block or a messed up block, and they can be preprinted and mass manufactured.
They can have an extra purpose too. I have seen ones that are pockets so that you can store pictures in them, or extra scraps of fabric for mending in the future.
Whatever you decide to put on your quilt label, I personally think the two most important pieces of information is the maker's name and the date it was completed.
Remember that you worked hard on that quilt! It is special! Let people know that!
Have fun quilting!