Labels and a Graduation Quilt, Too | Inside Quilters Newsletter

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I had a wonderful visit with a friend from Ohio last week. We were talking about my quilts and she asked about my labels. As much as I nag about labels, I had two hanging in my apartment without them. In fact, I have to admit there are several of my quilts right now that are not labeled. My friend suggested doing simple labels – just lettering stitched in the sewing mode on my machine. Not embroidery – sewing. So the first thing I did this weekend was to make a couple of labels and apply them. I forgot to take pictures as I went along so that gave me the perfect excuse to prepare fabric for another label this morning.

I starch the fabric heavily – not as stiff as cardboard but close. I make my own starch from concentrate, mix it half and half with water and put it in a spray bottle. I spray my fabric with three or four applications and iron it dry after each. Next I mark the fabric, starting with one vertical line which will be where the rows of stitching start. My labels usually include four lines of information so I mark four equally spaced horizontal lines.

 

Marked Quilt Label Fabric

Then I program the machine to stitch the wording, layer the fabric over a tear-away stabilizer and stitch. I sew using the marked lines as a guide for the right edge of the presser foot.

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Ready to Stitch

When the stitching is done, I remove the marked lines and the stabilizer, turn under the edges and attach it to the quilt. I do have to tell you that I usually put the label on before I bind the quilt. Then I only have to turn under the edges on two sides. The other two sides are enclosed by the binding.

Here is one of the completed labels. Thank you, Karen, for the name of this quilt.

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The Red Quilts Label

And here is the other label. This is the quilt I started way back in January. The last time I talked about it was in my February 4 blog post.

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Riley’s Luck Quilt Label

It’s a graduation present. I couldn’t tell you it was a graduation quilt when I was working on it because this granddaughter is on Facebook and I didn’t want her to see the quilt and spoil the surprise.

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Opening the Present

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Riley’s Luck

Now I must get busy. I’ll be leaving for the International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon (trade only), Wednesday and have several things to clear off my desk in order to be ready to go.

Until next time, be sure to visit The Quilting Company on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

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