I just make them as I need them. Some are pre-printed on fabric yardage and I just choose the one I want. Some I use muslin and machine embroider or simply handwrite with a pigma pen. Each quilt is different.

Mary

I do most with a Pigma pen, but also use pre-printed twill tape labels sewn into the seams that I bought on Etsy. The roll of twill was $14 and contains around 24 labels. They're fairly small and simple but I like them.

Kate

I've just been doing mine using the decorative stitch menu that includes letters and numbers on my regular machine. After I sew the words and dates I use a decorative stitch to frame it on all four sides. I do this on a piece of muslin, then turn under the edges and hand-sew to the back.

Most of my labels are done with Pigma pen on light fabric using some of the designs from my book by Kim Churbuck. But now I am inspired to use some of the decorative stitches on my machine to frame the info done by the pens.

Teresa

I do my labels with my embroidery machine. I can't make the font as small as I would like though.
Teresa, which Kim Churbuck book do you have? I have vols. 3 and 4 and a set of Pigma pens in all the colors that I bought as a kit at a quilt show before I had the embroidery machine.
Linda OH

I usually just use a permanent-ink pen directly onto the muslin backing.
I have also done a label like the one in the link.
label

~Geraldine

I generally make mine - I've really never seen a commercially produced one which compliments my style.

I either treat fabric (usually one in the quilt) with Bubble Jet Set, and use the computer and printer to design it, or I use a Pigma pen to simply write on the fabric.

I just plain out forget to make them lol!!!!

I made one for my DGD's first quilt she made on my embroidery machine.

The double pinwheel for my sis's bday I made a matching pinwheel block and I used a pigma pin to write on it.

Marie I would have passed out when they presented me with the $74 bill lol!!!!
Rosa

My past quilts do not yet have labels, but my 2011 and 2012 quilts have embroidery labels. My aunt and my favorite S-I-L have embroidery machines and they make my labels for me, I feel very fortunate that they do this for me.

Best to you,
Sandra

I do not have an embroidery machine and since I have had such terrible luck and spend several thousand dollars on Brother machines that the company will not honor when they mess up - one was just under a year old when a barring went out and the 2nd one was 5 weeks old when the bobbin froze.) I have a very plain one now (all I could afford) that doesn't even have a blanket stitch : ) but works great! I don't have any fancy stitches to make my own.

I tried printing them and love them until they are washed, then they fade so bad you can't read them. So I will stick to having others make them until I win the lottery LOL
Marie

Marie,

You can't just print the labels out!

You MUST use the Bubble Jet Set solution to soak the fabric in. It allows the ink to bond to the fabric. I have labels on quilts from years ago, still unfaded. The exception is my grandmother's quilt, which I made in 2007. It was washed in HOT water at least monthly, and dried in a HOT dryer, while she was in assisted living and then in a nursing home. That label has faded a bit, but it's still perfectly legible.

So, yes, it'll cost about $25 for the solution. But you soak the fabric, then pour the excess back into the bottle. I would say I've done roughly 30 labels, and I still have half a bottle of solution. AND - if I'm organized enough, I can get several labels on one sheet of fabric. Mostly, I'm not that organized, LOL, but it's still cheaper than you're paying for pre-made labels.

Yes, I'm a fan of this product, LOL. It's easier than using the embroidery feature on my machine, and I prefer the lighter weight.

Mary,
So the photo fabric I bought at Joanne's doesn't work? So what is it good for?

I will have to try the Bubble Jet Set solution. I want to make a 'photo' quilt and will practice on some labels : )

Marie

Thanks for the tip on the Bubble Jet Set, Mary. I had heard that the print faded, so I never went in for printing my labels. So you purchase fabric that you can feed through the printer, then print and soak it. I suppose you can print in color too? Sounds like something I should try.

I have used the monogramming function on my Janome 6600, but the print is quite large, so you are limited to only a few words.

Yes, Marie, the photo-fabric will also work, but I find it incredibly expensive, unless you're going to print multiple labels at once, on a single sheet. I'm not that organized, and if I'm going to bother to label a quilt, it's an individualized one, not a generic one.

I also didn't like the finished feel of the fabric. But since I didn't like the feel, I gave the rest of the package to a neighborhood crafter. She loves it, but she never washes her stuff.

One more question: Do I soak it before I print or after?

Marie,
I'm pretty sure you have to treat the fabric before printing so the ink has something to bind to.

Kate

Bubble Jet Set is wonderful! You use 100% cotton that has not been pre-washed. You soak the fabric in the Bubble Jet Set, let it dry, iron it to freezer paper, run it through the printer, then soak it in cold water and Bubble Jet Rinse. It is great for photo quilts.

I seldom use the Bubble Jet Set for labels. I normally use photo transfer paper or make the labels using the embroidery machine.