A label on your quilt is important for the future.

I have a couple quilts that were handed down to me and they do not have a label. I really don't know much about them, other than who gave them to me. I am very interested in who made them, when they made them and any other information the quilter would like to have shared about them. That is why I believe that adding a label to a quilt is important in helping keep the story of that quilt alive for future generations.

Labels can be simple, such as writing with a fabric safe permanent marker on the back of the quilt. Or they can be very intricate, like designing it on a computer, printing it on fabric and hand coloring it.

To be readable, a label should be made of a light colored fabric. Muslin is a good choice and has worked well for me. It can be made small or large, depending on the amount of information you want to include on it.

When I label a quilt, I include:

my name
the date I finished the quilt
who the quilt was for
why I made the quilt
sometimes I will add a little saying or other sentiment to it.

On the quilt I made for my stepdaughter, I also included the names of all the blocks used on the front, so that she would understand my reasoning for choosing each one. I drew a grid that was 5 squares across and 6 squares down and wrote the name of each square in the appropriate place. This turned out to be a pretty large label, but I felt it was important to include that much detail.

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Labels can also include photographs. This label on a wedding memory quilt includes a picture of the bride and groom, plus a written label describing the occasion, date and maker.

For those of you that are computer savvy, designing a label on your computer and printing it onto fabric is a great way to add your unique style to it. You can choose the type of lettering used, add pictures or other designs to enhance it. Hewlett Packard even makes a Custom Quilt Label Kit specifically to print quilt labels, but you can use just about any word processing or home publishing software. I use Print Shop by Broderbund most of the time.

Recently, I saw a quilt that had a pocket sewn on the back made out of coordinating fabric. It held a laminated piece of paper that had all the same information as an attached label would. I thought this was a great idea because the "label" could be removed when the quilt was washed and there was no danger of fading or damaging it. I plan to do this for future quilts I make.

There are multiple ways to attach labels to your quilt.

Write your information directly on the quilt front or back
After finishing the quilt, attach a separate label by folding under the edges and handsewing it on the back
Before quilting the quilt, attach a label to the front or the back by hand- or machine-sewing it on, then quilt right through it.
Make a pocket or envelope to hold a separate piece of fabric or paper, resulting in a removable label

As you finish each quilt, please add a label to it. This will be your contribution to preserving the history of quilting for future generations.

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