An Experiment on Making Labels--Just for Your Info!

I've been trying to find EASIER and QUICKER ways to make labels so that I get them done when I finish the quilt. My embroidery machine is on my Bernina which I use all the time and is a pain to break that down and set it up for little projects. (If you have a separate embroidery machine, then your problem is solved, because embroidery labels surely are the prettiest and most long-lasting, I think.)

Thus I have experimented with using my scrapbooking stamps and colored ink pads to make a box with lines, then writing in the lettering with a Sharpie. I decided yesterday to see how they WASHED. Good news is that the Sharpie AND the colored fabric pens both survived well.

The permanent ink stamp pad markings did not.

So in the future when I use the ink pads and stamps for lines, etc. I will go over them with a fabric marker and heat-set before I do any lettering.

Also, the Sharpie tended to bleed a little on the lettering even though I had the fabric pressed onto freezer paper. The fabric markers did a better job of not bleeding. I'll use them in the future (now that I know they survive washing)for the lettering as well. 


P. S. Also, if you do labels and print them out on fabric treated with Bubble Jet Set, there's a very good shot the lettering won't survive when washed. A friend gave me a pretty lap quilt when I left CA. and her pretty printed label and sweet note are gone after washing.