Making a Quilt Label

A label is an important finishing touch on a quilt. After all the time cutting, piecing, quilting, and binding is complete, it is tempting to skip the label just to get er done. But including the detailed information of who, what, where, when, and how it was made will be a treasure to look at in the years to come. The label below was made by Andrea for the feedsack quilt I repaired and quilted for her.

Every quilt label should contain a few basic facts: name of quilt, the maker or makers of the quilt, who the quilt is for (if designated), when it was made, and perhaps where it was made. It can be written simply on a piece of muslin, or even more simply written directly on the back of  the quilt.

One of my most used books for label making is Iron-On Transfers for Quilt Labels by Barbara Baatz of the American School of Needlework. I love the simple drawings and usually clip away some of the printed words so I can write in my own.

I begin with some muslin and a piece of freezer paper. The shiny side of the freezer paper is lightly ironed to the back of the fabric. This stabilizes the fabric for writing. On the non-shiny side of the freezer paper, I often draw dark, evenly spaced lines as a guide which can be seen through the right side of the fabric. Then I iron the quilt label transfer to the fabric.

It often takes a bit of trial and error to get a label that satisfies. With the Sunbonnet Sue quilt's label, my first attempt squeezed in all the information I wanted to include.

Next I over compensated and left too much room at the bottom of the label. Still I used this one to try out different colors and styles of pens.

Finally I reorganized the order of the information and everything balanced out. Using the same fine-tipped micron pen as I did for the writing, I outlined the design and colored it in. Besides micron pens, fabric markers, colored pencils, even crayons can be used to enhance a label. Sharpies can be used but tend to bleed, so use with care.

The final step is to peel the freezer paper off the back of the label and lay it face down on the front of the label. Use the iron to heat set the design. Peel the paper off the label and you will see some excess ink and waxy residue.

A border of fabric may be sewn to the edge of label, or just press the edges of the muslin under and whip stitch it to the back of the quilt. I usually place it on the lower left, a few inches in from the edge of the quilt.

Copyright ©2011, Sharon Baggs

The Look & Feel of Quilted

Only four blocks left to quilt the background lines of the Sunbonnet Sue quilt!

The quilt gets easier to handle as the pins are removed and the batting is quilted down more and more. It actually feels like a quilt to cuddle under now.

A quick rinse to remove the blue marking lines and then on to the binding!

Other notes for the month of July as it closes out...Becca received this tortoise for her 18th birthday. Meet Percival, a Russian tortoise who is over 2 years old and can live to be 50! He eats vegies and fruit and sleeps til noon so fairly low maintenance. She has been asking for this kind of pet for years and now that she is a responsible adult, we made her and the folks at Tropical Hut very happy.

Drama babe attended summer classes at Oregon Children's Theater: drama, comedy, and a prep intensive for the Young Professionals program. She interviews for that on Thursday. Tonight she is called back for Junie B. Jones at NWCT, but beyond that, it's all confidential.

You know it takes a ukelele to bring a comedy sketch together.

Dad attended the comedy showcase, having taken the day off work after the midnight opening of Harry Potter.

Looking forward to August and hopefully some sunny weather. My son saw a store's marquee that read "Summer has arrived! Get your space heaters here." I say, grab a quilt.

Copyright ©2011, Sharon Baggs

Background: Sunbonnet Sue

Twas a good day for quilting as the skies were cloudy. Thankful for the overnight rain that assisted me with the watering of the raised beds in my backyard, pictured here from my sewing room lookout.

When not driving the kids to and from work, theater classes and shopping,  I spent the greater part of the day working on the Sunbonnet Sue quilt. Decided to quilt a line down the center of the sashing strips, 1" in from the seamline. I used the very daring red thread here, as it blended right in with the red stripe in the sashing fabric.

Finally reached a decision on the background quilting for the applique blocks. After considering several options,  I saw this on p. 46 of  Quilting Designs from the Past by Jenny Carr Kinney (C&T Publishing, 2008). I met her briefly at Quilt Market in 2007 and knew I had to pick this book up when it became available. It has 300+ designs from 1810-1940.

Using my small square ruler, I marked a 1" square from each corner, then a 2", 3", 4" and one more line to finish off the design. Only finished one so far but think it's a great choice. The line goes up to but not through the applique design. It is quilted continuously by traveling in the ditch and around the applique to get to the next line.

The design that didn't make it: outlining the qpplique and perhaps echo quilting beyond that..though the quilting would probably be too heavy with a 1/2" repeated outline. Much prefer the 1" square design and every block will be marked for this plan.

Happy that all the quilting decisions have been made. It's a road map to the finish and very motivating to know the next step. Indecision really breeds procrastination. Best remedy is to mull over the old antique quilting design books for inspiration and get quilting!

Copyright ©2011, Sharon Baggs

Quilting Density

How much quilting does a quilt require? That depends on both the style of the quilt and also the batting used. For this 1930's era Sunbonnet Sue, the designs chosen should keep with the original designs that were quilted during that time. For example, grids, outlining 1/4" from stitching lines or applique shapes, clamshells, feathers, etc., are all keeping with original design work.

The back of the Sunbonnet quilt shows the stitching alongside the applique. A next step might be to quilt 1/4" away from the design to outline it. In addition, a line quilted 1/4" from the sashing, in the background area, would add additional quilitng.

Here shows the back of the sashing quilted in-the-ditch. An additional line could be stitched through this area to quilt down the sashing, if desired. However, it is not necessary because the batting used allows quilting lines to be 8-10" apart. I do like to cut that number in half and really have no space that is more than 3-4" open without quilting.

Back in the 1930's the batting used was 100% cotton. If the quilting wasn't heavy enough, the batting would break down quickly during wear and washing. Several of today's battings have what is called a "scrim binder" which is something like a grid which the fibers are bonded to. This makes a tighter weave inside and allows for looser quilting. Heavy quilting with this type of batting (i.e. Warm & Natural) can also make the quilt feel stiff, so check for how the quilt drapes over your lap while quilting.

So when is enough enough as far as quilting goes? Flip the quilt over, as shown here, and take a look at the amount of quilting already completed and see where there are spaces that still need quilting. Also, check the package of your batting choice and see what is recommended for spacing the quilting lines. Stitching through a sample of your fabric and batting is also helpful.

Copyright ©2011, Sharon Baggs