Put A Lable On It - Labeling your Quilt Project

Why You Should Label Your Quilt

So, as someone who has been quilting not only for myself, but others since around 1978, I have written several articles about putting a label on your quilt.  Do you have a favorite quilt that you've had since you were a baby?  Maybe you are lucky enough to sleep under a quilt that your grandmother made.  Do you know when that quilt was made?  Or why you now have it?   A quilt label will tell generations to come why this quilt is important.

Label for Julia, pieced by Aunt Laurie,
quilted by Grandma Baker

Singing To The Choir

I'm one of those 'singing to the choir' gals when it comes to labeling quilts.  Why do I think it is important to label EVERY ONE of your quilts?  Simple.  I have quilts that BOTH of my great-grandmothers made, AND they were both named Hattie.  Now one of these quilters was very talented and did intricate hand piecing and hand quilting with quilts like Pickle Dish and 'fussy cut' Grandmother Flower Garden and Star quilts.  

The 'other' Hattie was more of a utilitarian quilter.  She did scrappy quilts, no rhyme or reason to the fabric choices. And to this day, I do not know 'which' Hattie did the intricate quilts, and which one did the day-to-day quilts.  I have my suspicions, but I don't know for sure. Labels would surely helped. 

When I was a kid (early 1960's) my bed quilt was a gorgeous Star Quilt.  This quilt is one of the most vivid quilts I remember as a kid.  Mom always called it a Baltimore Star, but it was more of a Texas star with partial stars that ringed all around it.  The diamonds were like 1"x 2" long. It was very intricate and hand quilted. 

When I had chicken pox (approx 1961)  when I threw up, I (as a kid) was most impressed that the colors (of the puke) all matched the pumpkin orange and whites in this quilt! When I do a Google search on Baltimore star quilts, all I get are the 'album' type quilts. Unfortunately, my mom disposed of that quilt (worn out) way before I even got to high school. I still do not know what the name of this quilt was, but I remember the vivid colors!

Things You Might Want To Include On a Label

Hand embroidered Label





• Quilt Title - Why did you make this quilt? A baby shower, marriage, graduation, running quilt or hobby?  ? 
  
• Name of the recipient - For Lindsey.... Grand-daughter. Whatever. Maybe you are making the quilt before you know the gender of a new grand (or great grand) baby. Many of my friends make baby quilts for those 'future' great-grand0kids.
  
• Name of person giving the quilt*  - We encourage you to tell your name, location and date of quilt being made.
• What was the occasion for making the quilt? (wedding, graduation, Christmas, new baby etc.) Anything special going on in the world that might be an influence? Historic events like 9-11?.  How many of you did a K2000 quilt
• When and Where the quilt was gifted. (For example, Houston Texas, 2020)
• Quilt Story - Why was this quilt made? Why did you choose the fabrics? The colors?
  

The t-shirts on the front of the quilt to the right, all refer to the Hoosier Burn Camp (HBC0 in Indiana.  The HBC on the label was modeled after several of the t-shirts used in the quilt from many years of involvement with HBC.

You May Be Interested In:

• Creating Fabric Labels - 101
• Making Fabric Labels Tutorial
• Fabric Label Tutorial
• Quilt Label Tutorial
• What Is A Quilt Label

Originally posted 2011, updated August 2023