Labeling Quilts: The Back Story

Do you label your quilts? It's not a question for people who compete their quilts in contests. but many beginning quilters don't feel a need. Certainly the person you made it for will know who you are. Why put a label on the back?

One of the catch phrases of the time is to "Use your words". 

Has this happened to you? You've just wandered through the thrift shop or an antique show and somehow you found an amazing treasure: a quilt from another time. This was some woman's treasure, and now it's in your hands. Don't you want to know her story? Why she made her quilt? Who she made it for? Did she collect her fabric for years or did she buy all new for this quilt? Was she smart enough or respectful enough of her work to label it so we know? If she'd used her words, we would know so much more about her, than just her quilt.

A quilt really is a historic document. Many women have written in their stitches. Not in words, but you do know something of them just from their quilt. But how much more if she'd only used her words?

Of course we always want to know. And a label may be the only way we do know. 

Believe it or not, someone who finds your quilt will want to know too. Always sign your work. I sign mine in my quilting as well as with a label in the back. A label is like pinning a note on your 5 year old's coat, just in case. You probably won't need it, but it's never a bad idea. It's part of your story, the quilt's story, the story of the person who you made it for.

We have some amazing label fabrics. There's a perfect space for your name and your story, in some great sepia frames. If you stabilize the label with freezer paper, you can either write on it, or put it through the printer. Isn't that better? We all want to know who made that fabulous quilt.