Making Ribbon Labels - Tutorial

Have you ever wanted a label to give your quilts or other handwork that little punch of "professionalism"? Maybe you just want an easier way to label simple quilts or to send a message to the recipient. This method is not my idea. I've seen it several places before. I have used it now for a couple of years and although it isn't perfect, it works really well and costs a lot less than having labels made. 

 Print out columns of what you want your label to say. You will be cutting them out, so you don't really need much spacing between them. Be sure you don't print them too large to fit on your ribbon. You will want to test this on plain paper.
 You will need fabric transfer paper for inkjet printers. Be sure to read the label. Some are made for copiers! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Mine said to print mirror image.Since I use Word, which does not have a mirror image option, I set my printer to print mirror image. On my Cannon Pixma printer, this option is called "T-Shirt Transfer" in the "media" section of printer options. (There may be other ways to set your printer to print in mirror image. You probably know a lot more about that than I do!!!)

Be sure you put your paper in facing the correct side. That will probably vary with your printer, but be sure you will be printing on the correct side of the transfer sheet.

Cut out what you want on your ribbon. I do this one at a time so I don't lose any!

Place the wording down on the ribbon, making sure it is not upside down. When straight and in the correct position, press with a hot iron for about 20 to 30 seconds. Check carefully by pulling back just a little to see if it has transferred. If part of the letters are not sticking, put it back down and continue to press.

Peel off the paper and you should have a nice label. This will wear off with frequent washing and handling, just as it does on a t-shirt, so you may want to do this next step to make it more permanent.

                    Brush on some gel medium and let it dry.

You should decide beforehand how you will want to sew your labels in. You can go across the corner, sewing the ends of the ribbon into the binding (you need to leave your ribbon flat, but leave enough ribbon at each end to sew it at an angle)...or.....

 ...you can make your ribbon a loop that you sew into the side of a label or your quilt binding...... or....
 
...you can sew your label lengthwise into the binding. If you do this, you will want to make a ribbon loop, turn it inside out and sew across the raw edges, then turn it right side out again and press.

I found the hardest part of this entire process was in figuring out how to get a mirror image, so once you do that the rest is easy!
Have fun!!!