Saturday, January 8, 2011

DIY labels

Just had to share the end-product of what has been a 3-day project (including a trip to Bangor for materials I ended up not using. Sigh...)
It all began when I went into production on my newest item (details of which will be unveiled soon!), and found that I didn't have any labels swanky enough to adorn the latest addition to my creative offerings.  I've always made my own labels and hang-tags - mostly from paper sandwiched between transparent contact paper or some variation of that - but these needed to be something a little classier, professional.
So first I went online to see what I could find, and "you want HOW MUCH  for 100 labels, and it's going to take HOW LONG to get them??" - was my reaction. Then I noodled around looking for some DIY-fabric-label advice. They all pointed to printable iron-on sheet that you can use in your home printer, which I was lucky enough to find locally.

I had originally wanted to use twill tape for the actual label material, but found that to be too 'bumpy' and ended up using plain ol' muslin which worked out perfectly! The graphics came out nice and crisp and the adhesive from the label paper sealed the fabric and will prevent any fraying of the edges. Perfecto!

4 comments:

  1. These look great! very professional! keep on keepin' on, Julia!

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  2. Hi,
    Your labels look so nice! Would you mind telling me which product you used to print them? I have been trying to find something I could print on which has a coating on the back suitable for ironing onto the bag or garment. Is this what you used, or is it a transfer? Thanks so much!
    Ann
    ann@merryembroidery.com

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  3. Hi Ann - I use Printworks iron-on T-shirt transfer paper (not Avery!) - the stuff you use if you want to make an image that you can iron onto a T-shirt. I actually sew my labels on, but in the past have made them iron-on by using the double sided iron-on paper - the stuff with the paper backing that you first adhere to the back of your label and then peel the paper off and iron on to your finished project.
    Hope this info helps! Good luck!
    Julia

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