Fun with twill tape labels

I know it's not an 1860s project, but with all the people on here who sew and might be interested in custom clothing/fabric labels, I just had to pass this along. It's useful for 1860s clothing as well as modern, as some antique garments have labels inside identifying the maker.

Thanks to the advice of Anna Allen at wildflowers::pretty and a tutorial from freshvintage, I have finally started down the road of learning to make homemade labels. For all of you out there who sew and want to label your work -- either because you're selling the item and want to brand it, or if you want to just have a simple "Handmade By" version for things you make for loved ones -- this was a fast, easy way to design your own unique label!

There are two ways I've seen to do it, and both use twill tape. You can use ink and a custom rubber stamp or you can do like I did and use iron-on transfer printer paper from the local office supply store. I tried a variety of widths and types of twill tape -- heavy duty cotton, regular weight cotton, and 100% polyester. Those were all I could find in a pinch to test out the process. However, one can probably find many more options online -- even linen, which I think might be darn pretty. Whatever works for your project.

You simply create an image file in Photoshop (or the like), make a label document in Word and insert the graphic into each cell. Then print it on the iron-on transfer paper according to the instructions. Make sure your image is backwards -- a mirror image of what it should be! After that, you just cut out the image closely and place it onto the twill tape. Iron according to the instructions and then peel off the backing.

Voila! Your own custom label! Now think of all the different options...from a folded label (perhaps with care instructions on the backside if it's a garment) to skinny labels, to even using fabric instead of twill tape...or even satin ribbon! You can really customize it to your project or garment. If you need a dark label, the iron-on transfer paper comes with a dark fabric version. Happy labeling!