making a quilt label using an inkjet printer

[Kathryn S.]

Hi, I made a quilt label using Printed Treasures sheets of fabric. I immersed the printed sheet in water to get rid of the excess ink (as per the instructions), but after I put the label on the quilt, it completely faded! I did not heat set the printed label, which I should have done apparently. Do you heat set the printed label before or after it is immersed in water? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanx!

[Nancy R.]

I do both. After printing, I let it sit for 10 or so minutes then pull the back off and press it with a dry iron. Then I run it under cool water, pat as much of the moisture out as possible with a towel then press it again with a dry iron until dry. Most of my quilts are given away so I don't really see how well the labels hold up with time, but I have one on my couch that is over 10 years old and gets washed frequently and harshly and the label is faded a bit, but not as much as I would expect with that harsh use.

[Deborah W.]

[hide]I print and then heat set and then soak in bubble jetset and then dry and heat set again. Not too much fading then.[/hide]

[Judith A.]

Hi Bluebird,
The Prym Dritz website says don't use Printed Treasures with laser printers or commercial copiers. You have to use them with ink jet printers. If you don't have an ink jet printer, I would try another way to make the quilt label.

Many of the quilters in my guild make quilt labels by hand using Micron Pigma pens. They have waterproof, fade-resistant archival ink.
I hope this helps.

Happy quilting,
Judith

[ANNE E.]

When I made a label I choose a font on the computer then print out what I want to put on the label then with a Pigma pen copy it onto the fabric for the label.
Hope this makes sense
Anne

[Marion D.]

I have been using t-shirt transfers. I put together the label on the computer, with a picture of the finished quilt. Then I print it onto the transfer for dark t-shirts. This way you don't have to reverse everything! I iron the label onto fabric and sew it on.

The paper is expensive, so I usually do 4 labels at once.