Choose the Right Sewing Labels for Your Project

Are you starting a project but aren’t certain about the labels you should use? Here’s a handy guide to help you choose the right sewing labels.

Keyword(s): sewing labels

Labels on shirts, pants, and undergarments are in a love-hate relationship with some people.

But, when it comes to seamstresses, your sewing labels are one of the most important elements of branding.

Even if you’re just applying a label to display the size, you can still add some style and personality to it.

Heck, sewing labels were often a fashion statement by themselves in the 1940’s and 50’s.

Whether you hand-make or use premade labels, sewing labels provide a unique opportunity for branding.

Here are a few examples to get you started.

Make Your Mark

Wouldn’t it be great to discover an item a family-member or friend made, with their label sewn to the inside.

What about tracing some vintage retro fashion item’s history, and finding out that you are the rare owner of a limited edition brand that is highly sought after?

Sewing labels are worth the effort, even if you don’t see that right now.

Sewing Labels Choices

There’s a wide range of label options at your disposable, but you’ll ultimately be focusing on tags that represent your brand, the size, where it was made, and any additional washing/handling instructions that must be taken.

You have two choices as to how you want to get these labels made: homemade or outsourced.

There are obvious advantages for each one and some not-so-obvious advantages.

As long as you don’t just rush into it and slap any label you can find in a last-minute decision, you can’t go wrong with sewing labels into your products.

Labels present a unique opportunity to make your mark in the world, rather than just another person with a t-shirt or apparel idea.

Let’s begin with some basic info on the two main sources for sewing labels into your clothes.

Premade Labels

You can get premade labels online that can be applied by either ironing them on or sewing them in.

Okay, the thought of sewing individual tags into hundreds of t-shirts may not sound very pleasant, but once you work a system out, you can really fly through them.

Ironing them on is a good alternative, you’ll still need to have a few steps to keep things consistent and the quality high, but the process can be much quicker and less labor-intensive.

Premade labels can be found in every major style: centerfold, end fold, flat tags, and hem tags.

This makes large items like quilts, coats, or area rugs a lot more manageable.

You can also cut costs a bit by ordering text-only sewing labels. Graphic logo labels work great for iron-on labels, too, of course.

I prefer ordering custom-care labels separate from my brand labels because it helps keep the footprint size of the labels small.

You can find some nice cotton, satin, or matte care labels here.

Hand-made Labels

If you’re intent on making everything in-house, then you may want to consider employing the freezer technique of printing out your own labels at home.

This simple little trick allows one to use a home printer to permanently bond ink to fabric.

You’ll need pretreated Kona cotton fabric, freezer paper, and a standard inkjet printer.

First, pre-wash your fabric to prevent warping of the label.

Pre-treat it with Bubble Jet Set to prevent the ink from fading.

Next, iron your cotton to a piece of freezer paper.

With those two bonded, you can now print out whatever you wish on your printer without fear of bleeding or shrinking.

It should be noted that recycled printer ink should be avoided and laser printers do not work for this method.

Low-budget Alternative

If you’re thinking of doing something that is a bit more personal, more homemade, and you have the time and patience to assemble everything by hand, then there’s one more way to do sewing labels.

You could replace the printer with a permanent Sharpie for a truly hands-on label. Then, you would just stitch it yourself.

I would not recommend this for someone who is working under time constraints and gets a lot of orders, of course.

This does present a unique opportunity for signing and numbering your labels.

You could also compromise between the two methods and purchase care tags, flip them over, and write your personal tag info on the reverse side, then stitch them in using a center-fold stitch.

Quality Woven Labels

Many premium products are handmade products, however, not all handmade products are premium.

This is something you must remember if you ever plan on taking your sewing business to the next level and reach a much bigger market: the global market.

By purchasing premade woven labels or even iron-on labels, you are ordering a consistent product without sacrificing on personalized sewing labels for your brand.

At WovenLabelHK, we know the importance of finding the perfect solution to a seemingly small detail.

Tags create personal memories with the owners who’ve purchased your products.

Contact us for more information on customizing labels, finding the perfect label for your style, type of fabric, and more about what we do.

It is so worth the extra time in planning out how you want your labels to look, feel, and what they will say to the person wearing them.