Ack! My very own "made by bird" labels! I know I shouldn't be so excited about such a little thing... but I am. I really really am. As I mentioned in my last post, I added these to the baby shower gifts I gave my friend Angela. I've been experimenting with labels for a while now, and these are by far my favorite. I tried the printing on fabric approach and while I was super impressed with printed fabric in general, I wasn't crazy about the finished labels. They were too stiff for my liking and the Fray Chek was still visible once it dried. On a whim, I tried using iron-on transfer paper and twill tape and it worked soooo much better than I thought it would. Here are the steps I followed:
- Design the labels in the program of your choice. (I actually used PowerPoint for mine.) Just remember to flip the image before you print.
- Cut out the label from the transfer paper (I only cut as many as I needed for the gifts so I didn't have to worry about losing a bunch of tiny little pieces of paper.)
- Cut as close to the design as possible.
- Decide how you're going to attach the label to your item. If you want a loop (as pictured above), fold the twill tape in half leaving a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch extra so you can sew the label into your seam. If you want them "flat," leave a 1/2 inch extra on each side of your label design so you can fold the ends in a 1/4 inch and attach the label to your item using a zig-zag stitch. (I used the latter approach for the burp cloths, but forgot to take a picture. I'll be sure to add an example to this post the next time I sew the labels on that way.)
- Transfer the label design to the twill tape (following the instructions that came with your iron-on transfer paper)
- Here's the important part: only let the label cool for a few seconds before peel off the backing paper. I think this really helps reduce the visibility of the film the iron-on paper leaves on your labels.
- Attach the label to your item as indicated in step 4, and you're done!