DIY Clothing Labels - Tutorial

Labels can be quite expensive, so I thought today I would share how I make mine. There are lots of fantastic tutorials out there by other crafty people, but mine is a little bit different - I am going to show you how to design a logo to use on your labels as well. This is not only great for people wanting to add a professional touch to their sewing projects, but also for parents who need to put name labels in their children's school and sports clothes and uniforms.

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Supplies:
Computer and Printer
T-Shirt Transfer Paper
Ribbon (I use 1cm wide polyester grosgrain or cotton twill)
Scissors
Iron and ironing board
Cigarette lighter (to melt ribbon edges so they don't fray)

To create the logo on my label, I used Picnik. I know they are closing their website in April, but you will still be able to use it, they are moving all their services over to Google+.

First, upload an image to Picnik. Unfortunately you cannot start with a blank image. Go to 'Stickers' on the tool bar, then choose 'Geometric'. Cover your entire image with a rectangle and change it to the colour you desire.

Next, go to 'Text' and type in the text you would like on your label. Play around with fonts and colours until you are happy.

Add a little logo if you would like to - the bird I use is available in 'Stickers' along with many other lovely little pictures.

Next, use 'Basic Edits' and crop your picture into a rectangular label shape.

You are done - click 'Save and Share' and save it somewhere easily accessible.

Next - open a word processing document (mine is MS Word) and create a table. Mine has three columns and is the length of an A4 page. Insert your label image into the first cell and resize it to your liking. Copy it, highlight the whole table, and paste it. You will now have this:

Now time for printing. Important - do a practice run with some plain paper before using your tshirt transfer paper, it is too expensive to waste! You will notice that my logos are not mirror images - most computers will do that automatically. Your practice run will allow you to check that your logo is not too wide for your chosen ribbon.

You need to click 'Print', then click 'Properties' and in the 'Media Type' box, there should be an option for 'Tshirt transfers'. Choose that option and your logos will print as mirror images, so they are correct when you iron them on.

If your computer does not give you this option, highlight the image in the first cell, click on Picture Tools, and choose 'Rotate', then 'Flip Horizontal'. As before, copy your image, then paste it into the rest of the table.

When you have printed, your paper will look like this (without being hacked into of course!)

The next part is really easy! Cut your logos out and iron them onto your ribbon, making sure you have read the instructions on the transfer paper package. Make sure your iron is set to a dry cotton setting - no steam!

When you think they are done, give them another iron just to be sure. Let them cool completely. Then carefully peel off the paper backing to reveal your lovely labels.

Cut them up, seal the ends gently with the cigarette lighter, and you are ready to sew them on to your projects.

If you need any extra help, feel free to email me, tweet me, or send me a message on Facebook. I would love to know if you make some! Please share a photo over at my Flickr group!