Hand Stitching Labels
Slow stitches, lasting stories.
I have always had a soft spot for a good quilt label. It's the part of a quilt that tells the story: who made it, when, where, or for whom. Long after we're gone, that little triangle of fabric is what speaks for us. So when Aurifil challenged us to step outside our comfort zone and try something new, I knew exactly where I was headed: hand embroidered labels.
Life right now moves at the speed of a two-year-old. Everything is fast, loud, and wonderfully chaotic. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I found hand embroidery, and I fell for it hard. One stitch, then another. No machine humming, no rushing, just thread and needle and a few quiet minutes that feel like mine. And the best part? It goes wherever we go. A hoop and a few spools fit easily in my bag, so I can stitch at the park, in the backyard, or on an airplane. The stitches may be slow, but they're perfect for a fast-paced life.
Stitching letters is a skill you can always keep growing. Curves are tricky, sizing takes patience, and my lettering will never be perfect. That's kind of the point. A handmade label should look like a human made it.
Here are a few things I've learned along the way.
1. Decide what your label needs to say
Before you stitch anything, decide what story your label is telling. At minimum, I include my name, the quilt's name, and the year. From there, you can add the city, who it was made for, the occasion, or even the pattern and fabric line. Here's my tip: write it all out first, then edit.
2. Choose your lettering (font) style
Before you think about stitches, start with your letters. Are you drawn to flowing script, clean print, or bold block letters? Each one sets a different mood for your quilt. Script feels personal, print feels modern and simple, and block letters make a statement. You can also pair a few styles, one for the name and simpler ones for the details, so your label has a clear focal point without getting busy.
My tip: font sizes are hard to picture in points, so I draw a ¼", ½", and 1" square right next to my text while I design. It makes it so much easier to see how big each letter will really be, and whether those tiny loops and curves are actually stitchable. I design my labels in Adobe Illustrator, but you can easily do this in Canva, PowerPoint, Google Docs, or whatever program you're comfortable with.
Here's a peek at one of my labels, with my favorite fonts and the stitch and thread weight I used for each line. (click the image to enlarge)
3. Get your lettering onto the fabric
You don't have to freehand your letters — and you don't even have to be a great tracer. I use one of two methods:
Option 1 — Trace it (left). Lay your design on a lightbox (an iPad screen works in a pinch!), put your fabric on top, and trace the letters with a heat-erasable pen. When your stitching's done, a touch of heat makes the guidelines vanish.
Option 2 — Skip tracing with print and stick (right). This is my favorite, hands down. Print your design right onto stick-and-stitch stabilizer, peel it, stick it to your fabric, stitch straight through it, then rinse it away when you're finished. Here's the honest truth: no matter how slowly and carefully I trace, my hand never comes out as crisp and even as the printed version.
Trace it (left) | Print and Stitch (right)
4. Thread weight is a design choice
Aurifil gives you so many ways to control how much your stitches pop. Floss lets you choose how many strands you use, so you can go delicate or bold. 12wt gives you a crisp, defined line, and 8wt is thick, textured, and made to be seen.
My tip: stitch a small test of your letters on a scrap before committing. What looks right on the spool doesn't always look right in a tiny lowercase "e."
5. Pick your stitch
The stitch you choose gives your letters their personality. The same word stitched in five different stitches looks like five different fonts. A back stitch gives you clean, simple lines. A stem stitch creates a smooth, rope-like line that flows beautifully around curves, which makes it my favorite for script lettering. A chain stitch reads bold and playful. Brick and satin stitches fill in shapes and give letters weight.
The fun part, and the part we dig into in class, is learning which stitch works best for which letter style, and how to mix them on one label.
My September Entry: A Label for Offset
For this challenge, I stitched a label for my newest quilt design, Offset, using Aurifil 8wt Cotton in 2345 Raisin and 12wt in 4173 Dark Olive. I used brick stitch for the bold, filled lettering and back stitch for the details, then finished the quilt with big stitch.
Offset is a 60" x 60" throw quilt that's beginner friendly and pieces together quickly. I'm so excited to share that it's coming soon as a free pattern, and it's the perfect canvas for your first hand-embroidered label. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to get it, and grab another free pattern now while you wait!
Come Stitch With Me
If you've been wanting to label your quilts but didn't know where to start, I'd love to teach you. I'll be teaching Hand Embroidery Quilt Labels at Road to California in January and at QuiltCon in February, where I'll also give my lecture, Quilt Labels without Fear. In class, you'll practice all five core stitches, learn how to pair stitches and thread weights to match your lettering style, and leave with a finished sample and the confidence to label every quilt you make.
📍 Road to California Quilters Conference, Ontario, CA | 🗓️ January 2027
📍 QuiltCon, Atlanta, GA | 🗓️ February 2027
Thank you, Aurifil, for the nudge to try something new. Turns out slowing down was exactly what I needed.
Hello!
I’m Katie the designer and maker behind Zahm Co. Thank you for being here, I hope you find this blog helpful. For blog notifications, subscribe below!
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xx
