Back to School ~ Hand-Stamped Clothing Labels
Wynona from Ivy Designs sells lovely handmade items and modern-vintage boutique PDF sewing patterns. Today she shows you how to make hand-stamped clothing labels for every Back to School item in your home! It’s easy, fun and it will save you time and money.
From Wynona: The lost and found department at our pre-school contains boxes full stray clothing, hats and socks. Some of the pieces will never be reunited with their little owners. But you can avoid losing your child’s items by labeling everything. What better fun than to make your own hand stamped fabric labels?!
Supplies:
- Cotton Tape for stamping (I purchased mine from Karaku)
If possible, find tape that has a smooth weave. This tape comes in various widths from 1.5cm to 3cm. Commonly-found twill tape does not work as well with stamping as the raised diagonal lines can distort the image. Alternatively, you can use 100% cotton fabric such as calico and cut out strips with pinking shears; the edges, however, will fray a little over time. - Acrylic or rubber stamps:
Use alphabet letters to spell out names-– Make sure the letters are small enough to fit onto the tape. Add cute little characters for a bit of fun. You can even get custom made stamps from various stores on Etsy. - Stamp inkpad:
You will need fabric ink such as Versacraft that can be washed. - Iron-on double-sided fusible web:
If you don’t wish to attach the label by sewing (which can be seen on the outside), you can use double-sided fusible web instead. Choose the permanent variety such as Heatnbond Ultra or Steam-a-Seam2 that adheres with ironing. - Needle and thread or sewing machine:
To attach the label to the garment - Scissors:
Standard scissors or pinking shears for a decorative edge that does not fray as much. - Stamp cleaner (optional)
How to Start:
1. Have all of your supplies on hand.
2. Choose your stamps and cut your cotton tape or fabric to the required measurements. Make sure you leave enough room at the ends to fold under and sew down.
3 & 4. Stamp away!
5. Seal the fabric ink by using a hot iron (follow the manufacturers instructions for best results).
6. If you wish to sew your labels down, fold under the ends approx 5mm. Sew the labels down at both ends or all the way around the edges.
7. An alternative way to attach the labels without sewing is to use double-sided fusible web, which comes backed with paper. Cut the fusible web the same size as the label.
8. With the backing paper side up, iron on the fusible web to the wrong side of the label.
9. Peel the backing paper off the fusible web, which should now be fixed to the label.
10. Adhere the label on the item of clothing with a hot iron, being careful not to burn the fabric.
Other Tips:
- To attach the labels to the inside of shoes, use fabric glue.
- If making items of clothing, sew the labels into the seams as you go.
Win a free Back to School pattern every day this week. Visit and comment on our daily Back to School Featured Patterns to win.
WIN A SERGER! Enter our contest for your chance to win a Husqvarna Viking s21 Serger (retail value $1199)!
55 Responses to “Back to School ~ Hand-Stamped Clothing Labels”
Advertising
info@sewmamasew.com
So cute!
For hand-carved stamps I HIGHLY RECOMMEND StudioMo.etsy.com. I’ve done tons of work with Melissa and she is FANTASTIC!!!!
Great idea! Thanks for the tutorial.
Great info!
THANK YOU thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I need to do labels for my little man’s clothing and was admiring some of the custom order ones, but i like making my own things so much more!! You just made my rainy day thank you so much!!!
So simple, so easy, and yet, i never thought of it myself! Great tips for easily marking clothing. You could also use it as a special made with love for you tag!!
This is fabulous!My kids school has a huge box full of clothes, forever lost their connection with their owners…
Great tutorial!
Adorable! I didn’t know it was so easy!
Great ideas!
Love this tutorial! Thanks!
this is so cute! I love the little stamps you used!
OK, I tried that a while ago but I never learned how to stamp properly. What is the trick to not have ink on the edges of the stamp so you print only the letter and not an ugly square around it?
super cute! I’m curious who you bought your stamps from.
Dinky! I’m still using up the labels that my mother-in-law had for my husband, which gives me time to hunt up the supplies for these.
What a great idea! I’m going to have to get some fabric ink!!
Thank you so much for the tutorial. This is a fabulous idea.
So clever! I love the addition of the decorative stamps too.
jana
As a kindergarten teacher I WOULD LOVE THIS to appear in my kids clothing. How many times I have had a pair of trousers in my hands and had to hackle the kids to find out who it belongs to only to send someone home in the wrong clothes…. Please parents, its pretty and it will work!!!
Love it.
Oh my goodness, that little superhero stamp is the cutest thing ever!! Great ideas:) I should do this for my little one who is leaving the nest to go to preschool this year.
I wonder if StazOn ink would work too? Any ideas?
Unique “doable” idea!
Wonderful! Thank you for the smooth tape source! I tried this a while ago with twill tape and you’re right – it gets distorted. Off to make some new and improved ones!
Those are adorable! I may have to start using this idea for my little girl’s clothing.
Great idea! You could always remove it later if you wanted, unlike most permanent ink markers!
What an awesome tutorial!! Thank you for sharing! I am going to ue this for all three of my little ones!
Thank you for giving us the link to the tape!
thanks for this simple tutorial!
Great tutorial! These would be good for quilts.
Love this idea!
Oooh great tute!Ive been wanting to order custom labels but think ill do this instead
Hello all, I am loving the enthusiastic comments. Thanks so much
In answer to some questions…
The stamps were purchased from the same place as the cotton tape – Karaku on Etsy.
Stazon is not recommended for fabric as the solvents are harsh and will eventually detroy the fibers in fabric.
Stephanie, the trick is to not push the stamp too hard on the ink pad so that it doesn’t touch the edges. Alternatively, carefully rub the ink pad on top of the stamp. You don’t need much ink on the stamp, just a light coat. Then you need a really flat surface and your label also needs to sit as flat as possible. Again, don’t push too hard. Hope this helps!
This is a fantastic idea. I will be purchasing some fabric ink on my next outing!
I have wanted to do exactly this for about two years now — and haven’t had any luck figuring out how to do it on my own. Perfect! Thank you so much!
Brilliant! So cute and easy.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing
I like the vintage feel
wow i love them!
This is wonderful! Sure beats the different colored dots of fabric paint my mom use to put on our clothes and socks to label who it belonged to.
Love this idea! I might even have time to do this one. Thank you!
This is VERY cute. I may need to make some of these…
This is great – I’ve been trying to print out labels on inkjet printer fabric and while its ok they’re not as colourfast or as sturdy as I’d like. These tapes look so wonderful and I love the Karaku site.
Thank you so much for this…now to get the kids to make their own!
That is such a fantastic idea! Thank you!
Great idea
Perfect timing! I’d been looking to make my own clothing labels about 2 days ago.
Thanks for this tutorial!!
I’ve done this with Stayz-on ink as well but now I want to go and get some Versacraft to compare. Thanks for the info. Putting personal tags on projects is so much fun!
What a great idea ! I’ve used the
fabric ink stamp pads & they are
very good. This would be a nice
gift for a busy mom !
love this tutorial!
thanks!
Absolutely sweet!
Claire
thanks for the tute!
great idea
What a great tip! It adds a lovely detail to a handmade item. And the little boy superhero stamp is over-the-top cute.
Thanks for the great tutorial, gotta try this.
I’m wondering how much this ink fades after multiple washes? I keep thinking I want to make my own labels but worry they won’t last.