Hand Embroidered Quilt Labels

There are thousands of beautiful embroidery stitches to choose from, but today I'll show you 4 of my favourites that I use in almost every project. These 4 will allow you to create many beautiful labels!

A backstitch is definitely a classic. It's used in all kinds of needlework. If you've ever done any hand sewing, you've probably encountered this stitch. 

From the wrong side of the fabric, insert your needle at Point A (see diagram below). Draw the needle and thread through to the right side of your fabric. Now that your needle is on the right side of the fabric, insert the needle at Point B and come back up at Point C. For the next stitch, insert your needle at Point A again and come back up at Point D.

Repeat in the same manner following the lines of your design. 

You can lengthen the stitches in any straight stretches and shorten again for corners and curves. Of course, if you prefer to do all small stitches that's always an option too!

The stem stitch is one of my favourites for lettering because it has that twisted, stem-like texture.

With needle on wrong side of fabric, insert at Point A. Insert needle at Point B. Bring the needle up on the inside of the existing stitch at Point C. 

Repeat in the same manner following the lines of your design. 

Much like the backstitch, it's helpful to make smaller stitches around curves and corners, although I tend not to make super big stitches with the stem stitch anyway because you don't want to loose the texture.

Lazy daisy is a great stitch for making leaves or flower petals. It's easy and super fun to make.

Start with your needle on the wrong side of the fabric. Bring it up at Point A. Insert the needle back through at Point A, but do not pull the thread all the way through! You want to create a loop. Your needle should be back on the wrong side of the fabric with a loop of thread on the right side of the fabric.

Now, bring the needle up through Point B. At this point, you can pull your thread through and tighten the loop, but don't pull too hard or you'll pull the loop all the way through. You can just enough tension that the loop flattens against the fabric.

Finish off your lazy daisy by inserting your needle into Point C. This should be very close to Point B. In the diagram, it looks like it's quite far apart, but that's only so that you can see what's going on. You kind of want the thread from Point B and Point C to hug the thread that forms the loop or petal.

French Knots are hands down my favourite embroidery stitch. Before I learned to embroider, I heard so many terrible things about them, but I mastered them pretty early on, and have been addicted ever since! French knots are great for periods and the dots on lowercase letters like i or j. I also love to use them as little flower buds. 

If you're new to embroidery, practice a few of these before you begin your label. This will allow you to get the hang of it, without the pressure of messing up your actual project. 

A few tips for successful French knots: 

• I find it easiest to make them while seated at a table. It's helpful to have somewhere to rest down your hoop, but also to have a solid surface for then you are pushing the needle back through.
• Not too tight and not too loose. This takes practice. If you pull the thread too tightly around the needle, you'll never get the needle back through the fabric. If the thread is too loose, the knot will not form properly and will just look like a mess of thread.
• Wind the thread close to the needle, but not so close that you can't turn the needle to get it back in the hole. Again, there's no substitute for practice!

To make a French Knot, insert needle on the wrong side of your fabric at Point A. Once your thread and needle are back on the right side of the fabric, wrap your thread around the needle at least twice. Depending on how big you want the French knot, you can wrap it 3 or 4 times. Just watch your tension. You don't want it too tight!

Now insert your needle back into Point A. Pull the needle through the thread that's wrapped around it. Once you've pulled the thread all the way through, you should have yourself a French Knot!

• When writing your label template, ensure that you keep your letters open and be mindful that your lowercase letters are not too small. I have a tendency to write very small lowercase letters, but this makes it super difficult to embroider. So be sure they are a manageable size. 

Are you going to try making hand-embroidered quilt labels? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!