How to create an embroidered quilt label using your sewing machine

Yesterday, we laid out and appliqued all the elements of our Autumn Harmony wall quilt.
Today, we’re going to bind the finished piece, as well as create a label and a hanging system for it.

Press the quilt on the top side with lot of steam. Don’t iron it. Press with the iron up and then down, move the iron off the quilt and then down to the next area. Ironing could create a crease exactly where you don’t want one. It’s been my experience that these surprise creases stay stubbornly in place, so I do my best to avoid them. Trim the borders so that everything is straight and even.

Create six 2½” binding strips, or use the strips left over from those cut for the log cabin blocks.

Bind the wall quilt using this excellent and straight forward method by QUILTsocial’s own Elaine Theriault.
I like to slip stitch the binding onto the back of the quilt by hand, and pressing the binding well once it is all stitched in place.

I created the label using a bit of fabric from a previous project. See this post for how I created a lined paper label.

I wrote my details using UNIQUE SEWING Air Erasable Fabric Marker. Then, I threaded my machine with brown thread, dropped the machine’s feed dogs, switched to my embroidery foot, and traced over the ink lines with the machine, going over the lines to create a sketchy bold pen and ink look. I cut out mini replicas of the leaves and berries and stitched them down in the same way. It’s a fun technique that takes some practice, but I love the look.

Use HeatnBond Lite to adhere the label to the back of the wall quilt.

Use HeatnBond Lite to adhere the label to the back of the wall quilt.

A few years back, a winter ice storm gifted us with several white birch branches. It was sad for the tree, but good for me. I salvaged the branches and used them for some landscaping projects. There was one that was fairly straight, so  I decided to use it as a rustic hanging rod for my quilt.
I found some coordinating clip curtain rings at my local fabric store. I attached eight of them to the top of the quilt, and threaded them onto the birch branch.

I’m going to put up two curtain rod wall brackets so I can Autumn Harmony it in my living room, where I’ll enjoy the colors of fall — even when the snows of winter turn the world to glistening white.

I hope you have enjoyed creating this homage to Autumn with me this week.
Keep visiting QUILTsocial for more quilt-y fun!

Until we meet again, remember to make a mess and create some fun!