DIY Clothing Labels

I’ve had this idea in my head for a while now but it has taken me a long time to get around to it. I’ve used iron on transfers in the past so I began to wonder if I could use them with pieces of ribbon to make labels. I tried it with a piece of scrap iron on transfer paper and a piece of ribbon I had bought a few months ago for this purpose. It actually worked so then I had no reason not to go ahead and make a bunch of good labels.

What you will need:

• Iron on transfer paper. You can get light or dark, I used light because my ribbon is white.
• An ink-jet printer that does not have heating elements.
• Ribbon. I used 9 mm ribbon.
• Scissors
• Lighter
• Iron
• Computer with word processor

Step 1 (Easy Way):

• Use a word processor to make what ever design you want. Depending on how wide your ribbon is you will need to properly size your design. I eyeballed it, then printed off one design on plain paper to see if it would fit between the edges of my ribbon. Copy and paste it all over one page. Leave spaces between designs. Flip page and print.

Step 1 (Harder Way):

• I could not make a handwriting font with my word processor, and I could not flip my page. So I found a font maker online and copied the word ‘Cilla’. Paste the word into paint and then copy it as an image. Paste once, flip image in word processor. Print this on plain paper to make sure it is the right size. Adjust if necessary. When it is the right size copy the flipped image and paste over and over again. Print. Phew, I hope that made sense.

Step 2:

• Cut out your designs as close to the edges as possible.

Step 3:

• Cut pieces of ribbon 2.75 inches long.

Step 4:

• Very quickly run a lighter along the edges of ribbon you cut. This will keep them from fraying.

Step 5:

• Using the directions on your transfer paper, iron labels onto ribbon. Once cooled, remove backing from ribbon. I noticed that my directions said to iron label for 2 minutes, but 20 seconds was enough time for it to work properly.

Step 6:

• Sew onto things you have made.