14 Ways to Add Names on Quilts
In this post, you will find 15 fun ideas for adding names (or any words) to fabric, specifically to quilts, for a touch of personalization!
I have done a number of quilting projects where I’ve added names to quilts in different ways but recently I started a special project for my Scrap Club that involved adding lots of names on a quilt – so I went on a search to find some new ways to do this.
The list below is a compilation of these new ways and some old favourites that you might have already tried yourself.
I hope you can find a method that works for the project you have in your head!
Table of Contents
- Machine Embroidery
- Hand Embroidery
- Fabric Pens
- Stencils with Fabric Pens
- Printable Fabric
- Stamps & Archival Ink
- Selvedge Edge Letters
- Accuquilt Alphabet Die
- Print your Own Font
- Letter Beads
- Iron on Letters
- Vinyl Heat Transfers
- Foundation Paper Pieced Letters
- Traditionally Pieced Letters
- YouTube Video: 10 Ways to Put Names on Quilts
Machine Embroidery
This is probably one of the most popular methods for adding names to fabric and quilts.
If you have a dedicated fancy embroidery machine the sky is the limit here, you can download all sorts of embroidery files, design your own and make letters in whatever size your machine allows.
For the rest of us, this is still an option though, as many domestic sewing machines have an alphabet font built in and the computerized ones often have several to choose from.
I have used these domestic machine fonts on Janome, Bernina & Pfaff machines. They are great for quilt labels and other small personalization projects, but the size you can do on a domestic can be limiting if you want something bigger.
TOP TIP: For machine embroidery, make sure to use some embroidery stabilizer to help your stitches come out cleanly. You can buy washaway stabilizer and tear-away stabilizer.
Hand Embroidery
If you don’t have a fancy sewing machine and you like to hand sew, hand embroidery might be perfect for you.
I have done this a few times for quilt labels but never on a large scale as hand sewing isn’t my happy place.
There are ways to make it easier, including buying pre-printed embroidery transfers, print your own embroidery transfer paper and for some projects, even cross-stitch letter patterns that you can use to guide where your stitches should go to make lovely letters and other designs.
My efforts in this area are less than impressive, so read on for the methods I use more often!
TOP TIP: Don’t cut your thread too long to avoid tangles and consider an embroidery transfer for a special touch.
Fabric Pens
There are many types of permanent markers for fabric available which enable you to use your own handwriting on your quilts or other fabric projects. (See the next entry on the list for those of us whose handwriting needs a bit of help!)
Here are a few of the best types of permanent pen for fabric:
Whatever kind of fabric pen you use, make sure to heat set it for a minute or two on a high setting to make your ink permanent.
Stencils with Fabric Pens
Because my handwriting isn’t great, I have chosen to use stencils with fabric pens to make the result look nicer.
I have a metal alphabet stencil that has multiple fonts on it. There are of course loads of alphabet stencils on the market to choose from.
TOP TIP: Keep your pen moving to avoid spots of ink bleeding where you’ve paused in your stencilling.
Printable Fabric
I have used printable fabric for years for quilt labels. It is great as you can create your own designs on your computer and print out whatever you like.
Downsides are that it tends to be plain white cotton (makes sense for printing but it isn’t always what you want in your quilt).
TOP TIP: Print multiple quilt labels or designs at once to save on paper.
Stamps & Archival Ink
I have successfully used stamps and archival ink to put names on the Founding Member’s Quilt I am making for my Scrap Club.
I used a typewriter-style alphabet stamp set with an archival ink pad and then heat set the ink with an iron to lock it in.
TOP TIP: I found the stamp came out clearer when I had a soft surface underneath – I used my wool pressing mat.
Selvedge Edge Letters
I love this method! I think it is super fun.
To start, I cut off selvedge edges from my quilting fabric that had fairly large letters on them. Ruby Star selvedges are great for this.
I then arranged them on some double-sided fusible and fused in place. I then had a sheet of letters to pick from that I could cut out and arrange ransom note style on my fabric.
I then removed the paper from the back of the letters, fused it in place and stitched down around each name. I kept my stitching minimal for this method because of the size of the letters but also because the quilt I am using it for is a wall hanging so it doesn’t need to withstand the wash.
TOP TIP: Choose selvedge edges with large letters – Ruby Star selvages are brilliant for this.
Accuquilt Alphabet Die
I use my AccuQuilt GO BIG fabric cutter on the regular and I especially love it for using my large AccuQuilt alphabet die.
If you don’t know what accuquilt is check out some of my other posts about it:
You can also see it in action my YouTube video about 10 ways to put names in quilts.
TOP TIP: Prepare your fabric ahead of time with double-sided fusible so that your letters are ready to applique when they are cut out.
Print your Own Font
If you don’t have the Accuquilt system or you want a similar look with a different-sized font you can create your own applique letters.
To do this, print out the words/name you want on your computer and then use a lightbox or a window to trace your letters in reverse on to the paper side of a double sided fusible product.
Then fuse the fabric you want your letters to be on the sticky side of the fusible, cut them out and then applique as desired!
You can see this process in the video about my Holly Wreath Quilt.
The lightbox I use is this one.
TOP TIP: Make sure you reverse your letters on your light box so that they come out right side up once you fuse your fabric.
Letter Beads
This one is one of those slightly out of the box ideas. I am using it for a specific project and it won’t suit all quilts.
Basically I found someone selling a big lot of alphabet beads so I decided to use them for my Scrap Club Founding Member’s quilt.
I used 2 strands of embroidery floss and stitched each bead on 3 times before linking it to the next one.
The project I am using this for doesn’t need to be washed and it isn’t for little kids who could choke on loose beads.
Iron on Letters
A simple time tested method to add names to fabric, clothing or quilts is iron on letters. Think of varsity jackets here.
You can find loads of options for these online here.
Vinyl Heat Transfers
Another option for iron-on letters is vinyl lettering like you see on some t-shirts.
There are simple iron-on at home versions of this as well as entire heat press systems. These are probably best suited to clothing and bags but there may be some instances where it could work for a quilt.
Foundation Paper Pieced Letters
You don’t always have to add letters on top of fabric. You can use your fabric to stitch them.
Below are links to some awesome Foundation Paper Pieced letter patterns (not mine!):
- Ten Cow Quilts has various sizes of FPP letter patterns.
- Blackletter Alphabet FPP Pattern by Patch and Dot
- Bootylicious Alphabet Pattern by Happy Sew Lucky
Traditionally Pieced Letters
If you don’t fancy foundation paper piecing never fear. I found a cool alphabet pattern on Etsy from Stitch Obsessed Co that is made with two different methods of piecing.
YouTube Video: 10 Ways to Put Names on Quilts
What is your favourite way to add letters to your quilts?
