Louisa Enright's Blog

Turkey Tracks:  December 1, 2016

Quilt Label Problem

I’ve never had this problem happen before now:

What on earth???

I use Sharpie precision (very fine) permanent ink pens to write on labels.

I prewash my fabrics, so I never wash a quilt before sending it along–and this time, because I used a blue marking pen for the quilting grid, I did.  As an aside, I will say that I absolutely loved how washing the quilt makes it look.  Soft, cuddly, altogether wonderful.  I may be a new convert to washing right after finishing a quilt.

So, now, I was horrified that all my labels would run like the one above.

So, I began testing the markers–and micron 08 archival pens–on muslin and running them through the washer.  I like the Sharpies because they don’t dry out quickly.  Friend Megan Bruns suggested I store all pens upside down in jars to prevent drying out.  The gel pens, in particular, dry up pretty fast.

Here’s the first test:

The silver gel pen washed right out.  but look at the rest.  Not a smudge!

So, maybe it was the COLOR of the pens.  Like the teal/green I used in the label above.

Here’s the second test:

Some smudging on the teal IRONED marking.  the rest is clear.  I did iron the label on the quilt.  Why I don’t know.  Maybe because I was going to wash it right away and wanted to heat set the label.

So, I do not have a clue as to why that particular label ran so badly.

It will have to come out, of course.

Maybe it is a good idea to prep the label and wash it BEFORE putting it into the quilt.

Comments from you all would be welcome.