FAQs: Labels

I’m so glad you asked! Let me introduce you to my NEW labels!

For months I’ve gone back and forth about what to put on them (and blogged about it here).

When I first started sewing/selling stuff a few years ago, my sister helped me create the joon bug label and the little face (feel free to browse the old joon bug site, but note that it is not a working/purchasing site). I still love that face. But it didn’t seem to fit with the name MADE.
So, when creating the new label I kept it simple and went with what represents me best right now. And that is my site:
I finalized the design, placed the order, and just a few weeks ago, this lovely shipment showed up on my doorstep:
Of course, I couldn’t decide on just one color….
So I made THREE!
with matching side labels to go along (I left the face behind with joon bug and used the word MADE as a logo itself).
And…I love them. They were exactly what I envisioned in my mind and hoped they’d be in person. I had perma-smile on my face the day they showed up and I opened the fedex box with all my “candy” inside. Seriously, don’t you want to just sift your fingers through those piles?
If you order your own, you can! Tempting, yes?

Okay, so now that you’ve met my labels, let’s talk details.

My labels (the old and new) were made through Clothing Labels 4u:


I have nothing but the best things to say about them…

* They were easy to work with.
* Great direct communication with Lisa, who runs the company.
* Their site has tons of helpful info about labels to help you decide what works for you.
* Lisa will mail you samples of a variety of labels so you can see the quality of her work in person, and decide what kind you’d like.
* I was shown previews of all labels before giving final approval. We even tweaked the red/orange label a few times, and I was shown the prototypes before finalizing the color.
* the labels are high quality, professional, and just what I hoped for.
* very reasonable pricing for the quality, quantity you receive.
* clothinglabels4u offers a variety of labels (not just clothing). You can get hang tags, sizing tags, paper tags, whatever you need.
* very fast delivery.

Okay. Now, let’s talk about LABELS in general….
If you’ve never had labels to sew into your clothing, bags, or creations and you’re thinking about it….DO IT. It’s so much fun to add your special touch on there and a clothing label really makes your work look more professional.
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There are many types of clothing labels you can choose from (samples are all from clothinglabels4u).

Woven labels:
Cotton and bamboo Woven (similar to my labels above):
Cotton Printed:
Die Cut:
Self Adhesive:
Woven and Printed Ribbon, and Leather tags:

Printed Hang Tags:
Recycled Hang Tags:

and many, many more. Just contact Lisa for your own FREE samples!

With so many options out there, it can seem overwhelming. If you want to know all the nitty gritty, I would do some online research. But I’ll touch on some of the commonly used stuff here and share what I went with. Hopefully it helps you narrow down what you want.
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There are generally two ways to do labels: Printed or Woven.

Printed: your image/logo is printed right on to your label with ink.
Printed labels are usually a cheaper way to go and you can find many of these in etsy shops and online. However, the biggest complaint with printed labels is that they tend to fade over time, through washing or by our skins oils. And personally, I just don’t think they look as nice or professional. I knew that I wanted something quality for my products, so I went with….

Woven: your image/logo is woven with a variety of colored threads to give you a high quality label. You can see on the front and back of these labels the different thread colors that were used. The back of the label is a negative of the front image:
There are four basic fabrics offered in woven labels: Damask, Semi-Damask, Taffeta, and Satin. I chose Damask, which is a tighter weave fabric that remains very soft, even with finished edges. Itโ€™s the highest quality of the 4 fabrics and provides the best finish with a smoothness that gives great style and comfort. Click on any of those links to learn more about all your options.

The labels at clothinglabels4u are manufactured using huge looms (see a picture here). When your labels come off the loom they look like a long line of woven ribbon. Then the ribbon is cut into individual labels, sealed (so none of the threads fray) and then folded the way you’ve specified (center fold, end fold, mitre fold. See all your folding options here) .

And there’s tons of great info about woven labels HERE, on clothinglabels4u.
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Designing and Ordering a Label:
If you already have your logo/name designed, then you’re ready to order! Follow the ordering steps HERE.

If you’re trying to decide on a design, here are some tips:

* Decide what message you’re trying to get across and what encompasses you best.

  • If you have a blog/site but would like a different name for you line of products, use that other name for your labels (as I did with joon bug).
  • If your blog/site is who you are, then go with that! (as I finally decided with my new MADE labels).

I’ve found that keeping your name and label design simple works best, especially if the label is small. If your image is too detailed it will be hard to see what it is.

* Design your logo in a quality software program. You can easily do this yourself, or with the help of a friend/relative. I don’t have any fancy software programs, so I designed my label in a word doc and then asked my sister (who has Adobe Illustrator) to recreate the same image in Illustrator. Of course you can always hire a designer to do this for you as well. There are many great ones on etsy.com at very reasonable prices. Or you can even go through clothinglabels4u.com

* Use Pantone Color codes when creating your labels. Pantone is one of the color spectrums used in the design world. It’s used as a standard, so that we’re all talking about the same color. You can see a color chart of the Pantone colors that clothinglabels4u offers HERE (click on each color bar to expand).

* Choose a color that will go best with most of your products. When creating my new label I kept trying to steer away from my previous joon bug design, so that I felt new and different. But then I realized that I really love YELLOW. It goes with almost anything I make. So I stuck with what works best and used yellow/charcoal gray again (with the correct Pantone color codes) for my main label. And since I splurged and created 3 labels, I also choose gray/white for a less flashy look. It works well when I sew with black fabrics. And the orangey-red/aqua is a color combo I’ve enjoyed for a while (celebrating MOM? ). I thought it would add a splash of color to my sewing.

If you’re ever trying to decide on the perfect contrasting color for your main color, type your name out in the color you like in a word doc or other program, highlight it, and you will see the exact color negative. This is often a great choice to go with.
* Follow the ordering info on the clothinglabels4u site. They provide step by step info as to what they need, how it works, etc. You need to specify how large you want the label, the seam allowance, where the folds will be, etc.

You can see the exact MADE label specifications and information sheet that I used when ordering my labels HERE, in pdf form.

* You will be shown a prototype before final commitment. Lisa will email you photos of a few labels for your approval.

* Finalize everything, pay, and your labels will show up on your doorstep! (and you’ll be smiling too)
and if your labels happen to remind you of this,
you’ll be eating chocolate while you sew.

And there you go! More info than you ever wanted to know about clothing labels? I hope not! I hope you choose to make your own. They’re the perfect added touch to any sewing project.

If you have additional questions, leave it in the comments and I’ll try to add it to the post.
Give clothinglabels4u a whirl. They will not disappoint! Check out their Gallery and Testimonials to see what others have said too.
all of this info will be added to the FAQs section for future reference.

  1. Hey Dane,
    I love you new site !! So fresh and modern !!!
    I’ve been trying to reach labels4U for many days now and cannot reach their site. Do you know if they have close down or if they have any issue with their website ?
    Have a lovely week end,
    From here to you
    xxx

  2. 3) DeniseMarie

    You must have been reading my mind! I’ve been obsessively researching labels for about a week now and haven’t been able to commit to anything. This was very helpful information! Now I just have to commit to a logo….

  3. 4) Leah Joy Sample

    Got my answer! Thanks! (:

  4. 5) Leah Joy Sample

    P.s. I like your labels best of any I looked at on clothinglabels4u.com. Simple = Best ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. 6) Deanna

    Just exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for your helpful information! Love your blog, patterns, and pictures! I am just starting to make clothes for my kids and your tutorials have been so helpful! Thanks again!!

  6. 7) Keyona

    If I have a name for my labels do I need to trademark it?

    • 8) Steven

      Applying for a Trademark is an expensive process (easily over $20,000), and there are very strict requirements for what can and cannot be trade-marked. Also, your design or name must be in active use for some time before you can trademark it (though there is an option to reserve a trademark before releasing a new product, etc., which big corporations do all the time).

      Probably more important than registering your own trademark is making sure that you are not infringing on someone else’s mark. Any mark which is “confusingly similar” to a registered mark (i.e. looks so similar that it might be mistaken for the other mark after a quick glance at your mark) could be considered infringing – this could leave you open to a variety of legal troubles. You should search for “your” business name online and even try an image search looking for similar logos to your own, etc. You can also search the Trademark registry and related publications and visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website (www.uspto.gov), or the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (cipo.ic.gc.ca), for more information.

  7. 9) shauna

    what size did you choose for:
    1. The labels you sew into your burp rags?
    2. the labels you put on the fabric that you wrap around your gifts?

    thanks for all the great info! shauna

  8. 10) Tegan

    Just came across your site and I love this article on clothing labels. It is very informative and you present the information so clearly. Thank you. Will be heading over to clothinglabels4u.com now.

  9. Just curious about sewing the label on (the end fold style) do you just sew the short ends down or all 4 sides?

    Yours are great!

    • 12) Dana

      I actually sew all 4 sides but you could just sew 2! The long sides are finished and won’t fray.

  10. I just submitted info/request for a quote from clothinglabels4U (Love their name! ๐Ÿ™‚ )
    Can you tell me…did you have to order 500 or more labels? I’m just getting started with my business and would be more comfortable ordering in the 200-250 range.

    • 14) Maurits

      Hi Kim,

      Before I do an info request at clothinglabels4U, what was the answer they gave you? Is it possible to order in such a range?

      Thanks !

  11. Thank you for this information, I have been researching to create labels and I just did not know how to go about it in regards to the different types of woven labels.

  12. 17) Porchia

    Great. thanks

  13. 18) Peggy

    Hi, I would like to have some labels that say “MEME” and “GRAN” Can I have some labels made like these? thank you, peggy

  14. The computerised woven labels are in great demand in advertising your business. You can confer a recognition to your business with the aid of woven labels.

  15. 21) sq

    Hi! I love the yellow you used. Which pantone yellow is it?

  16. 22) alyssa

    Hi! This post was awesome, I really appreciate all the details you went into about clothing labels ๐Ÿ™‚ I was checking out the site and couldn’t find pricing.. do you mind me asking what you paid for both sizes and the quantity? Thanks so much!!

  17. 23) Penny

    Why did you switch from a horizontal centre fold to edge folds for your full size labels? Doesn’t that make it hard to sew them, for example, into the back of the ribbing on a t shirt neckline and similar spots (inside a waistband as well)? Thanks!

  18. You are doing a good job and its unique and simple labels. Thanks for sharing it with us.

  19. 26) Idarean Deves

    I love the label reading and comments made, but for me what size is label..

  20. 27) Sandy

    Should I use my email name for labels. I wished I’d kept kittytale@*****. Suggestions are appreciated.

    Sand Shroyer

  21. 28) Karen Kelly

    hi i love your labels and the size is perfect, i tried to access the PDF you had a link to which show all the specs of your labels but the link is broken ๐Ÿ™ could you please let me know the approx sizing, thank you

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