Make Your Own Clothing Tags From Fabric!

I had this lovely Robert Kaufman Cotton Lawn fabric I recently made a Summer shirt out of. The fabric was perfectly soft and I found myself not wanting to toss any of it in my scrap bin.

I saw the Robert Kaufman copy right on the selvedge edge and got to thinking. What if I cut that off and turn it into clothing tags? Since the fabric was so soft it wouldn't be itchy like normal tags on Ready to Wear clothing. Also, since this was "designer" fabric I thought a "designer" tag was VERY much needed.

Using fabric scissors, I cut out the portion of the copy right wording I wanted to use. Then I turned the top and bottom raw edges 1/4 inch to the wrong side and ironed it in place. To keep the short ends from fraying, I put the tag on some scrap paper and put Fray Check on the short ends. Once that dried, it was ready to be sewn on to my shirt!

I attached it to the inside of the back neckline using a straight stitch. I kept the seam as close the the edged of the tag as I could. The thread in the bobbin coordinated with the fabric and the thread in the top was white to match the tag. I did this so it would all blend and look more professional. I mean, no one other than me really sees the insides of my clothes but that doesn't mean they can't be a little fancy.

When the tag is attached this way it makes a little rectangle on the outside of the shirt, which I think is kind of cute.

I still had another portion of the selvedge edge with wording on that I could use. I also had another dress made from Robert Kaufamn fabric, so another tag was definitely needed. I made this one a bit differntly tho.

After I cut out the portion I wanted to use. I did just as I did for the first tag and ironed the top and bottom raw edges 1/4 inch to the wrong side.

However, this tag was a bit longer so I had more room on the ends. I used that to my advantage and folded the short ends to the wrong side and ironed them in place.

Then I attached it inside the back neck line of my dress. I sewed it on differntly that the first one. I just sewed the short ends to the neckline. You can see it made two small stitch lines that aren't super noticeable from the right side. I used white thread for the top stitch and the bobbin because I hade sewn the whole dress with white thread.

This third tag I made the exact same way I made the first tag, only I used some scrap fabric I had previously cut for bias binding. I just cut it to the size I wanted, ironed the raw edges like before and put Fray Check on the short ends.

Once it was dry I attached it to the back, inside neckline of a white shirt I had made. I attached it just as I did the first tag, stitching close to the edge of the tag.

And there you have it, three simple, handmade clothing tags!

***Here's a Bounus***

If all that ironing is way more than you care to do you can always do what I did with the next tag.

This fabric didn't have a fancy "designer" name but that was ok. I just picked out a part of the selvedge that I wanted to use. I didn't bother ironing any of the edges. I just used a tiny bit of Fray Check on the top and side edges. The other edge wasn't going to fray anymore than it already had so I didn't bother doing anything to it. I let it dry for a few minutes then sewed it on my garment. I didn't try to coordinate my thread as well as I did in the first tag, but it totally works either way.

I don't know why I had never done this before. It's so simple and a great way to reduce waste.

Have you ever thought about making your own clothing tags? I'd love to know the things you have used.