TIP FOR PERFECTLY FOLDING YOUR FABRIC LABELS

Last week I posted that I had received my custom fabric labels from Spoonflower and so far I love them! One thing that I noticed was a little difficult was folding the sides in. Usually my dexterity is pretty good when working with tiny things but I found it extremely difficult to fold in the corners and then iron them flat without ironing my fingers (over and over and over...). On the blog See Kate Sew she mentions to use a small rectangle piece of cardboard as a template when folding in the sides. I did use the cardboard as a template but I used a different method of folding that I found much easier for me. 

[I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures. It was pretty difficult photographing on my bright red homemade ironing board. My ironing board is actually a TV tray that I turned into an ironing board. I am going to be re-doing it soon so I will post a tutorial when I do so you can make one too!]

Here is my unfolded label and the cardboard template I made which is the size I wanted my finished label to be

First, I used the "Spray Mist" function on my iron to completely soak my label

Once my label was wet I laid the cardboard template on top and folded the sides and ends in over the cardboard

I then took the template off of the label and pushed the sides and ends back down. With the label being wet they stick and stay down very easily so the sides will stay down while you iron without you having to hold them (and burn your poor little fingers). 

After my sides and ends were pressed down I took a tiny bit of DecorBond interfacing and cut it to the same size as the label. I don't know about everyone else but I always end up having a lot of small strips or scraps of interfacing left over. I have been saving the scraps for a while just incase I found a use for them. This is the perfect use! You only need such a small amount to fit on the back of the label that I have more than enough interfacing just in my scrap box. 

Fuse the interfacing to the back of the label. This will ensure that the sides and ends won't pop up ever again! It makes it much easier when you go to sew your label to your project. It also helps with the opacity of the fabric because my label is printed on white fabric. 

Here is the back of my finished label

Here is the front. Do you notice how the fabric looks thicker and less opaque than at the beginning of this process. 

Now, all you have to do is sew your label to all of your projects!

SIDENOTE: I have started using this "Soaking and then Pressing" process for many different things now. Anytime I am folding and ironing something fairly small where I feel there is a risk I will burn my fingers I will use the "Spray Mist" function and soak it first. I used this method when folding in the sides of the blue fabric on the key fob above. It seems to work great! The only downfall is how often you will have to fill your iron with water :)