Fat Quarter Friday: DIY Fabric Tags

This week I'm going to show you how I make my fabric tags that I attach to my blankets. My husband actually taught me how to do this, yay Brian! Using just one fat quarter I can get 84 tags!

Materials:
Light colored fat quarter
Freezer paper (found in the aisle with the tinfoil)
An iron
A computer and printer

Step 1: Cut your fat quarter into 8.5"x11" rectangles, the exact size of a sheet of computer paper. You should be able to get four out of one rectangle. Cut out 4 rectangles of the same size from the freezer paper.

Step 2: Lay one of the pieces of fabric (right side up) on top of one of the sheets of freezer paper (the shiny side should be facing up). Iron them together with the steam off. Start ironing in the center and work your way out to the edges to avoid any wrinkles or bubbles.

Step 3: This is optional, but it has made a big difference for me. Along one of the short sides, place a couple pieces of tape over the edge so that your two sheets are not only ironed together, they are also taped along that one side. This will make feeding it into your printer go more smoothly and less likely to wrinkle.

Step 4: Design your tags on the computer using your favorite program, my husband made mine for me using gimp. Design them with a 1/4" border around the part you want showing. Once they're ready feed your ironed sheets in taped edge first with the fabric side down. Print your pages, but only do them one at a time to avoid a jam!

Step 5: Let the ink dry for a few minutes, then peel off the freezer paper backing and iron the printed side to set  the ink. Now you can cut your tags apart, make sure not to cut off that 1/4" border.

Step 6: Iron the 1/4" border on to the back like in the picture (this makes it so there are no raw edges so your tag wont unravel). Iron the long sides first, and then the short sides. Then you can clip your corners.

 Now you can sew the tag onto your fabric; I use a tight zigzag around the folded edges. Enjoy your machine washable fabric tags!