Before and after - how to make your doll quilt label!

I wanted to do a special post for all you doll quilt swappers out there.

Truthfully, it applies to all quilters, or all those who work with fabric I suppose.

I'm in love with Copperplate calligraphy, as I've mentioned before. This style of writing was popular in the 1850's or so. I love to write all over my quilts. Tops, labels, everywhere.

After studying this writing style and trying to memorize how to make the letters in that elaborate, beautiful manner, I have boiled my quilt tatoo secret sauce down to pretty much one simple technique:

Write out your quilt label text on a plain piece of white fabric. Mark some writing lines on there if you don't want it to get too nuts and crazy looking, as your guide.

Use a pigma permanent marker. Don't try anything else, just go with this...trust me...it works!!!

Use your best handwriting, or the best that you can muster at the time.

Then..........drum roll please....go back over the writing and every time your pen writes "down", meaning - a mark that moves from the upper part of the paper to the lower part of the paper, make that line just a little tiny bit thicker.

To prove this would make any handwriting better - I didn't have to look far for my volunteer. My husband (an incredible amazing man who I adore and admire endlessly) has pretty much the worst writing I've ever seen. Even HE can't read it half the time.

I asked him to write a sentence, and afterwards, I filled a little shading in, and voilà!

Looks better, right?