What are labels?
A label is something that is put on another item to describe its contents. Labels can be made from paper, fabric, metal, silicone or take the form of stickers. Labels have many uses, such as for branding purposes, being used as price tags, ingredient lists or to provide additional information about various products. In this article, we will be focusing on clothing labels.
Fabric labels for clothes are often small textile labels that are sewn onto or into clothes. A lot of clothes have labels situated in the neck area or the waistband on pants. These types of fabric labels cannot be seen while the clothes are worn, but some clothes manufacturers have decided to put their fabric labels on the outside of the clothes so that they can be seen when the clothes are worn.
The purpose of such fabric labels is to show customers which brand has designed and manufactured the clothing. In addition, there may be fabric labels inside the clothes that provide information on the kind of textiles used and the country they are made in. This kind of information is often listed on what we call the laundry instructions.
What can fabric labels be used for?
Fabric labels are often used when you want to say something about clothes, purses, shoes, accessories, furniture items or when you want to brand club clothing, etc. Fabric labels can also be used to say something about the brand, for example by showing a logo or slogan. A lot of products also have laundry instructions or a size guide sewn into them.
Fabric labels are used on all sorts of things such as clothes, furniture item, curtains, purses, shoes, duvets, pillows, mattresses, electronics and household items.
You typically think of labels as being made from textiles, but there are also labels made from leather, metal and silicone to name just a few materials.
How do you use fabric labels?
Fabric labels are typically used to brand a product. For example, a company making clothes, shoes or purses will want to market their products using a certain brand. By putting a fabric label on the products, consumers will know where it comes from. If you have a strong brand, this also helps to promote the brand value.
A lot of football clubs, sports clubs, gymnastics associations, scout organisations and other associations also use fabric labels or badges to show characteristics or memberships. When using a fabric label with a logo or text on it, it becomes easy for others to know and recognise the logo.
How do you attach fabric labels to clothes?
The most common way of attaching fabric labels to clothes is to sew the label into the clothing (either inside or outside). Many people also sew fabric labels into the seam of the clothes. However, you can also get fabric labels that you can iron on to the clothes or fabric labels that use adhesives. It all depends both on the type of fabric label and how you want to attach it to the clothes.
Fabric labels come in many different shapes and with different qualities. One often talks about how the fabric label is folded. For example, fabric labels can use end folds, centre folds, Manhattan folds or come as heat-cut fabric labels where the labels have been cut using lasers and get a sharp edge without a fold.
Embroidered badges can either be sewn on to the clothes or ordered with a reverse side that can be ironed on to the clothes. In addition, there are also iron-on labels that are made from a plastic material that is then ironed directly on to the clothes and which is a somewhat cheaper option compared to the embroidered fabric labels.
How do I remove fabric labels from clothes?
If you would like to remove fabric labels from clothes, you should first and foremost know what kind of fabric label is attached. In this FAQ, we will start discussing fabric labels that are sewn on to clothes using sewing thread.
The best way of removing a sewn-on fabric label is to use a seam ripper. It may help to be able to get between the fabric and the label or to cut open on the inside of the clothing. Slowly put the seam ripper into the seam where the label is sewn on and let the blade do the work. Be careful to not pull on the string, as this can create holes in the fabric. Cut several of the seams open until you can loosen the fabric label. Once the fabric label is gone, you can carefully remove string remnants with your fingers.
If you do not have a seam ripper, you can also try to do it carefully with a small pointed scissor.
No matter which method you choose, take care not to make holes in the fabric. The laundry instructions can often be cut off along the seam.
