Pefect Labels with Wonder Tape

If you've ever sewn a label onto one of your sewing projects, you probably know that slipping while sewing can be an issue. Lots of sewists use different methods to combat this problem. My personal favourite technique is using Wonder Tape. Today I'm going to show you several different label applications utilizing Wonder Tape as the method to tack the labels down. Wonder Tape is a water soluable adhesive tape, that does not gum up your sewing needle, and leaves no residue after the first washing. Most sewist use it for installing zippers, or setting hems, but it is also the perfect tool when sewing on appliques or sewing labels! I find it particularly useful to use when sewing in a side seam label, which I personally find the most tricky when it comes to placement. All labels in this tutorial can be purchased from Shine Bright Label Co.

In this tutorial I will be covering the following applications: layering labels, or simple placement of faux leather patches, placement of labels in a collar seam, side seam, and back seam label placement with a fold over.

First, I'll show you how I used Wonder Tape to apply layering labels, and a simple placement of faux leather patches on this backpack for my daughter. Turning this plain backpack, into a fun customized backpack.

I let my child pick out the labels she wanted on her backpack. She chose the Unicorn Stripes Layering Woven Label, Sprinkles Layering Woven Label, I'm Not Messy Faux Leather Patch, I am... Faux Leather Label, and the Jesus Loves Me Faux Leather Patch.

For the layering woven labels, I like to apply Wonder Tape in a Z pattern. Like so:

This prevents the center of the woven label from slipping around as I stitch down the label on my machine. Depending on what and where you apply your label to, you may have to sew down one side of the label at a time. This will not negatively effect the overall asthetic of the label once it is completed.

For faux leather patches, I like to place my Wonder Tape in the shape of an X. If you are not planning to place the patch on your project right away when you attatch your Wonder Tape, I suggest placing the tape in a way that you can preserve the backing until you are ready to use the patch, so that the adhesive doesn't dry out or accidentally stick down where you don't want it to. Like so:

Now you can place your faux leather patches anywhere you would like to sew them down and they will not budge during the sewing process. Make sure you take the time to slow down your sewing speed, or hand crank while going around corners, for a more professional finish on the stitching.

For the second application process, I will be sharing how I placed the You've Got This Woven Label into the back collar of this shirt.

For any fold over woven label, I find it very important not to skimp on the use of Wonder Tape. For the best results, it is important to tape the fold over label together, and on the back, before putting it into the seam. This prevents the fold over label from warping on the edges, disrupting the intended placement. I tape my labels like so:

As you can see, for this collar, I also have Wonder Tape applied to the folded over portion of the facing. This will help keep the facing in place over the label, and keep it from slipping as I topstitch my facing. Carefully positioning the label into the back center, I can pull the facing down over to check my placement, and reposition if necessary before removing the backing of the Wonder Tape applied to my facing.

Once topstitched, I have a very professional and clean looking back collar, with the cutest label to boot.

Now, I am going to show you how I get perfect inseam label placement. This label placement is the one that I feel is the most tricky. Often inseam labels can become crooked, or sewn too close to the design, unintentionally distoring or disrupting the view of the label. Making sure to take the time to follow all the steps I will outline can help you avoid a lot of frustration and disappointment. Sure, it's a few extra steps, but I promise they are absolutely worth it. I'll be showing you how to do this on a hip bag I made for my daughter. I will be using the Small But Mighty Woven Label, and the Xoxo Woven Label.

First, you should make sure to tape your fold over labels shut, once again to avoid them becoming askew or shifting during the sewing process. You can actually see how one of these labels wanted to sit askew before taping, but sits perfectly aligned after taping.

Next, I used a basting stitch on one of the right sides of my fabric, exactly where my side seam stitch would go. This stitch is going to allow me to perfectly align my label with the side seam.

Then, I applied the Wonder Tape to the back sides of each label, slightly going past the top edge of the labels. This allows for some of the adhesive to keep the two layers of fabric stuck together perfectly around the label as well, so that there is no chance of any slipping.

Using my basting stitch as a guide, I can now place the labels perfectly level with what will be the actual seam line. No guessing if I will stitch directly over the design!

After completing the seam, I removed my basting stitch thread. This method leaves me with perfectly aligned labels again and again.

For the last label example, we will be using the same hip bag. This label is going to go on the back seam inside of the bag. Due to how the seams in this bag go together, however, this label will need to be folded over and stitched down to the right orientation. This type of label placement looks tricky, but is very easy when using Wonder Tape. I will be once again using the You've Got This Woven Label.

First, I used the same method of taping the fold over label together, before taping the back. Then I aligned the label into the seam, and sewed that portion of the seam down. Make sure when you place your label, you check how it looks folded over, and that there is enough room for top stitching. Since this label will need to be folded down, we won't be placing any tape on the back of the label, and instead place the Wonder Tape on the inside of the seam to tack it into place before stitching only over the label itself.

Once stitched into place, I cut a strip of Wonder Tape to go over the portion of the label I needed to fold over. I checked the position of the label while folded down, without removing the adhesive backing before fully closing the entire back seam, going over the initial stiching. Then I took of the back adhesvie and placed the label in the down position, so it would stay down for my final topstich.