Screenprinting Labels for your unique projects

When you start sewing your own garments, there comes a point where the details start to matter more. It begins with matching ribbing colours, coordinating threads, decorative seams — and then labels. There are good ones available, and finding one that works is harder than it sounds: the colour is never quite right, or it matches but the statement isn't quite what the piece calls for. Faced with that, the obvious move is to make your own.

With this method, you screenprint custom labels using pre-cut Lossie paper stencils. No weeding. No vinyl. Just your screen, your ink, and a design that works for the project.

Two label types

Fold-in labels (for seams) are printed with mirrored text — necessary because the label is visible from both sides once folded and sewn into a seam. Without mirroring, the text reads correctly before folding and backwards once it's actually in the garment. After heat-fixing the ink, you can draw connecting lines between the guide triangles using a trick marker — the kind that disappears with heat — for clean, consistent cuts. Once the ink is fixed and the labels are trimmed, no line remains on the label itself, which matters particularly for sew-on labels where any visible marking would show on the finished piece.

Sew-on labels (flat) are designed to be stitched directly onto your projects — onto a finished seam, a pocket, or any surface that calls for it. Because they sit on top of the fabric rather than inside a seam, backing them with fusible interfacing (Vlieseline or Vliesofix) before cutting adds stability and helps the label keep its shape over time, particularly with woven fabrics where the cut edges can fray.

Materials

You can print labels on cotton fabrics, knitwear, washable paper (SnapPap / sewing paper) for flat sew-on labels, or any surface that holds textile ink. The choice of material affects technique more than process: cotton absorbs well and is the most forgiving to work with. SnapPap absorbs less, so the printing needs to be cleaner — less margin for error. Fake leather takes even more care, as it dries more slowly. Both SnapPap and fake leather produce a result that resembles a classic garment label — closer to what you'd find on denim — while fabric labels have a softer hand. The look you're after is usually what decides it.

Pro tip: after fixing the print, iron fusible interfacing (Vlieseline or Vliesofix) onto the back before cutting — this adds stability and helps the label hold its shape, especially on woven fabrics where the edges of the label can fray at the seam over time.

How to make fold-in labels

The stencils are designed with no loose parts and all designs are single-colour, which means getting started is as straightforward as any other screenprint. The main thing to get right is cutting accurately along the lines between the markers. For designs with finer text, a sharp blade and a sufficiently sticky cutting mat make a real difference — fine detail is where most cutting errors happen, and sufficient pressure matters more than it looks.

1. Fold the label right sides together across the horizontal axis.
2. Sew the left and right sides with a 1 cm seam allowance (adjust if resizing).
3. Turn inside out and press. The label is now ready to be sewn into a seam.

Easy to customise

Because you're printing these yourself, every variable is open to change — colour, fabric, ink type, label layout. You can print the full stencil sheet or mask off areas to print one label at a time. The same design reads very differently in white on dark denim versus a colour-matched ink on a printed fabric — which is most of the point. For a closer look at how that plays out across a full project, the article on How to Create a DIY Kidswear Collection: Lessons from La Dolce Vita shows labels made to match across different garments and fabric types. Real-life results are also visible on Instagram under #nucanecalabels.

The best part of making your own labels is when they become part of the finished piece and everything matches — fabric, colour, statement. A garment that is complete in every detail, because you made all of them.