Mark Your Makes: How To Know When You Made What
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In this heartfelt and insightful episode of Stitch Please, host Lisa Woolfolk explores the powerful practice of marking your handmade creations—what she calls 'marking your makes.' Drawing from personal experience, she shares how losing track of a garment she made for her spouse sparked a deeper reflection on the importance of documenting sewing projects. She emphasizes that handmade items, like commercial clothing, deserve labels not just for practicality, but as acts of memory, identity, and historical preservation. Lisa walks listeners through a range of labeling techniques—from traditional fabric tags and iron-on labels to modern innovations like sublimation, DTF printing, and heat transfer vinyl—highlighting both their functionality and emotional resonance. She also discusses archival methods like quilt labels, handwritten notes in pattern envelopes, and digital tools such as spreadsheets and blogs. Ultimately, she frames documentation as an act of claiming labor, resisting erasure, and honoring the legacy of Black makers. The episode closes with a call to action: if you don’t mark your work, history might not know you made it.
Label your handmade garments with key details like date, pattern number, and occasion to preserve personal and family history.
Use modern techniques like sublimation, DTF, or HTV for durable, non-irritating, and visually rich labels.
Even simple methods like fabric tabs or archival markers can help identify garment orientation and prevent confusion.
Documenting your sewing journey through journals, photos, or digital tools helps track progress and inspires future projects.
Marking your makes is an act of claiming labor and preserving the stories behind your creations—especially vital for marginalized makers.
Introduction and Festival Announcement
Lisa opens with a promotional segment for the Fiber Fabric Craft Festival in Rosemont, Illinois, highlighting her upcoming classes on panty-making and sewing with stickers, along with giveaways from Avery Labels.
The Power of Making and the Need to Document
“You've made your mark. Now it's time to mark your makes.”
Why Labeling Matters: Memory, History, and Identity
“If you don't mark your work, history might not know that you made it.”
Practical Labeling Techniques and Tools
“The clothes that we buy have labels. Handmade clothing deserves labels too.”
Archiving Your Sewing Life and Claiming Labor
“Marking your makes is not about vanity. It's about memory and history.”
“You've made your mark. Now it's time to mark your makes.”
“If you don't mark your work, history might not know that you made it.”
“Sewing labor is often invisible. Domestic sewing is rarely documented.”
Host
Lisa Woolfolk
person
Black Women's Stitch
organization
Stitch Please
media
Sublimation Printing
other
Heat Transfer Vinyl
other
Fiber Fabric Craft Festival
other
DTF Printing
other
Donald E. Stevens Convention Center
place
Avery Labels
brand
Printable Fabric Sheets
product
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