How to name your quilted items – and why you should do so
To date, I have made more than 650 quilted items, and nearly every one of my them has a unique name. Surprisingly often, I get asked how I can have come up with all of those names. How do I do it?
In this post, I’ll discuss the naming in general – for example, why it may be difficult mentally, and why it is so important to name one’s creations.
I’ll also share 7 tips for generating names without resorting to an automatic name generator or to an AI assistant. Meaning, how you can come up with names using your own creativity.
I still don’t quite understand myself – I’m far from a modest, retiring person. Why did it feel such a big step to take, just to give a name to something that I had created?
Then, I saw an article somewhere. The writer encouraged us quilters to congratulate ourselves for each finish – perhaps even have a small celebration! It is a worthy moment! And at the very least, one should name one’s creations, thus honouring them and one’s effort as well.
This wall textile got its name because while I was quilting it on my machine, I sewed through my finger. It was a memorable experience and I felt that this creation was worthy of having a name.
There was another, more practical reason for me to start naming my works, and not only the meaningful ones, but every item. It is this: If something doesn’t have a name, one cannot talk (or write) about it.
When I started blogging in 2009, I soon noticed that it was difficult to refer to my finished projects that had no specific names. At first, I used descriptions: “the denim purse with a ruffle,” “the cushion cover with the blue appliqued flower,” or “the bag with red-orange”. This is a picture of that bag:
Using those long, descriptive "names" got tedious! It was also hard to remember such generic "names" even during one blog post, let alone several that I wrote during the process. So my items started getting names.
Today, I believe that our quilty makes are creative pieces in the same way as paintings or sculptures, whether we make them as artists, as professionals or as hobbyists. Our creations deserve to have a name. We have spent hours or dozens of hours in planning, locating and choosing fabrics, cutting, designing, sewing, stitching, quilting, and finishing our work. It is valuable, creative work, and its results are worth naming!
But even if you believed that your works, too, deserve to be named, it may be difficult for you to come up with names – and so you won’t do it. Here are seven tips that you can try.
I keep track of my makes and their names because after around 100 makes (and names), I inadvertently gave the same name to a second make. If a name idea sounds familiar, I will first check the list first.
When I thought of the word “blue,” the first flower that came to mind was Forget-me-not, which is Dear Daughter’s favourite flower. The Finnish name of the flower doesn’t refer to not forgetting; it refers to something dear instead. However, the English name made me think of a line in a song, and thus I had the perfect name for the quilt.
You can also turn on Image Search and see which word of the day appears in your quilt’s colour.
The next level here is to take one of the words of the day that you’ve found and use that as the Search term.
I’ve also asked my Instagram followers to suggest names for my quilts. One of the most fun ones is “This Is Not Brown,” which was a suggestion from a follower. I’d shared an anecdote from the quilt making process: my husband looked at the latest set-up of the blocks and asked what happened to the brown quilt – the previous set-up that he was thinking about were the same blocks, just in a different order! Perhaps that set-up looked more brown... But you can see that this quilt is definitely not brown:
Empress Ramandu got her name from the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” where an island called Ramandoo was featured.
Elvis Sitting on the Right got his name from a line in a song by the talented Olavi Uusivirta, at whose concert I had just been.
What Does the Fox Say? was a hit song when I made this similarly named zipper bag featuring fox-patterned fabric:
But even though you may not find it significant, there may be others that will appreciate knowing the name of the quilt – and also the name of the maker.
Though I name all my quilty makes, I only label the bigger finishes. Recently, I’ve started to think that I should at least add a cardboard tag to those quilted zipper bags that aren’t in use yet. I no longer remember all their names by heart, and it sometimes takes a long time to identify an untagged pouch, browsing through my blog or IG posts.
This post was inspired by the fact that two different people asked me the same question within a few days. Because this post was so much fun to write, I am offering you an opportunity. Ask me anything! Leave a comment with a question – preferrably quilting-related – and you will get an answer, either in a comment or perhaps in a full-length blog post!
I’ll also share 7 tips for generating names without resorting to an automatic name generator or to an AI assistant. Meaning, how you can come up with names using your own creativity.
Why it may be difficult to name one’s quilted items
If you think like I thought when I was just starting this hobby, you may want to be modest, not call attention to yourself, and feel that your quilty items are not such works of art that would deserve to be named. Back in my early days, I did not consider myself an artist, not really, and giving a name to a practical item felt like too much.I still don’t quite understand myself – I’m far from a modest, retiring person. Why did it feel such a big step to take, just to give a name to something that I had created?
Then, I saw an article somewhere. The writer encouraged us quilters to congratulate ourselves for each finish – perhaps even have a small celebration! It is a worthy moment! And at the very least, one should name one’s creations, thus honouring them and one’s effort as well.
Why it is a good idea to name your quilts or quilted items
Encouraged by the article, I started to name my creations, first the more significant ones and then the smaller items as well. One of the first named ones was the Sacrifices / Uhrauksia wall textile from 2003:There was another, more practical reason for me to start naming my works, and not only the meaningful ones, but every item. It is this: If something doesn’t have a name, one cannot talk (or write) about it.
When I started blogging in 2009, I soon noticed that it was difficult to refer to my finished projects that had no specific names. At first, I used descriptions: “the denim purse with a ruffle,” “the cushion cover with the blue appliqued flower,” or “the bag with red-orange”. This is a picture of that bag:
Today, I believe that our quilty makes are creative pieces in the same way as paintings or sculptures, whether we make them as artists, as professionals or as hobbyists. Our creations deserve to have a name. We have spent hours or dozens of hours in planning, locating and choosing fabrics, cutting, designing, sewing, stitching, quilting, and finishing our work. It is valuable, creative work, and its results are worth naming!
But even if you believed that your works, too, deserve to be named, it may be difficult for you to come up with names – and so you won’t do it. Here are seven tips that you can try.
7 ways to come up with good names for your quilts or quilted items
Firstly, creating names is a skill like any other. In the beginning, it may feel difficult, but things will get easier when you have had more practice. Also the more names you have given, the easier it is to decide. There will be new pieces that can get a perfect name, so it is easier to settle with a less than perfect name for this one.I keep track of my makes and their names because after around 100 makes (and names), I inadvertently gave the same name to a second make. If a name idea sounds familiar, I will first check the list first.
Collect good names in advance
Whether you have a list or not, write down interesting words and phrases that you come across and use them when you next have to name one of your quilty finishes.Get inspiration from the colour(s)
If you have no suitable spare names on a list and your mind is blank, see what the dominant colour or colours of your creation are. What other things are of that colour? Draw from those ideas! And the actual name doesn’t have to feature the colour at all. One example of such a name is Forget Me Not / Ethän minua unhoita from year 2016:Use the colour name in Search
You have identified the dominant colour(s) in your creation. Now, open Internet Search and type in the colour name(s), then enter. Look at the Search results and see if you get an idea from them.Use “Word of the day” as inspiration
You can also Search for “word of the day”. I have found this a wonderful source of ideas. Looking at the text results may give you just the right name – like I found the name Astute / Neuvokas for my zipper bag in 2025.Best case: the item names itself
Especially if there are patterned fabrics in your quilt, you may get an idea from those. I’ve given many of my items with cat-related names for obvious reasons. The recent quilt Swiftly Flew the Long-eared Herald features a bunny block and I found a suitable reference to a hare in the Finnish national epic Kalevala.Your audience may come up with names – deliberately or by accident
My Sea of Fantasy quilt got its name because I happened to show a picture of it to a (male) colleague. His first comment was: ”It looks like an undulating sea of fantasy”. Such eloquence!Get inspiration from a recent experience
Many of my quilty makes have got a name after a line in a song that I’ve heard during the process, or after a character in a book I’ve been reading or in a movie I’ve just seen.Empress Ramandu got her name from the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” where an island called Ramandoo was featured.
My final thoughts
A quilt label is a good idea. You may think that you’ll remember the name of your quilt forever, or that nobody cares what its name is – so why add a label?! It takes effort and keeps the quilt from being finished sooner.But even though you may not find it significant, there may be others that will appreciate knowing the name of the quilt – and also the name of the maker.
This post was inspired by the fact that two different people asked me the same question within a few days. Because this post was so much fun to write, I am offering you an opportunity. Ask me anything! Leave a comment with a question – preferrably quilting-related – and you will get an answer, either in a comment or perhaps in a full-length blog post!
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