which labels to buy

[Octavia09]

labels, markers and name tapes - what, which brand and how many do I need to buy?
www.able-labels.co.uk/products/Back-2-School.asp

anything good from this site?

Big thank you!

[Kewcumber]

ooh just marking my place on this...

[Octavia09]

I have got a laundry pen only.

[CMOTdibbler]

When DS first started at nursery I bought from Easy2Name - the labels didn't shift from his bottles even through dishwashing and sterilisation. So, I've just ordered from them for his school stuff - but sew in name tapes are good old Cash's

[Octavia09]

Just looked at the Easy2Name. I guess we will need:

1. stick on labels for shoes, bags
2. a laundry pen for his underwear, trousers, shorts
3. sew-on or iron-on labels for t-shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, scarfs and similar stuff

what about the socks and pens, pencils?

[Octavia09]

CMOTdibbler, which labels did you buy? Did you buy a starter pack for example?

[Seona1973]

I got 'fab and funky' iron on and stick on labels from easy2name cos they were a wee bit different (they are more expensive though). I use the stick ons for shoes, cups, pencil case, etc. If you get the mini ones they would go on pencils, pens, etc but I never bothered as the school provided pencils anyway. I did label socks for my pfb in P1 but never bothered for P2 as they dont really take them off anyway. I have never labelled hats/gloves/scarves either.

p.s. I used iron on for trousers, shorts, etc and never labelled underwear (when would they take their underwear off at school?).

If you did want to do socks then easy2name do letter transfers and iron on transfers

[greenlotus]

I think the "essentials" pack looks pretty good. Some bits might last you for years.

I like to name everything, even socks, but use sew in for clothes so they can be unpicked for handing down/passing on. Use tiny iron on ones for socks. I also sew the label nice and obviously at the neck, no hiding down the seam/on the wash label.

If your children are young/not very careful the labels will pay for themselves in one or two not-lost sweatshirts. The un-named lost property box at our tiny school would have filled two bin bags this year. And even named clothes have gone walkabout .

[CMOTdibbler]

First time I just bought the standard sticky labels, this time I have bought the off to school set

[LynetteScavo]

Cash's.

Only ever Cash's. (But I buy enough when they start nursery to last until they graduate uni)

But then I'm a name tape snob.

[beautifulgirls]

easy2name do the best iron on labels. Bought my first iron on ones from Cash's and they were terrible - fell off in the wash without fail. I got my money back after complaining to them. I then got the easy2name woven iron on labels after getting mumsnet recommendations and they are still firmly in place and I am a convert. I also have their dishwasher proof sticky labels and have had no issues at all with them.
I also use a laundry marker - things like socks etc much easier just to write on them.
Would also recomment the shoe labels you can get - so much easier for the child to see at a glance they are their own shoes and they last well too.

[EvilTwins]

I got labels from stuckonyou when my DTDs started nursery. We got a 0-5 pack for each of them. I've been really really pleased with them. Each pack has sticky fabric labels (no need to iron, though you can if you want - they've gone on everything from coats downwards and have never come off in the wash/tumble dryer) vinyl labels for everything else (been through the dishwasher numerous times - again, never come off), shoe labels (v useful when every second little girl has the same pair of Doodles) and bag tags, which were great when they started nursery and couldn't recognise their names.

We're not even half way through the labels either, so they should certainly last another couple of years.

[peroni]

I agree - sticky labels are the way forward. I used 'stikins' labels from labelplanet.co.uk. - They go on everything and last at least a year of washing / tumbling / ironing.

[SandStorm]

TBH I use biro and rewrite it when it's looking a bit faded after a few washes. When DD1 went into reception I religiously sewed name tapes on everything but now I can't be bothered and pen works just as well. I now have a child in yr8 and one in yr3 and we've never lost anything that hasn't found its way home.

[Octavia09]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!

I am thinking of using a laundry pen for t-shirts, tops and everywhere where it is possible to write.

But I am thinking of buying stick on labels for shoes, lunch box etc.

This is what I have found:

1. 56 Shoe and Property Labels £4.00

A sheet of 56 labels, comprising of 20 heel shapes, 18 long rectangular shapes and 18 short rectangular shapes.

www.wovenlabelsuk.com/Shoe-and-Property-Labels.html

1. Stikins Original Name Labels

www.name-labels.com/name-labels-original.php
Standard Pack 24 Garment, 12 Shoe, 24 Micro, 36 Silver £7.50

SandStorm, are they are good for everything? I am thinking whether I should buy this pack or the first one if I am going to use a pen.

[SandStorm]

Permanent marker for lunchboxes because of the slippery surface which doesn't like biro but for everything else, yes - just an ordinary biro. Shoes need doing a bit more frequently but if you write on the tongue of trainer they rarely need to be redone.

[DinahRod]

Would 2nd LynetteScavo in recommending Cash's and also a laundry pen from Mothercare.

Dcs have shoe labels, stickers and woven name-tapes in school colours with a small logo so it's quick and easy for them to recognise in the scramble to get dressed after PE etc.

Have used iron-on name-tapes from another company (easy2.... or something like that) when dc1 was in nursery and although they washed well, they crinkled in the tumble-dryer.

[Octavia09]

Oh, I have forgotten that kids will have to recognise their t-shirts among the other similar t-shirts. Would they put their t-shirts back into the PE bag before going to PE class? Who knows. They might leave it on the table. May be then he will need a lable to recognise his clothes straight away. But it looks as the pens still work.

[SandStorm]

PE kit should go either back into their bags or on the table where they sit.

In fact PE kits don't tend to be as problematic as school jumpers as you're only looking through one class worth of kit for something. A school jumper, on the other hand, will be taken off in the playground after running around and getting too hot and discarded in some corner to be collected by a frustrated teacher/TA/MDSA at a later time and dumped in the lost property box.

[Tunes]

I made use of www.itsminelabels.biz
such cute stuff and got my labels in a few days. Will use them again very soon, my kids loved their labels and stuck them on everything, hence the need to buy again from them. Was very impressed.

[Tunes]

Try www.itsminelabels.biz great fun stuff and the cutest site with lots of pics to choose from. Love their stuff! Hope this helps.

[Feenie]

My Name Label are very good, cute pics to choose.

[louMc]

taggits are fab for school labels together with sew in labels from ebay,the soft silky ones(your children can choose a character to go with name).It takes less than a min to label.My girl is in yr3 now and they are still going strong from yrR,but if you want to remove the label you can easily with a knife.