To think someone must have invented an alternative to sewing badges on by hand?

[SexNamesRFab]

I don’t have the time or patience, not to mention eyesight or skill, to sew badges any more. I’m drowning in them (brownies, guides, pony club, karate) - all making me feel like a bad mum for not wanting celebrating my DC achievements with a needle and thread.

Please tell me some entrepreneural mum has invented an alternative by now? Have you found it? Please share your secret?

I glue them on.

I think it’s a real shame that you don’t have the time or patience for sewing. With all the talk these days of mindfulness and de-dressing, coupled with a drive to keep skills like sewing alive so that people can repair clothes instead of throwing them away and buying new, you’d think doing simple jobs like seeing on badges would be something people would want to do.

I work in a primary school and I never see sew-in labels in children’s clothes any more.

I’ve heard of Explorers doing it for 50p a badge!

I work in a primary school and I never see sew-in labels in children’s clothes any more

I sew all my DC’s I sit down with a pile of new uniform and a film one weekend every August and just crack on. All that’s ever not bern returned is a pair of football socks - Eldest DC is in Y6.

Lots of people use badge glue, but it’s not that reliable.

I spent best part of 4 hours the other day taking all the badges off dds old too small scouts shirt and sewing them into her new one. Not the way I wanted to spend my day off, but at least it’s done.

Don’t even get me started on pointe shoe ribbons!

Bribe a teenager to do it for you?

Pop studs. Only a couple of stitches needed. Stitch one to the back of each badge and one to the uniform. Click together. No unpicking required when outgrown.

To be fair, OP, if badge glue worked well, I'd use it too. But as it doesnt, the more they can do, the less you have to.

Apologies if this is stating the absolutely blinding obvious, but it was only when my third child went to Beavers and I had coffee with a more experienced friend while sewing on badges that I learnt this. You just catch through the binding contrast thread round the outside of the badge, you don’t need to sew through the badge itself. I must have sewn scores of the buggers on the wrong way and bent many a needle in the process.

If you're trying to sew Brownie badges onto a badge sash then I feel your pain. That thing is a bugger to sew through. I could only do it by machine. After a while I abandoned the whole idea, took them off the badge sash and sewed them to her hoody. Much easier.

But I agree it would be easier still to teach them to sew their own badges on.

DD’s Brownie badges went with glue on her sash. We were lucky, she wasn’t into doing badges at home so we only needed 2 sashes over her years.

Pony club ones are also glued onto the club jumper, we bought it fairly large so no need to re-do them. The badges weren’t as bad as the Brownie ones but the jumper was far too thick to sew by hand.

Scout badges which go on the shirt are done by me, the odd one I can live with. If she needs a new shirt I hand everything over to our dry cleaner and they transfer the badges onto the new shirt. They also sew on the fun and camp badges on her blanket, we normally collect them and then they do 4-5 in a row.

Stick a rolled up bit of cardboard or bottle in the sleeve... Speeds up the process no end as you aren't constantly getting e needle through the other side.

I'm teaching DDs to see their own ones in but the sleeves are very tricky (esp Beaver ones, since they are so small).

@FamilyOfAliens I do can sew, my mother made sure of that. But badges are the work of the devil and with working parents I prefer to spend my time better.

A little over 20 years ago, I was a postgrad student sharing a flat with all bits. One night, my flat mate asked me if I could see the button back on his “pulling” shirt. In return l, he roasted me a chicken to feed the young man I was cooking for that night. (I was veggie, but this young man had mentioned that roast chicken dinner was his favourite meal).

We both married the people we were entertaining that night a few years later. Chicken man and I still are, but impose touch with Button Boy years ago.

Thanks for all these tips!

We can't all be good at /enjoy everything @familyofaliens . I spend hours being mindful in the garden and teaching my DC about wildlife, how to care for and propagate plants etc, but sewing feels more like a chore. As for name tags, I ditched them for initials on label with a Sharpie - best Mumsnet hack ever (closely followed by microwave cheese sauce).

In a couple of generations we've lost the ability do to something (very basic sewing) that previously most people could do as a matter of course. I wonder if it will come back again?

OP I'm sure there is some kind of glue but they are designed to be sewn and it's the quickest and most secure way, also leaves then able to be unpicked and the uniform sold on. Are you sure you are doing it right as it should be a few minutes each badge?

I am not a domestic goddess in any way & I now owe a lifetime of coffee to my neighbour for sewing my daughter's badges on. My attempts that took me an hour to do fell off on her first outing to Brownies, which her Brown Owl thought was hilarious, therefore I have accepted sewing is not my thing and get others to do it

Gah now I feel like slack mum for not being arsed to teach the DC AND DH how to sew on badges. Point DH at youtube and give him the teaching job. Nothing like a recent learner to be able to understand other learners' difficulties ...

For my daughters brownie sash we used fabric glue
But for beavers they go direct onto the jumper and the fabric glue only lasted a few washes so I've just sewn them on. It kills my fingers I hate it! I have a sewing machine I can't use, I may have to get on YouTube!!

We can't all be good at /enjoy everything @familyofaliens**

Quite true. I guess because I’m in my late 50s and was taught needlework in secondary school (I made two dresses in a year), and was brought up by a mum who made all of my sister’s and my dresses - including the ones for our first communion! - I feel sad that those skills are being lost.

I've been using fabric glue because when I tried sewing them on they went all crooked but didn't think of making DD sew them - she's a better sewer than me already thanks to school so she can do them from now on!

Bondaweb first, much easier to tack a quick running stitch around the edge then..

That stuff you iron it on with

2 words : Fabric pens ! Dead easy.

You sound like my MIL, @FamilyOfAliens. Exactly the sort of thing she'd say

You sound like my MIL, @FamilyOfAliens. Exactly the sort of thing she'd say

I’m trying but failing to see that as a compliment