Embroidery vs. fancy sewing machine for naming kids uniform

[SunThroughTheCloudsAt6am]

Last year, my eldest started at secondary, and they required name labels on everything (previously I've been firmly in the marker-pen camp, but the school laundry wanted both labels and pen) - it took me the best part of a week, and was an utter pain.

I've been thinking on this whole thing, and decided that the thing to do (given I have more children who will also need this, every year, for at least the next 5 or 6 years), is to get a machine to embroider their names on everything from underwear to shirts (not socks, I have another plan involving custom made ones from Alibaba for socks)

BUT, that brings me to the issue. I have a perfectly serviceable sewing machine, which does everything I need normally, but it's not a modern fancy one. I see the modern fancy ones often have alphabet stitches now so I could upgrade my sewing machine and use that, but I have a nagging feeling that it won't work very well (they don't seem to use frames).

Or I could splash out on a completely different bit of kit and get an embroidery machine (if it saves me a week's work each year, this is easily justified financially). I'm not sure I'll want to embroider anything else though, so it seems like a bit of a waste.

Does anyone have any experience with both who can give me a steer? Or am I just going to have to find a sewing machine shop who can show me both and decide there?

Machine embroidery is fairly time consuming.

outsourcing might be sanity saving.

Alternatively, since they're so widely spread now - do you know anyone with a Cricut machine? I started using offcuts of heat transfer vinyl to cut name labels for the kids on mine a year or so ago and they're the best thing I've found that actually stays visible for the entire school year, and you can do white to show up on dark cardigans etc.

Just get name tapes made and sew them in? Got to be less expensive and time consuming than embroidering each one! And easier to update when uniform gets passed down.
https://www.wovenlabelsuk.com/school-labels/wl-01.html?msclkid=6888a952fbb81e5ce15fcd0947153694&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=WL-BA-Shopping-UK-Name_Labels&utm_term=4584207580826690&utm_content=Sew_On_Name_Tapes

I stupidly used to sew all round the labels until I realise you could tuck the ends in and just see the ends, like a loop but it lays flat.

Buy custom name vinyl sticky labels. I’m in the us so can’t really recommend a vendor, but they are absolutely worth it. They stick really well, but are removable and go on super quickly. I buy large packs and they tend to last a couple of years before I need to replenish.

I'm guessing they are boarding, don't rages have to be loop sewn? I helped a friend sew tags on for her dd who boarded

As other PPs have said, wouldn't it be easier to get woven name tapes and sew them on? Even quicker if you sew them on with a sewing machine rather than by hand.

Name tapes in just the surname? Would that work for boarding school? Would be helpful for handmedowns.

It would be very expensive to buy a new sewing machine!

If they don't have to be woven /have hoops then I found mynametags excellent - both the iron on and stick on. Some I've been using have been in situ for about 10 years and are buggers to get off. Must have gone hundreds of times through washing machine/dishwasher and they are immovable.

Yes, boarding - and no, sewing in the labels was what took Forever I tried by hand, by machine, I took shortcuts, and it was too much. There's not been any guidance on how to sew them, just that they prefer the sewn-in labels over the stickers...

I am intrigued by the vinyl labels - and I have always fancied a cricut without really knowing what I'd do with one! So perhaps I'll get that for the bits like sports bags/shin-pads etc.

I've seen some of the kids with the stick-in ones (Easter brought me all sorts of gifts from one of his room mate because they weren't great at making sure they only brought their own clothes!), which do seem to have survived the industrial laundry, but I know I can feel those, so I'm reluctant to inflict them on DS who has the opposite problem - can't feel anything until it's rubbed his skin raw.

The embroidery idea was that yes, it takes time, but it's hands-off time - I just have to frame the garment and let it do its thing, unlike labels which requires constant attention while I'm sewing them in (by whatever method).

Sorry for taking so long to come back! Turns out MN didn't notify me of responses.. thanks all.. I think I'm going to take the plunge as I've wanted one since I was about 20 (although, like the cricut, I'm not entirely sure what else I'll do with it), and I'll feed back what works best :D

The embroidery idea was that yes, it takes time, but it's hands-off time - I just have to frame the garment and let it do its thing, unlike labels which requires constant attention while I'm sewing them in (by whatever method).

OP, I'd say do what works for you (it's no use me saying labels only take 5 minutes each if it's a task you absolutely hate!), but if it's something that's causing you this much stress I'd say it would be relatively cheap and easy to outsource it. My local dry cleaner does things like sew on a single button, so I'm pretty sure they'd do this sort of thing.

Then again, if you'd really love this machine then why not? Treat yourself ;-)

I also got one of those permanent ink stamps from Alibaba - which was excellent, and has survived, but it only works on light colours, and TBH, I need something brighter so he knows which things are his (the name labels I got are bright red)

ROFL Silly - yeah, it was every pair of socks (outsourcing that to China from now on), every pair of pants - I'm not joking that it took me the best part of a week to get name labels sewn into everything.

I could outsource - but they'll charge 3Euro/label - and by the time you multiply that up (even without socks), we get pretty damn close to the cost of the machine - that I do desire a bit ;)

Now it's been allocated, I'll be adding his laundry number to the label - make it easier on the laundry staff too..

He's too hard on his clothes to pass on normally anyhow - very little makes it to his little brother!

Embroidered name tapes. MIL has a fancy machine and is a dab hand with it but it was still barely legible.

Do you have an uncommon surname - could you get away with surname only if you are going to have three go through the school?
Name tapes for the surnames, (a sewing shop will put them in) and stickers for first names?

I hate the nametapes - that's what I'm trying to avoid having done it once (and yes, he's the only one with his surname, and they have a laundry number so it's feasible, just not desirable to me :) )

I looked at the fancy sewing machine embroidery, and it sucks TBH.. Which is why I'm going for the dedicated embroidery machine, which does the same job that you'd get when you have to buy the polos/sweatshirts for primary with the logo pre-embroidered.

Come to think of it, I wonder if it might also free me from the uniform shop, since I could probably embroider the full school logo on anything I wanted once I have one......

Why not get name tapes made? You can include all the different initials of your DC and simply fold the label over the unneeded initials.

Already had the custom nametapes made. The nametape sewing in is the big problem - it took forever, and I hated it.

I got a handheld Brother ptouch label maker and some iron-on fabric tape. You can print anything on them.
You can also get laminated adhesive plastic tape to make labels for water bottles, shoes, wellies, books etc
The unit costs about £30 and compatible tapes about a fiver

Oh - that is interesting, i have also always wanted a label maker (not the ones that we used to have that punched up through that thick plastic, or the thermal ones - both of which I already have :D )

The year I did bastard woven name tapes sewn in was the year I lost so much uniform to pilfering - I know it was pilfered rather than lost as I also sharped the name underneath and eventually it drifted back into lost property a year later, completely outgrown, name tape cut out (you could see the bloody ends left) and was returned to my child utterly uselessly small by then!

I was more livid at them cutting the name label I'd sewn in (and loathed doing) than the uniform theft to be fair. So in infants when they had red jumpers so it showed up I just resorted to sharpie before switching to using Cricut offcut bits of vinyl when they moved into a school with navy uniform where it doesn't show up as well. Not lost a jumper since - and with DD2 seeming to make it her life's work to try to lose every belonging she owns, that's a fair achievement!

Stikins are your friend. Not remotely crafty, but entirely sanity saving. Plus you can use them on non-clothing items, like lunch boxes and water bottles. I've used them for years, and they have survived innumerable runs through the washing machine and dishwasher.

Where would you embroider it - it will show through from the inside to the outside? Also you would need stabiliser embroidering on stretch fabrics.
Can you not just machine sew the woven labels? A huge £1K plus sewing machine that takes up room seems a bit OTT.

Having said that the stikins are pretty indestructibe, good investment.