if you had 96 nametapes that needed sewing on..

[JimBobplusasprog]

Would you do it with a sewing machine? I don't have one but could probably borrow one from a friend and I vaguely remember how to use one from school needlecraft lessons.

And iron-on, laundry stamp or tag-it tapes aren't an option as the school has specified particular woven ones in various sizes.

Ugh. I hate sewing on nametapes.

[Michaelahpurple]

I AMA huge fan of using a sewing machine. You can't do everything that way eg onto the waistband of trousers but it works really well for putting them inside the collar of school shirts, rugby tops, polo shirts, bed linen, sport shorts, across the leg of swim trunks (I am also a fan of putting them on the outside of sports kit where feasible as are noticed much more that way). Then so the trousers/ shorts and jumpers by hand in front of a good box set. Socks either don't bother (except for football ones for which I hand sew a folded one at the top where the turn down will hide it) or use iron on foamy letters

[vixsatis]

Oh God, when mine first went off I was up all night the night before doing the tapes: they do need to be sewn in because the school laundry is basically a boil wash. Even to be thinking of it at this stage shows remarkable organisation and foresight; and doing them a few at a time in front of the telly will be less work than using a machine

No amount of labelling will send him home at the end of term with the right socks, so brace yourself for doing more at Christmas......

[camptownraces]

JimBob
Help yourself by getting some decent needles before you start. That will make the job so much easier.

[JimBobplusasprog]

For the ds that will be boarding he needs certain types of nametapes in specified sizes and specified locations. And loops for hanging too. So I have resigned myself to the nametape sewing hell ahead. But the stamp does look handy for the stuff you can't nametape and it will do for my dc at day schools.

[derektheladyhamster]

The problem with stamping/writing on the care label, is that when you have a rack of white shirts that have been laundered, it's much easier to find your shirt if all of the name tags are sewn in the collar, rather than having to check through the shirts for the care label.

Care label/sharpies/stamps are fine in a day school where they are not laundered, but when you have 50-70 children in a House, or God forbid a central laundry where there is the chance it could be mixed up with other houses, you need to make the labels very easy for both the staff and children to see.

[JimBobplusasprog]

Thanks coi - that does look good and it's tempting to get one for the other two kids, with just our surname.

[ipadquietly]

I'd buy a Sharpie.

[StressedandFrazzled]

Actually can't remember how much he charged, but not a lot.

[StressedandFrazzled]

I took mine (huge nametapes) to the cleaners and he charged about £10 or £15 to sew on about 20 names tapes. Definitely do that for 96.

[happygardening]

Ignore the comment about 8 yr olds boarding my DS2 boarded from 7 he's not a dysfunctional sociopath who's unable to form meaningful relationships, neither is he distant with either myself or his father/brother. Only the other day a relative we rarely see commented (in a rather disappointed tone a I thought) how "normal" he is.
I hate sewing on name tapes I've done s similar number, x2 on some occasions, if you can sew and therefore are going to find it an easy if tedious job, a box set and a bottle of gin is I suspect the easiest way or even having a friend over and just chatting and sewing at the same time. Don't use glue on stick on iron on ones, in fact our current boarding school ask us not too, they will come off with time. If you can't saw frankly I'd pay someone else to do it, they do need to be well sewn on because again will they come off if not once they've been through the wash a 100 times.

[JimBobplusasprog]

The rivets are tempting but I boarded myself so I know the horrors oc school laundry. If you took a duvet cover with plastic poppers they would be melted flat in a fortnight.

I may get ds to do his own. It could be more trouble than it's worth though.

[KatieKaye]

The first few an 8 year old sews won't be great, so start them off on things like pants. But 8 is more than old enough to have the motor skills and practice makes perfect!

[Bluestocking]

OK, I'd just turned eleven! I wouldn't have put it past my DM to have got me to do it at eight though ...

[stealthsquiggle]

Bluestocking - so did I, from about 13, but not at 8

[Bluestocking]

My parents bought every scrap of uniform for me, I sewed the nametapes on myself. Still seems reasonable to me.

[ZingWatermelon]

sewing machine.

I just sew one line of stitches between first and surname if label is attached to clothes label horizontally, and if it's sewn in vertically it's also one line at the top of the label

no folding the edges over.
much quicker to unpick stitches too.

I have sewn in way over 200 labels combined for our 6 kids during the last 3 weeks.

[stealthsquiggle]

I just noticed that you have extra large ones to put on the outside of games kit as well, OP. Those I do machine on as I think the end result looks neater and it's far harder for some little toad to take off when they have lost their own and are looking to "borrow" something

DC's school specify name tapes on the outside of games kit but don't mandate the large ones, DS told me the other day that he suffers far less from "wandering kit syndrome" than most of his friends because all his possessions are so thoroughly and obviously named that no one could get away with trying to pass them off as their own. That makes it time in front of the TV well spent IMHO .

[stealthsquiggle]

We have those, sweepthehalls, and they are good, but I am not sure they would survive boarding school laundry systems TBH.

[SweepTheHalls]

No! Use these tapes! www.wovenlabelsuk.com/school-labels/wl-riv.html?utm_source=gbase&utm_medium=se&utm_campaign=gb&gclid=CMT67taGhL4CFRDItAodAHwA-w

[JimBobplusasprog]

stealthsquiggle that is a very good tip for socks - thank you. I do think you're mad though for enjoying it. I have had maybe 15-20 items to name in previous years_and I have alwaalways found it to be a slog.

[stealthsquiggle]

I know the gap year students (assistant matrons) at DC's school will sew on nametapes for a per nametape fee - a good side income if you are 18 and stuck in the boarding house all evening because you are on duty, I should imagine. I would have happily done name taping for a fee when I was 18.

[stealthsquiggle]

Another nutter one here who finds sewing in name tapes rather therapeutic and best done in front of the TV. I do use the machine for the giant tapes on games kit, towels, bags, etc but hand sew all others. On stretchy things (notably socks and pants, which may account for a fair proportion of that 96) I double the tape over the back edge of the sock and sew it to itself - if you sew non-stretchy nametape to stretchy sock then it will come off eventually as either the stitching or the sock will give way.