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.

Can you get the uniform shop to put the labels in to the uniform?

Then gin and box set for pants and mufti.

And seeing nametapes on low back Lycra ballet leotards - yuk!

Machine. Much easier than hand esp for thicker things like collars etc.

Socks: fold tag ends under, put together and use a wide zig zag with no stitch length to just anchor on.

Pretty much everything else, fold ends under, pin at each end, then use either a zigzag or I use a blanket stitch. Try not to do on elasticated parts of the clothing.

You can see it on the outside of jumpers etc (shirts: under collar, trousers: along inside seam, underwear: who cares) but if you use well matched thread it's not an issue in my opinion.

I do all of one bit of clothing together (ie all socks, knickers, jumpers etc together), do all the pinning first then the sewing, then move on to a different type of clothing. Done in no time, and much faster than hand stitching. Would still say do it in batches as regardless of machine or hand it's tedious.

You can also use see through thread (plastic) and just do a big zigzag across almost the width of the name tape, but I think this is a bit itchy so would only when not next to skin directly (eg jumpers, skirts/trousers, coats etc).

Definitely less than a minute per label once you get going, including pinning. The thing is to turn it into a production line, doing the same thing over and over.

Surely the uniform shop will do this for you? I get them to do all alterations and labels. They charge £50 for sewing a full set of tapes (including cost of labels themselves). Expensive, but a drop in the ocean compared to the rest of the uniform bill.

Fold the name tape in half to form a loop, just sew the short end of that.

Is buy a fabric pen and write names on instead

• yeah, this.

"The thing is to turn it into a production line"

You are Sheldon Cooper and I claim my £5

By hand - but if you just stitch at each end of the label, it turns into a handy loop for hanging on changing room or locker hooks.

I have done 2 over scholl hols as PE kit was not fitting...I did them while listening to Ds reading..Multi tasking is the answer

If I had 96 name tapes to sew on...

...I'd buy a Sharpie pen!

I'll try the uniform suppliers - we're saving that trip for June so ds doesn't grow too much between getting the stuff and starting school.

At ds's school it's an online company. I've never used them as they took over the contract when dd was I. Year 4 & ds year 3 so I was only buying dribs & drabs at a time. But for those starting school it's a real bonus.

For dd it's a little local shop for academic uniform & a dance wear shop for vocational uniform so again no go with that.

Can you find out from other parents how strict they are in labels rather than laundry pen?

I'm a matron. Seriously it's so much easier to read a well sewn in label. The iron on ones will come off in the wash/dry/iron cycle of laundry.

Pen is better than nothing, but if the school has specified the labels (the school my son goes to even tells you which font and colour to use!) Do as they say, as each school uses a different laundry system, with some needing the house your child is in to be specified on the label. It's much easier if all labels have a specified position on the clothes when sorting

Non labeled clothes are the bane of my life as are untidy bedrooms and children unable to change bedclothes

I would do it by hand while watching trashy TV on catch-up. A dozen a day for eight days.

Do they change their own bedding Derek? At dds school bedding gets changed at exeat I think (though admittedly dd only boards very occasionally)

Her school is tiny (12 girls in year 7 , 8 of whom board) so i guess the houseparents have an easier job.

We have tried various labelling methods. The items with sewn-in woven nametapes always get returned when lost. On one occasion, a pair of rugby shorts was returned from a different school after an away game.

oh yes, supposedly weekly although there are some girls who don't! But they are 13-18 yr olds, and not 18 yr olds.

My son has had to do it since yr 7 though

I remember those days!! I hated it! But I teach at the primary school that my kids went to do if never had heard the end of it if I hadn't named something, having insisted in it at every parents night for years!! I did the folding in half/seeing short end thing and also taught my DS how to do it too. He loved it! And had far more patience than me!!! I also write names on with sharpie pen too! In obvious places! I hate those 30 identical reversible school coats with the name tdf hidden in the teensiest inside pocket -apparently for child protection!!! There is a HUGE chance of leaving a coat behind in a playground od cloakroom. Practically none that a "bad person" will read the name tag on your child coat as they are passing, gain their trust by using the name and then whisk them away like the Pied Piper!!!

We still have towels etc labelled with DH's name & house lovingly sewed in by hand by MIL to the regulation specifications! But yes, I would just do it by hand. I named about 10 items of DD uniform by hand sewing labels in one evening in front of the telly without it being an effort.

The school have specified the labels. And where to sew them. The sports kit needs extra large labels sewn on the outside too. So I don't think this is easily avoided.

On the plus side ds can change his bedlinen competently. Not quite so confident that he'll keep his part of the dorm tidy but he'll learn.

My DCs were expected to change their duvet covers from 8 years old. Obviously they had help initially. They used to turn it into a game playing ghosts I believe - it was a few years ago.

Borrow a sewing machine, you could do one label in a couple of minutes as some little darlings take the labels off Machine stitch is harder to unpick.

I struggle changing duvet covers!

I sew about this many in each year- about 30 in socks alone!! Can't see how a machine would make it quicker, once I get started it doesn't take too long. And it's so much easier for kids to identify their own clothes from a clear sewn in label than from a penned name on a shop label. I even sew labels (looped) into scissors! We've lost practically nothing!!

I have stick on ones that attach to the care labels but for the jumpers I sew a woven label to the back of the neck. Can see at a glance if DCs have brought the right jumpers home.

I do use a sewing machine, the thread I have matches the jumper colour perfectly and I use a small zig zag stitch, zig onto the label and zag off the label to stop the ends fraying. You could also use fray stop liquid too.

Seriously it doesn't take any time at all and I don't cut the thread between sides at the time of switching sides, I just do them all at the end.

Practise on some scrap material to begin with so that you can see the size of the zig zag or you could fold the ends of the labels under and sew a straight stitch.

It is very easy to match thread and you just do everything white first, then change the thread for the other items. My sewing machine has drop in bobbin and threads up in seconds.