Naming School Uniform Best Tips

[jane812]

Hope everyone's well during this time, this forum's great for times like these.
Having all this time at home, I noticed recently that most of the names in DS's school clothes have either slowly deteriorated or vanished, so I've taken this time to name all his stuff for the end of this year/next school year. Sad I know - but something to pass the time!
Anyway, I wanted to ask if any of you had good recommendations for better labelling his school clothes, particularly his sports kit and his school bag - perhaps larger labels or sewing in different positions?

Hope you all continue to be well - Jane

Neat see in labels in collar or waistband + Sharpie backup as @Kuponut said to deter the CFs. There is only one letter difference between my DC’s first names, so I space the sharpie writing to allow me to change it easily!! Also phone number on bags and coats. A coat has been returned that way.

There is no substitute for Cash's woven name tapes in my opinion. The old fashioned way is the best! I sew name tapes into anything I want to last, so coats, trousers, PE kit, then Stikins labels for lunchboxes, water bottle, shoes.

We also don't need logoed uniform so I buy cheapie supermarket stuff and over-buy in the summer, so that when the cardigan attrition starts I still end up with a functional number of them until the weather's so nice they don't bother with them (I have a dyspraxic who loses everything).

Bit more annoying with the juniors as getting through to lost property is much harder - with the infants I just do a regular trawl through the box every month.

My best tip as well as sew in labels is to 'train' your children to carry their own stuff, even though it's tempting to carry it for them. I've taught in schools and early years prior to my current role and have always found that children who carry their own stuff know what they have and where they have left it much better than children who have parents who facilitate them!

I used printed sewin label in the 80s. The cost was nominal if ordered with other uniform items. The embroidered/woven labels are the best.
This may not be the right forum, but order distinctive embroidered labels for loved ones in nursing homes. I did this for my mother. The only clothes lost were some knickers, but Mother was doubly incontient after a certain point.

Cash’s name tapes. Definitely the best and you cut them out and reuse when the item of clothing is too small or they move to another school. I sewed them around handles of violin cases, on sports bags and even on the zipper of the pencil case. I got the stick on ones for shoes. They do a large font if you need it. My DDs prep insisted we sewed them on sports kit.

I sometimes buy Cash’s name tapes. They are excellent quality and I reuse them several times, but they are individually cut.

I sometimes but woven name tapes from Easy2Name because they come in a long ribbon, and you cut them accordingly. It’s useful to cut a strip of 3 or 4 to make a hanging loop for swimming towels, and coats and to sew a loop through bag and instrument case handles.

I just used to sharpie anything that was vaguely moveable ;-) Everything. You will be amazed at your child's ability to lose something within a fraction of a second of picking it up/putting it on (and yes that includes pants and socks)

Dont buy Petit Fernand. The look nice but they are rubbish. One lot wasnt cut round the edges by the machinery so I had to hand cut them out. The rest just dont stick.

Without a doubt buy a personalised stamp and ink from Stamptastic. It never washes out, so much easier (and fun) than iron in, sew in labels etc

I bought these labels last year and spent an afternoon machining them into DD's polos, jog bottoms and sweatshirts - NFW was I prepared to hand sew them in.

DD was about to enter Nursery and was really proud that she "helped mummy" sew them in... I set my sewing machine to its slowest speed, lined everything up and she stepped on and off the foot pedal when advised. I think that she's looking forward to labeling next year's uniform once we buy it.

The inch wide ones go on the outside of the pe kit so it is immediately obvious if Johnny is wearing Sammy's kit.

@User478 Sounds perfect , Have you used these labels yourself?

We had the 1 inch wide ones on PE kit. Top, skirt and outer wear etc. Works well. However DDs uniform cape was missing for 3 weeks as stuffed behind a piano in a practice room. Not a room she ever went into! So labelling can work but not against taking someone’s clothes on purpose!

I haven't used them for DD as she's only 1, but all the children I have nannied for have needed them for their (very posh!) schools.
I would still put a standard (small) nametape in the collar too (and if you leave an unsewn gap in the middle of the collar one then you can also use it as a hanging loop or you can add a bit of binding tape sewn on if you want something more heavy duty)

You can see one of the big tapes in these photos: the girls, the one with her arm out twitter.com/DragonSportFeed/status/728946325346258944?s=19 (randomly taken from a school's Twitter feed, not my photo/Twitter/child)

I started with iron on. Came off.
Then moved on to Stikins. Great for most things but do come unstuck.
Sew in work well and you can reuse them.
Now I use stamps for things that they work on, sew in for other clothes, and Stikins for non-clothes.

Didn't expect.so many responses!
Thank you all, I've ordered stickins and the large woven name labels for DD - will wait to see her reaction!
Am also interested in suggestions for naming her school bag, I was thinking perhaps sewing a label on the back?