How To Label School Uniform - And Everything Else Your Child Will Need For The New School Year

Is naming all your child’s belongings for school giving you a headache? Yet it is so important. When the kids head back to school with their shiny new shoes and pristine school uniform, the last thing that you want is for them to get lost.

And your kid's school will really appreciate it if all your kiddo's clothing, bags and PE kit are clearly named.

Now there are lots of ways to name kids clothing, and everything else that they need to take to school. There are several ways to do this — sewn in name tapes, iron-on name tapes, stamps and stickers.

Not forgetting that old favourite, writing the name on the label in pen! So at back to school time, here is how to label school uniform, and almost everything else that your child will need for the new school year from blazers and jumpers to shoes, PE kit, bags, laptops and lunchboxes.

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Sewn In Woven Name Tapes

If you’re kinda old-school (see what I did there?) or are sending your kids to a traditional private school, public school or boarding school, you will need to use old-fashioned woven sewn in name tapes.

These are woven to order with your child’s name and need to be sewn into each garment individually. Now, if you are privately educating your kids you will probably get the housekeeper, nanny or au pair to do this for you. If not, you’d better like hand sewing because you will be pretty sore by the time you’ve done a few dozen of them.

If your child is boarding you’ll need to name towels, bedding, underwear, everything.

The plus side is that they do stay on the clothing through thick and thin, won't fade, can be reused if you can be bothered to remove them from outgrown garments and in general the more light-fingered fellow pupils at your kiddo’s school will probably have no idea how to remove them, certainly not in a hurry.

Iron On Name Tapes

Iron on name tapes are much more civilised and can probably be done in an evening or two at most.

You can have made to order printed iron-on name tapes, where the name is printed onto a fabric backing. All you have to do is peel them off and iron.

Or you could buy a kit consisting of blank tapes and a laundry marker, where you can write the name on by yourself. This is very handy if you have more than one child and would otherwise have to order tapes with several different names.

The downside is that they will peel off after a while and are easier to remove by that kid who’s lost their PE kit and helped themselves to one from the Lost Property box.

Stickers

Some stickers work very well, although they are inevitably subject to all the downsides of Iron On tapes tendancy to peel eventually.

I personally used My Nametags Stickers which I tested and reviewed here, with great success. In fact whatever you decide to do, I would recommend getting some stickers made, as they are perfect for shoes, lunch boxes, backpacks, musical instruments, phones, books, pencil cases – you get the idea.

And yes, they do stay on clothes through many washes, and on lunch boxes for years, even if you put them in the dishwasher.

Stamps

A newer innovation that has mixed reviews are name stamps for textiles. You will generally stamp straight onto the item of clothing, and while some people find they work very well, others have trouble with the ink in the stamper drying up and the name washing off.

These are also made to order, and would have to be the quickest method of all for actually getting the naming finished. You can get a huge choice of designs of the cute type shown here or find more simple designs as the children get older.

A Sharpie

The old favourite in an emergency is of course a Sharpie, laundry marker or a Biro pen.

Write the name straight onto the label of the clothing – many popular chain store and supermarket brands leave a (tiny) space for you to do this – and there you are.

Sharpies, laundry markers and Biro pens contain ‘permanent’ ink. They will wash out eventually, but the marks can easily last for the whole school year. The marks made by a Sharpie will probably last the longest and this method has the advantage that Sharpies will work on lots of different types of surface such as plastic and metal.

So between these methods you should be able to name every single item that you child will need to take to school with them, from their first day at primary school to their last day of compulsory education.

More Tips For Sewn In and Iron-On Name Tapes

When Should I Order My Name Tapes?
Order name tapes early. The summer is the busiest time and they can take up to 4 weeks to manufacture.

One really good idea is to order name tapes as soon as your child is born, that way they are in your sewing box when you need them - the time that you need them will sneak up on you I promise.
How Many Name Tapes/Stickers Will I Need?
For a child who is going to an regular day school, about 70-80 woven nametapes will probably be enough for their whole school career, unless your child loses a lot of clothing.

Remember that sewn in nametapes can be removed and re-used, but iron on ones cannot.
Boarding School Rules
If your child is going to a boarding school you will need to order around 150, as you will need to name all their non-uniform clothes, socks, underwear, towels and bedding as well as school uniform and PE Kit.
How On Earth Do I Name Socks?
If you need to put a name tape into gloves or socks, apply it down the ribbing, not across. This allows the ribbing to stretch so that your child can still get their foot or hand in! This applies whether you are sewing in or ironing on your nametape.

However to be honest it is much easier with socks to write on them in waterproof pen if you can. I just use a Sharpie for sports socks.
Where To Place The Name
When trying to decide where to put a nametape, try to imagine where a busy teacher will look first. Usually it will be in the back of the neck for tops and coats or the back of the waistband for skirts and trousers.

Hide the label discreetly on a hem or seam and it may not be found.
My Child Has Sensitivity Issues - What Can I Do?
If your child has particularly sensitive skin and finds that a name tape rubs the back of their neck, you will have to sew it somewhere else.

A good place is at the bottom of the front opening of shirts and coats. Remember to tell their teacher where the tape is sewn.
Use White Sewing Thread
Ideally name tapes should be sewn into clothing with thread the same colour as the nametape, so it is a good idea to buy a reel of white thread at the same time as you order your tapes.
Start Sewing Early
If you are using sew-in tapes, start sewing as soon as you buy the uniform, it’s much easier on your eyes and your fingers if you can do a few at a time rather than finding you have dozens to sew on in the two days before the start of term.

And finally a slightly nerdy fact about woven name tapes.

Have you ever wondered why woven sew-in name tapes are sold in multiples of 12, while iron-on tapes are sold in multiples of 10?

Well, the equipment to make woven name tapes was designed many years ago in the days of imperial measurements. Iron-on name tapes are a more modern phenomenon and so machines are designed in metric!