If you went to boarding school like me, you will probably remember that the last week of the school holidays was spent doing among other things, labeling your skirts, blouses, sweaters, socks, school bags and other items of clothing. Including those balloon sports shorts we called bloomers.
My mother taught us how to embroider our initials or full names onto the undersides of shirt collars and socks, the insides of sweaters and at inner hems of our skirts. Embroidery was fun but would also get tedious especially if like me, you waited for the last minute to do a hurried job.
The other option for labelling uniform was writing with marker pens but that often came off with frequent washing. Nothing permanent about them for clothes that are cleaned every other day.
The first other options I ever heard of for labelling clothes was to take them to a specialized shop where they would either embroider or use iron on. For something that we could do at home, my mum was having nothing of having them done for us.
Then just recently I came across a label printer that one can keep at home or office to print anything from office files to books to spice containers in the house. The Epson Labelworks Printer is a small portable printer that I found quite easy and fun to use. It is sturdy so it is quite safe to give to kids of a reasonable age to do their own labeling for their clothes, drawers, food containers and other items around the house.
For modern day kids, labeling clothes for school is no longer a week long task. Just a fun afternoon and you’re good to go. For this function though, one needs to buy a special ribbon that is meant to withstand heat and stick to the clothing. It sticks even more as you wash the clothes. The printer has different fonts, text styles and symbols so your labeling need not be plain and boring.
Happy schooling!
The Epson Labelworks goes for Kshs.9,485/- and the ribbons go for Kshs.3,835/- for 8mm and Kshs.5,225/- for 12mm. They’re available at Officemart and Textbook center. Please note that there may be slight price variances depending on the store.