Personalizing Kid's Stuff

Personally, I was raised to believe you ought to NEVER have your child's name on clothing, backpack, etc...way too easy for a predator to approach the child after school, and say, "Oh, hi, Mary Sue, your mother sent me to pick you up...there's been an accident" or whatever.

Personalize with design, rather than name. Iron on patches?

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It is an embroidery machine, and lots of places, including Things Remembered and many kiosks in the mall can do it pretty cheep. Just be careful. It always scares me when I see kids names on their backpacks and/or clothing. So many children will go with a stranger that knows their name, be careful.

My dad has been a cop for over 20 years and is now a crime scene detective. I am overly cautious, becuase I have heard so many scary things. It might be a little paranoid, but I will never have my girls names on things that other people can see. (It will be on the inside of the backpack, the part that goes against their back, so the teacher can see it quickly and easily, but never embroidered on)

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You need an embroidery machine. There used to be kiosks in the malls that do embroidery.

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Just a question ... why would you want to advertise your daughter's name to everyone? I learned growing up that names on items were the first thing predators looked for.

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Personally I do not like personalizing backpacks, hats, sweaters etc. for
young children. Why let everyone know their name. A few nuts running
around out there. You know kids if someone knows their name, they think
that is cool.

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Why not get iron-on patches with maybe just her first initial on her bag? I agree that having the kid's name on the bag can be a hazard if a stranger sees it and calls their name. I would encourage other ways to personalize it.

Another resource for labels (say for school items) is to get Mabel's Labels (they take a beating and keep going) and stick them inside her shoes, jackets, gym clothes...anywhere that a discreet label might be handy.

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Oh no - I use a sharpie marker and write their names on the INSIDE of their backpacks only. You do not want strangers to know your child's name!!!

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LL Bean, does personalization on things/backpacks.
www.llbean.com

Really though, all you need to do is get a personalized luggage/backpack tag. Then attach that to your child's things.
Places like www.vistaprint.com or even E-bay has personalized luggage/backpack tags.

Also, Lillian Vernon, personalizes kids' things.
www.lillianvernon.com
They have cute things.
I have ordered from there.

When I personalize my kids' things, I DO NOT PUT their first names and full last names on it. Because then everyone/strangers will know their names.
I, use a permanent marker Sharpie, and put their initials. 3 initials. On their things.

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There are lots of places you can take items to get them monogrammed. Google "custom embroidery" and the name of your town.

As said in other posts, you can order items at Lands End, Beans, Lillian Vernon, etc. and pay extra to get them monogrammed.

In any case, its much cheaper than buying a sewing machine.

Another option is to buy applique letters. You can get them at JoAnns. Iron them on, and then stitch so they REALLY stick. I make monogrammed bibs for baby gifts that way.

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There is a store called "Embroid Me" that does great work for around $50. You can easily take your daughter's backpack to them and they will finish it in about a week (or less) depending on how busy they are.

Not sure what machine you checked out, but Brother makes a combo embroidery and sewing machine that can take electronic template cards as well as download designs from the internet.

Brother does also have a specific Disney sewing and embroidery machine, but both the Disney model and their other combo machines can accept the Disney templates, so you don't have to get the specific Disney machine to use Disney embroidery templates.

Look for the Brother SE400 on amazon and ebay. You can find these for under $300 refurbished and new. Allbrands and Ken's Sewing (both have online stores and sell on amazon) have sales and offers all the time.

LL Bean has a great selection of backpacks and such and does personalization.

~I use a matching colored sharpie and their 3 initials and my best handwriting!

If your sewing machine can do embroidery then yes you could do it yourself. I love embroidering things for my son.

If you dont then you can go to a local sew shop and they can do it for $5 to $8 pretty cheap and easy too.

check out your local alteration shop see if they can do it. or buy patches that spell out her name.

T shirt shops sometimes do embroidery as well as places that sells things to advertise for businesses, such as pens, mugs, calendar, etc. Good luck.

How about getting some fabric paint pens and letting her make her own design on her bag? Puffy Paint pens are great! You can get those at Wal-Mart. They come in a package of 4-6 for under $10! I, too, am always a little cautious about putting the child's name on the outside of the bag, for reasons listed in other posts. My daughters love decorating/making designs on their bags. The preschoolers in my at-home daycare/preschool also love decorating their canvas bags that they take back & forth between home & school. Have fun! B.

I have a friend with an embroidery machine and I take things to her. She doesn't charge very much. Maybe you could put an ad on Craigslist or ask around your Church if anyone has one and would be willing to do embroidery for you!

I ordered my kids' backpacks from Land's End - they have some really cute ones and you can get them embroidered for an extra ~$5ish, I think. Or if you have a backpack already, you could take it to a local t-shirt shop and have it embroidered there.

In terms of marking kids' jackets, sweaters, shoes, etc etc, I have always ordered labels from Lovable Labels. They are based in Canada: http://lovablelabels.ca/ What I like about the labels is that they make a "tag label" that just sticks onto the garment label, and won't come off in the wash, doesn't fade, etc. It's super fast and easy, and then if they lose their jacket at school, you will definitely get it back! I bought the "camp pack" when my older daughter was going to summer camp and labeled everything from her toothbrush to her underwear to her pens and pencils, and she didn't lose a single thing in the camp laundry or in the dorm. Great way to personalize and label children's belongings, and very affordable.

Just wanted to reiterate that you don't want to put your child's name on the outside of a backpack for obvious reasons. I got my son a preschool backpack from Pottery Barn and the personalization was a minor fee. I put 3 initials: from the first, middle, last name.

Just a thought..maybe the "Yudu"?

To do embroider actual/real disney designs and not just a name you need an embroidery machine. You can go commerical (like the ones you see at mall kiosks) or you can go person/home machines (you buy at a sewing machine dealership- Viking, Bernina, Brother etc...) You then need to purchase licensed designs to stitch out, unless you are doing names using a variety of fonts. You can also order designs all over the internet-- great stuff out there. From my personal experience, the downside of doing personal/home embroidery and it is a very expensive investment!

If you have a sewing machine, you can do simple embroidery (block letters, fabric appliques etc...) just use the zig zag stitch but make the stitch on a very tight length setting (so the zig zags are super close together). Draw your block letters on your item using a ruler to get straight lines and then slowly sew over the lines with the tight zig zag and pivot at corners. You still should use embroidery stabilizer on the top and bottom of your design. You can research this on the internet to learn more.

If you just want a name put on something here and there (you are not trying to mass label all your child's stuff for school), try to find somebody local who can do this with a personal/home machine. Embroidery shops charge A LOT of money because they have to pay their rent, supplies, lawyers, etc... People who have embroidery machines at home are often willing to do it much cheaper and much faster. You may find someone local on Craigslist or Tumbtack.com. I add names to swim bags for a lot of parents in my area. If they bring me the bag (or other garments), I only charge $10 to add a name on it and depending on how many orders I have, i can get it turned around in a few days. A major difference though between home and commercial is that I do not offer replacement guarantees if my machine malfunctions. Needles jam up and can sometimes ruin a garment. Impossible to avoid. For my buisness I have inventory and if I ruin a onesie or a tee shirt I can just replace and start over with what I have in stock. When a customer provides the item, you don't have the inventory to replace.

You are taking a risk to save money when taking it to a local person, but in the long run probably a much better use of your money because issues/errors are few and far between.