Custom name labels
Custom name labels for clothes
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Custom name labels for clothes
Name labels are small woven labels sewn or ironed into clothing to show whose garment it is. Super Label Store weaves them in damask on a jacquard loom, from 5 pieces per design, OEKO-TEX certified, with a free 1:1 proof before you order.
Also called name tags for clothing, they exist for one reason: clothing that gets washed away from home comes back to the wrong person unless it is marked. Nursing homes, care homes, hospitals, boarding schools, camps and uniform services all run communal laundry, and a name label is the only thing standing between a resident's cardigan and the lost property bin.
That is a harder job than it sounds, because institutional laundry is not domestic laundry. The sections below cover what survives it, how to label a full wardrobe efficiently, and where a woven label beats the sticker packs sold for school lunchboxes.
Why Super Label Store?
Super Easy
Easy to use configurators help you to design and order in minutes.
Super Quality
Premium quality from start to finish. FROM 5 TO 10.000+ PIECES
Super Fast
Fast production time. 4-12 business days or less
Free Digital Proof
Download and print your proof (pdf) before ordering, scale 1:1.
Nursing home clothing labels and care home clothing labels
Super Label Store produces woven nursing home clothing labels from 5 pieces per design. Labelling clothes for a nursing home is the most common reason people order name labels, and it is where the wrong product causes the most trouble.
Care home laundry is industrial. Wash temperatures are higher than at home, often 60 to 70 degrees Celsius or above for infection control, cycles are long, and garments go through commercial tumble dryers. Facilities wash daily rather than weekly, so a resident's cardigan might see two hundred cycles a year.
Stickers and printed iron-ons do not survive that. Adhesive labels peel at those temperatures. Printed iron-on labels fade until the name is unreadable, which is worse than no label, because staff stop checking labels that cannot be trusted. Woven name labels are built from coloured thread rather than ink, so there is nothing on the surface to lift or fade.
Practical points for a care home wardrobe:
- Order one design and use it on everything. Clothing labels for nursing homes work best as a single design across the whole wardrobe, usually 30 to 60 items once you count nightwear, cardigans, towels and bedding. One name, one design, one order.
- Use the resident's full name. Two residents named Margaret is not unusual. A surname initial is not enough in a facility of eighty people.
- Place labels consistently. Always the same spot, usually the back neck or the inside waistband, so laundry staff know where to look without turning a garment inside out. Consistency saves more time than any other single decision.
- Ask the facility first. Many homes have a preferred placement or a required format. A five-minute conversation before you order saves relabelling a wardrobe.
- Sew-on for anything that goes through the industrial machines. Iron-on is fine for occasional wear and easier to apply, but sew-on is what holds through daily commercial washing.
Sew on name tags for uniforms
Sew on name labels are the standard for uniform and workwear identification, where the garment is shared, issued or laundered by the employer. Super Label Store weaves them from 5 pieces per name.
Personalized sew on tags suit this because they sit flat inside the garment and stay there. Hospitality, healthcare, catering, cleaning and industrial workwear all run garment pools where a jacket comes back from the laundry and has to reach the right person again.
Two things to decide:
Inside or outside? If the name needs to be visible to customers or colleagues while the garment is worn, you want a name patch on the outside rather than a label inside. Those are on our custom name patches page, and they are embroidered, raised and usually velcro backed so they can be swapped between staff. A name label is for identifying whose garment it is, not for showing a name to the room.
One name per design. Each different name is a separate design carrying its own minimum of 5 pieces. For a roster where every person needs their own name, request a quote rather than working through the configurator.
Custom name label specifications
Every name label from Super Label Store is woven in damask from polyester yarn, OEKO-TEX 100 certified, from a minimum of 5 pieces per design, produced in 8 to 12 business days.
- Size range: 0.4 x 0.4 in up to 11.8 x 11.8 in, fully custom. Name labels are typically 1 x 0.4 in to 2 x 0.6 in
- Material: Damask woven polyester, OEKO-TEX 100 certified. Recycled PET yarn available
- Colors: Up to 8 thread colors per design
- Yarn: 50, 75 or 100 denier, selected to suit your artwork
- Folds: Straight cut, centre fold, end fold or Manhattan fold. End fold suits name labels best
- Application: Sew-on, iron-on, or a combination backing that irons on and can also be stitched
- Edges: Hot cut, sealed so the label does not fray
- Minimum text width: Approximately 2 mm (0.08 in)
- Minimum order: 5 pieces per design, and each name is a design
- Price: From $43 for 5 labels at the smallest size
- Production: 8 to 12 business days plus shipping. Rush 4 to 8 business days
- Proof: Free Digital Proof as a PDF at scale 1:1
Sew on or iron on name labels?
Sew on for institutional laundry, iron on for domestic washing. Both are available and the right answer depends entirely on how the garment gets washed.
Sew on name labels are the durable option and the only sensible choice for institutional laundry. Stitch them along the two folded ends of an end fold label, or all four sides of a straight cut one. By hand it takes about a minute per garment; by machine, considerably less.
Iron on name labels apply in seconds with a household iron and need no sewing, which matters when you are labelling forty garments in an evening. The bond holds well through domestic washing. It weakens over repeated hot industrial cycles, so for a care home wardrobe we recommend sew-on, or iron-on plus a few stitches at the corners.
Combination backing irons on and can also be stitched. The adhesive holds the label still while you sew, which makes stitching far quicker than pinning, and it is the practical choice for a large batch.
Avoid iron-on entirely on waterproof fabrics, nylon, leather and heavily textured knits. The adhesive needs a flat, stable surface.
Where to place a name label
The back neck is the standard placement for tops and the first place laundry staff look. Five placements cover almost every item in a wardrobe.
- Back neck, inside. The standard and the first place anyone looks. End fold, stitched flat against the existing neck tape.
- Inside the waistband. For trousers, skirts and pyjama bottoms. End fold, stitched flat.
- Side seam near the hem. Discreet and easy to add to a finished garment.
- Corner of towels and bedding. Straight cut, stitched on all four sides. Care home laundry includes far more than clothing.
- Inside a shoe or a bag. Straight cut, stitched to the lining.
Whatever you choose, use the same spot on every item. Laundry staff sorting two hundred garments do not have time to hunt.
Custom name labels
Nursing home clothing labels and care home labels
Woven name labels or printed stickers?
Woven wins wherever laundry runs hot, printed stickers win on price for occasional use. Most name label suppliers sell printed stickers and iron-on transfers, aimed at parents labelling school lunchboxes and PE kit. Those are fine for that job.
They are the wrong product for anything laundered at temperature. Adhesive lifts, print fades, and a label nobody trusts is a label nobody reads. A woven name label from Super Label Store is built from coloured thread on a jacquard loom, so the name is part of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it. It will outlast the garment.
Name labels are woven, not printed, which is why the name stays legible through years of washing. They use the same damask and the same production as our woven name labels in any other format.
Who orders custom name labels
- Families ordering nursing home clothing labels for a relative, usually a full wardrobe at once
- Care homes and assisted living facilities ordering care home clothing labels on behalf of residents
- Hospitals and rehabilitation units where patients wear their own clothing
- Uniform and workwear programmes identifying issued garments
- Boarding schools and summer camps where laundry is communal
- Sports clubs and teams marking kit that leaves the building
The minimum of 5 pieces per design matters here. Most label suppliers start at 500 or 1,000, and nobody needs a thousand labels with one person's name on them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are name labels?
Name labels are small woven labels sewn or ironed into clothing to identify whose garment it is. They are used wherever laundry is communal: nursing homes, care homes, hospitals, boarding schools, camps and uniform services.
What is the best way to label clothes for a nursing home?
Use woven nursing home clothing labels, sewn on, with the resident's full name, placed in the same spot on every item, usually the back neck or inside waistband. Care home laundry runs hot and daily, so stickers peel and printed iron-ons fade. Check the facility's preferred placement before you order.
Will name labels survive industrial laundry?
Woven ones will. The name is built from coloured thread rather than printed on the surface, so there is nothing to peel or fade at 60 to 70 degrees. Sew-on backing holds best through commercial machines. Adhesive stickers and printed iron-ons are not designed for it.
What is the minimum order for name labels?
The minimum at Super Label Store is 5 pieces per design, and each different name counts as its own design. For a single resident's wardrobe you would typically order 30 to 60 of one name. Most suppliers start at 500 or 1,000.
How much do custom name labels cost?
Name labels at Super Label Store start at $43 for 5 labels at the smallest size. The unit price falls substantially at higher volumes, so a full wardrobe order costs meaningfully less per label. The design tool shows the full price ladder as you adjust quantity.
Should I choose sew on or iron on name labels?
Sew on for institutional laundry, since it holds through daily commercial washing. Iron on for domestic washing and for speed when labelling a large batch in one evening. Combination backing irons on and can also be stitched, which is the practical middle ground.
Where should name tags for clothing go?
Back neck for tops, inside waistband for trousers, and the corner for towels and bedding. The important part is consistency: use the same spot on every item so laundry staff know where to look without turning the garment inside out.
How many labels do I need for a care home wardrobe?
Between 30 and 60 for a typical resident once you count nightwear, cardigans, towels and bedding alongside day clothes. Count the actual items before ordering, since a second order for the same name means a second minimum.
What is the difference between name labels and name patches?
Name labels are woven, thin and sewn inside a garment to show whose it is. Name patches are embroidered, raised and worn on the outside, usually velcro backed so they can be swapped between staff. Labels identify ownership; patches display a name.
How much text fits on a name label?
Roughly twelve to fifteen characters on one line at a readable size on a 1.5 inch label, because embroidered text needs about 2 mm of width per character. A full name usually fits on one line. Adding a room number needs two lines or a wider label.
Can I order labels for several different names?
Yes, but each name is a separate design carrying its own minimum of 5 pieces. For a roster or a whole facility, request a quote instead of using the configurator and we will price the run directly.
Are the labels comfortable against skin?
Yes. Every label is OEKO-TEX 100 certified, meaning tested for harmful substances, and the damask weave is smooth rather than scratchy. Hot cut edges are sealed, so there is no rough edge to irritate. That matters on nightwear and on frail skin.
How long does production take?
Standard production at Super Label Store is 8 to 12 business days plus shipping. Rush production runs in 4 to 8 business days. The clock starts when your order enters production, since our design team checks your artwork first.
Design your custom name labels
Type the name, set the size and choose sew on or iron on backing, then download a free 1:1 proof before you order. Name labels from 5 pieces, produced in 8 to 12 business days.
Related: custom name patches for names worn on the outside of a uniform, and care labels for washing instructions.