Designer offers creative ways to label children’s school items

Designer and handicraft teacher Anna Lutter has suggested using labels as design features when marking children’s school items, ERR reported. She discussed the ideas on the television programme Terevisioon.

The simplest option is to write a child’s name on an item with a waterproof marker. Names or symbols can also be printed on paper, cut out and attached with transparent tape. Some papers already have an adhesive backing.

Lutter said names and designs can also be printed on transfer paper and applied to fabric with heat. The design must be printed as a mirror image so that it appears the right way around on the fabric. Transfer paper made specifically for dark fabric is also available. Lutter recommended heating the paper for 40 seconds and using a timer.

If a marked shirt is later sold or passed on, Lutter suggested covering the label with a cotton ribbon. Another option for identifying clothing is to sew a button onto the back of a garment.

Labels do not necessarily have to be hidden, she said. A larger label placed in a visible position can become part of the design and make it easier for teachers to identify a child’s clothing.

Lutter also suggested making label design a project in handicraft or art class, with children bringing their clothes and creating labels together.

A label maker can be used to mark plastic items such as rulers and felt-tip pens. The machines offer stickers in different colours, and Lutter joked that marking belongings with one can become addictive.