I’d thought about this awhile ago after seeing Fashion Incubator’s post on How to order labels pt.1, but I’d put it on the back burner and kind of forgotten about it. Prompted by Nicole, I requested a quote from ClothingLabels4U.com. I also dug up Kathleen’s aforementioned post for the source mentioned there, Laven Industries, and got a quote from them as well. Both companies got back to me within the same day which I really appreciated, and now the ball’s in my court to figure out what kind of label I want.

ClothingLabels4U.com mailed me a bunch of samples, including these (woven labels on left, fusible labels on right):

…and these, which are the ones I like the best (front view on left, back view of same set on right):

Laven Industries sent me a PDF with photos of labels across different categories. Considering price, so far I like their printed twill labels the best:

This is my first label order and I’m pretty undecided, so I kind of wish the companies had a quick ‘n easy chart of the types of labels they offer and their corresponding prices so I wouldn’t have to go back and forth with “How much for this one? Oh wait, how about this one? Or maybe…what about…”. Maybe there are just too many variations to list, and/or they want customers to contact them, and/or perhaps it’s a competitor/privacy thing…? I dunno.

At any rate, here’s what my options currently look like:

Laven Industries

• Minimum order: 100 labels
• Prices at 250 labels:
  • Printed satin (cheapest): $90 + $50 setup
  • Printed twill: $120 + $75 setup
  • Woven label: $250 for 100 labels, or $275 for 500 labels (no setup fee, no option for 250 qty)
• Turnaround: 1-2 weeks depending on type of label
• Shipping costs: not sure

ClothingLabels4U.com

• Minimum order: 250 labels
• Prices at 250 labels: not sure, but 500 labels are between $270 and $380
• Turnaround: within 2-4 weeks or sooner after payment and approval of final proof
• Shipping costs: 15.00 for all US orders via FedX Ground (5-7 business days)

Custom Couture Label Company (an Etsy shop!)
Of course I had to check Etsy, and this seller has some great values on woven labels!

• Minimum order: 100 labels (the smallest quantity available on their site)
• Prices: $90 for 200 text-only woven labels (they also have other options on their site)
• Turnaround: 3 weeks
• Shipping costs: $4.95 via USPS Priority Mail

So…decisions, decisions. I know I want a horizontal layout. And text-only. One color for the text, one color for the background. Aaaand, that’s about it. Do I want it folded? How do I want it attached? I know it’s either sewn on around all four borders like I currently have, but then now that I have the option, maybe I want to sew it into one of my seams! Well hopefully I figure it out soon so I can cross this off my list of things to do. Wish me luck! =]Similar Posts:

• Big ole box o’ labels
• A sticky situation
• Let the Lug-making begin

Moving gets tiring real fast, so it was a welcomed relief when I finally got to start in on making a new set of Big Lugs yesterday!

This set contains 12 Lugs and will therefore be the biggest number of Lugs I’ve attempted to produce in one run. There are 7 different styles/colors involved, so I see a lot of thread changing in my future…but this could not be helped. Actually, I hope to procure either a new Janome 1600P-DBX or Juki TL-98Q sometime in the near future to speed me along. Now that would help. Though, the funds are not quite there at the moment. Maybe after this set of 12 Lugs!?!

Lastly, I love picking up great tips – big or small – on how to improve sewing accuracy and efficiency. Kathleen Fasanella is chock full of these. She is the author of super-blog Fashion-Incubator.com and the book The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing, which I bought in repayment for eating up all the free info on her site. My favorite blog entries related to preparing pieces for sewing are these little treasures:

• To pin or not to pin
• Tracing and marking
• Marking and cutting
• Rotary cutters, a guaranteed argument

Her material is focused mostly on industrial vs. home/hobby sewing, and though I may be but a one-gal shop I’m still a “manufacturing” business and think it’s essential to incorporate these recommended techniques, where they can apply, at home. For instance – pinning my fabric before cutting. This is, generally, a no-no. Kathleen demonstrates that pinning the pattern piece to the fabric before cutting creates waves in the fabric such that the piece, when cut,unpinned and flattened, turns out longer than a piece that’s unpinned. Oops. For handbags this is not such a big deal, but I have noticed this effect on smaller pieces of fabric.

On the other hand, it’s kinda gratifying when I find that I’m already doing things the recommended way, such as weighting my pattern down and tracing around it before cutting, or removing the pattern before using a rotary cutter. Good job, self.

Well, time to head over to the condo to meet the painter. Later today – on to cutting the linings/pockets/etc!Similar Posts:

• Back in action
• Moving and purging
• Lurkin’ Leopards!