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Princess and the pea

(54 Posts)
gracesmum Sun 07-Oct-12 10:20:49

I know I am a person of enormous refinement and sensitivity (!) but surely I am not alone in hating those labels manufacturers put at the back of the neck of jumpers etc?
They seem to be made out of recycled razor blades and sewn in with invisible fairy stitches so that unless I am very very lucky careful, I end up nicking a stitch and get a b****y hole! I use the seam ripper from my sewing machine, look over the top of the varifocals and stand by a bright light or window and it is still a struggle. Failure to do this results in raw red sore patch on back of neck and extreme irritation.
Why do they do it? Has anyone ever tried to complain (and got anywhere)??
angry

Ana Sun 07-Oct-12 13:08:47

I always cut them off, vampirequeen. My coathangers seem wide enough to keep them on - those ones with the grippy rubber at the top are good.

gracesmum Sun 07-Oct-12 14:22:08

You can strangle yourself on those if you're not careful! smile

Stansgran Sun 07-Oct-12 14:28:38

Cuticle scissors can do a good job on tiny stitches on labels.Better than a stitch ripper.

Elegran Sun 07-Oct-12 15:57:32

Hunt Turning the socks inside out does help a bit but does not entirely get rid of the ridges.

I can't find my thermals (had a good turnout in the spring and I may have been a bit too enthusiastic) I decided that silk ones might be less bulky and not ruin what passes for my figure, so have splashed out. Not had to wear them so far.

Granny23 Sun 07-Oct-12 16:02:50

Add me to the list of lable haters - I either have to suffer a scratched neck or make a mess of th garment by trying to remove the lable. Don't know what they are made of but have noticed that when all the buttons have fallen off and side seams have split the lables are still going strong. I often wear underthings, such as T-shirts, vests and pants inside out and have found a use for the annoying ribbons - they are exactly the right length to tie round the cotton covers I put on my home made jam.

soop Sun 07-Oct-12 16:18:45

Scratchy labels are a menace. I often wear my Sloggis inside out - or, if I remove the inside label, I wear them right way round and a hole develops where the label used to be. Wot-eva! hmm

Marelli Sun 07-Oct-12 16:57:35

Granny23 - I use the ribbons on clothes to embellish parcels! I clutch a bundle of them together and finish off the parcel with them. smile

celebgran Sun 07-Oct-12 17:15:38

o with you on this one, glad not just me who cuts labels out, sometimes they are in side of new top or t shirt and they scratch like hell!!
I use quick unpick and get them out is a fiddle though.

Reference to ribbons, is amazing even cheapie t shirts seem to have them in, I mainly cut them out unles very expensive item, did collect them at one time was going to make lavendar bags and tie them with ribbon never happened!!!

vest o gosh my mum used to insist, somehow winters seem warmer now or is it the heating I never think of them now, if was really cold would probably use a strappy t shirt under jumper.

I have so much natural insulationif you now what I mean!!

numberplease Sun 07-Oct-12 17:57:33

I`m glad I`m not the only one who remembers liberty bodices, my mother insisted on them always.
Regarding these horrid labels, I have a skirt with one in at the back of the waistband, and it scratches summat rotten. My little grandson`s always complaing about his neck scratching from his t-shirt labels.

Oldgreymare Sun 07-Oct-12 18:29:04

Took someone's advice and bought a couple of long sleeved 't' shirts from Sainsburys, great 't' shirts, no label BUT details, size, make, and washing instructions all PRINTED in a contrasting colour, covering an area far bigger than a label AND they too feel rough. hmm

Granny23 Sun 07-Oct-12 18:40:44

Just noticed that you ALL spell it label instead of lable (same as table) like me. You cannot all be wrong - I must have been spelling it wrong for years! blush

gracesmum Sun 07-Oct-12 18:41:53

Does anybody care (as long as it doesn't itch!)

NfkDumpling Sun 07-Oct-12 18:48:54

Cotton Traders are the worst I've found. Their labels are made from sacking.

Oh dear - what does wearing Cotton Traders say about my dress sense (just been reading the What Your Clothes Say thread)

numberplease Sun 07-Oct-12 22:27:31

I like Cotton Traders t-shirts, bought some for the first time this summer, but these don`t have scratchy labels.

glitabo Sun 07-Oct-12 22:51:39

Winter draws on.

Hunt Sun 07-Oct-12 23:20:29

THey used to put goose grease inside the vests before stitching them up - don't say you do this too,Gracesmum!! Vampirequeen, tuck the little hanging ribbins under your bra straps and they are no problem, also helps to keep low, wide necklines where you want them.

Faye Mon 08-Oct-12 02:55:57

I hate them too, they drive me crazy, I just can't stand to have something constantly itching and scratching at the back of my neck. They are just as bad on babies' clothes. Those stupid ribbons seem to be added more to clothes, I can't remember them being sewn into just about everything I bought years ago.

Ariadne Mon 08-Oct-12 05:40:45

And sometimes the ribbons things are made of a sort of soft plastic, which is even worse!

I think labels, especially M&S ones, have got thinner and scratchier over the last few years.

FlicketyB Mon 08-Oct-12 16:41:33

The first thing I do when I buy new clothes (after I have tried them on and made sure I will not want to return them) is take those horrible hard labels out.

They usually have a nice soft label in the left hand body seam with washing instructions. Why can't they use the same in the neck?

At least it shows I don't buy my clothes just for the label!

Granny23 Tue 09-Oct-12 20:29:28

Now that we have recorded our collective annoyance with scratchy labels here - Does anyone know how we could take this forward? Is there some sort of Federation of Clothing Manufactuers (FOCME!?!) that we could approach? or would it be better to concentrate on one company and persuade them that they would have an 'edge' in the market if they advertised label free clothing.

My own pet hate is the matched sets of shampoo, conditioner and body wash which cannot be distinguished, one from the other, once you are in the shower with essential glasses OFF. Even with glasses ON which I have tried, they steam up and I still cannot see. All I want is a Huge S, C or W on front of pack. I have written to Dove about this, referring in particular to their range for older hair and skin but have had no response whatsover.

Surely, now that we know there are THOUSANDS of us Gransnetters, we should be able to bring pressure to bear and have products amended to our requirements. Any Ideas?

yogagran Tue 09-Oct-12 21:28:55

That's a great idea Granny23

Granny23 Wed 10-Oct-12 11:25:34

Bumping this thread in token of the 'Day of Agreement' as an example of a topic on which there is no dissent only concord.

soop Wed 10-Oct-12 11:32:49

Granny23...an historical moment! wink

JessM Wed 10-Oct-12 11:57:20

Like your line in acronyms granny23

whenim64 Wed 10-Oct-12 12:18:49

Granny23 I have that 'no glasses in the shower problem' but now I keep shampoo on the left, conditioner on the right and I no longer shampoo my hair three times by mistake grin