Advice please to remove labels

Good idea Grandtante!

Willow that’s why they’re called security tabs??I had one left in a dress I was planning to wear for an event. Ended up with it banging against my legs all night. And you do wonder why they don’t set the alarms off at the time.

If you find a stitch ripper impossible to use due to poor eyesight, then you need a lamp with magnifying glass.

They are invaluable for threading needles, unpicking stitches and a million other jobs that become quite impossible as our eyesight deteriorates.

You can often find them in charity shops, as most elderly and old people have them, so in the course of time the end in a house clearance lot.

I have the same issue with Woolovers products and, despite using a stitch ripper to remove the labels, I do have a couple of jumpers with tiny holes where I missed the stitch. I also think that the stitching is smaller now than when I first bought their garments. I can't abide the scratchy feeling and find myself squirming if even a vestige of label is left behind.

Why (oh why) do they have to put labels in the back neckline anyway? Life is too short for all this aggravation and I'm quite happy with the inside seam label. Come on, M & S, get rid of them - it'll save some costs too!

JackyB I like your method with scratchy labels and will do that .I'll use squares of soft old hankie, unhemmed, and longish tacking stitches.

That happens regularly Willow.

I usually cut them out with small scissors - I never thought of using a stitch unpicker - I'll dig mine out and take it upstairs.

I have another problem today - I bought a jumper for a little girl a few weeks ago from Matalan, got it out last night to wrap it as I have to go away today for the weekend and was taking it with me. They've left the security tag in it! We tried all sorts of implements to try and remove it last night but it's impossible so now I'm going to have to take it back and try to explain why it's damaged. Luckily I do have the receipt but how do they explain why the alarm didn't go off when I bought it. Most annoying

Sewing a patch of soft smooth cloth over the top is a brilliant idea. It would also prevent the label sticking up at the back of the neck. You see that so often¦it's quite insidious, the wearer isn't aware of it, and everyone else is itching to tuck it back in.

I have extra strong reading glasses for sewing (or ripping!) and also need good light. Daylight is better than even good reading lamps, so no close work for me in the evenings.

I was looking back too to see the freezer method. ?
Stitch unpicker for me too. Hate labels. I often wonder why they can't think of a better idea.

There I was wondering what the 'freezer method' was!

Oh heck, tweezer.

Sew not see!

Tried the freezer method Springychicken. I could not get the plastic out, and the stitching is so tiny. I think I'll have to see if I can see something smooth over the top.

Alexa, M & S management are aware of our struggles now as I contacted them.

Alexa, my eyesight is not that good either. You may need a magnifier lamp (for crafts) on your Christmas list!

MiniMoon, is the plastic caught in the seam neatening thread? I've used the picker to cut the plastic into tiny shards, then pull them out with tweezers. It's so irritating.

I bought a pair of jeggings from Tesco. They had the most horrible labels, three sewn together with a plastic piece at the back. I assume they use the plastic to hold the labels together as they are sewn in.
I could not unpick the stitching, and when I cut out the label, as close to the seam as possible, I couldn't remove the plastic. Whenever I wear them it still irritates.

Definitely a stitch picker is the way to go. Sometimes, the stitching is very tight and small and the labels are usually doubled over at the ends. Cut off the main part of the label (the section between the stitched ends), as close as possible to the lines of stitching. You will be left with the two rows of stitching and doubled over remnants of label. With the picker, work at the label fabric's cut edges to make them fray. It should be possible to gently pull off/cut off frayed strands until eventually, you have little or no label remaining, just the stitches. Then cut the stitches and tease away the thread.

To minimise the danger of making holes in the garment, resist the temptation to pull the label taught to get at the stitches.

Oh a lot of them are scratchy.
And it is difficult to fully remove them .

We neen a soften our lables campaign.

M and S, are you reading this?

I have to use a combination of seam ripper and tiny-bladed embroidery scissors, but it often takes a lot of patience and, in my case, good lighting and reading glasses off but eyes only inches from the label!

i treid my stitch ripper which was sold to me under the name of "Quickunpick" but due to my eyesight I can;t see to unpick the tiny tight stitiiches.

Agree about the labels - I don't have particularly sensitive skin, but these labels often seem sewn with a kind of spiky thread and have sharp corners. The stitch rippers work for me, but I wish the manufacturers wouldn't use such irritating labels.