Passing down graduation gowns: how to mark?

June 4, 2018 4:02 PM

My student group is starting a graduation gown collection to pass on to other members as the years go by. I'd like to be able to write the names of the students who wear the gowns inside the gown somewhere -- some connection to previous members of the group. I have two thoughts on how to do this, but don't know which is better or if there's something obvious I'm missing. The 1st batch of gowns are acetate (I think one of the gowns is a polyester blend of some kind) and I'm unsure how that affects things.

Option 1: fasten a piece of white cloth to the inside somehow - probably glue or safety pins, to keep stitches from showing on the back of the robe - and then write names/years on that. I don't know what kind of glue would be best for the material.

Option 2: write directly on the gown fabric. I don't know what kind of pen is best for this.

My only real concern with this is making sure that whatever ink is used, it is definitely going to -stay put- and not come off on someone's shirt if they've gotten sweaty from being nervous/in a large auditorium for hours. Colors are easy if I'm going to write on a separate piece of cloth that's fastened to the inside, but if I'm writing directly on the gown it's also going to need to pop off the black fabric. Thoughts or suggestions?

posted by curious nu to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

I think you'd be better off getting some cheap garment bags, storing the gowns in those garment bags, and writing the names on the bags in silver sharpie. That would also protect the gowns from dirt/damage the 364 days a year they're not in use. You might even be able to get your local suit store to donate the bags.
posted by cosmicbandito at 4:12 PM on June 4, 2018 [11 favorites]

If you end up writing on the gowns, I'd look to do the writing near the bottom hem. This will avoid any transfer to clothing, due to sweat and friction. Maybe you could glue a ribbon along the bottom hem. Students can write their name on the ribbon. You might fit 2 or 3 student names, then add another ribbon directly above this.
posted by hydra77 at 4:16 PM on June 4, 2018

Could you embroider the names on them instead of writing?
posted by mccxxiii at 4:18 PM on June 4, 2018

You could put a small tag in each gown with an embroidered number. Then have a separate log for each gown (a little book identified by the gown's number).
posted by Tandem Affinity at 4:22 PM on June 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Metallic sharpie will write on the gowns, but has a high risk of bleeding through. My own graduation gowns have all been that thin acetate, and I wouldn't recommend writing on it.

If you really want to have the names directly inside the gown, I would second the recommendation of a long strip of fabric or wide ribbon along the hem or along the shoulder seam (where the "bib" part connects to the "gown" part). Then have them write with a skinny permanent marker on that strip.

You could use fabric glue for this, but I would sew it with black thread, personally. Fabric glue will make the fabric stiff and be more noticeable from the outside. If you use a long strip of fabric, instead of a rectangle, a single long line of stitching will be pretty indistinguishable from the hem/shoulder seam.

I think this is a lovely idea and I wish I could have handed down my own gowns to someone who ccouldn't pay the exorbitant regalia fees!
posted by assenav at 4:42 PM on June 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

I would print on iron-on paper to a twill tag and fold it and sew it to the collar or hem. like this. It's a little bit of work, though, but it will be nicer and last better.
posted by vunder at 4:49 PM on June 4, 2018

I have a sharpie laundry marker, and it’s never transferred at all. I vote black market on white cloth/ ribbon. Also, great idea!
posted by Valancy Rachel at 5:07 PM on June 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Great idea!

I also suggest iron-on paper to a separate piece of fabric. But to improve on vunder's idea, I would take a foot of ribbon, sew the end of it to the shoulder yoke, and let it hang down the length of the gown. With a sewing machine and matching thread, this is very quick and requires approximately five minutes of instruction and less than one minute per gown to execute.

Each year, you can iron a new name and year onto the ribbon, gradually filling it up. When the gown wears out, transfer its tape to a new gown.

Assuming the university didn't object, I would be happy to have such a ribbon on the outside of my gown. It's such a lovely connection to my predecessors. But I'm a sucker for history like that. And I'm assuming there's no stigma to accepting a gown from this program of yours.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 8:40 PM on June 4, 2018 [2 favorites]