New this week: the Orchard bandana in brushed cotton — see the neckwear range
Sewn in Bristol Since 2019
Tumbletail Bristol

Personalising

Anything sewn here can go back through the embroidery machine before it is packed, and any collar can leave with a brass tag already fitted. Both are done in the studio on the day the order ships.

Stitched names

One line, up to sixteen characters, on the long edge of a bandana or along the outside of a collar. Six thread colours to choose from and five type sizes, scaled so the smallest collar still reads clearly at arm's length.

Ask about a specific layout
A dog wearing a collar with a small engraved brass tag attached

Thread colours

Ivory, oat, rust, moss, slate and black. Ivory and oat read best on the darker cottons; rust and moss are the two most people pick for a check.

Type sizes

Five heights from 6 mm to 14 mm. On an XS collar anything above 8 mm starts to curve with the webbing, so we set that as the ceiling and say so at the time.

Brass tags

Two shapes — a 25 mm disc and a 32 mm bone — engraved on both faces if you want a second phone number. Fitted to the collar with a split ring before it is boxed.

What to put on it

A name and one mobile number is the practical answer. There is a reasonable argument for leaving the dog's name off a tag altogether — a stranger who can call the dog by name is easier for it to trust — and about a third of our orders now do exactly that, with just a number on the tag and the name stitched on the bandana instead.

If you use the disc tag, a number fits comfortably on one face at 3 mm type. Two numbers means using both faces. We will not squeeze an address on: it will be unreadable inside a year of a dog rolling in things.

How long it adds

Stitching adds nothing to the lead time — it happens while the order is being packed. Engraving adds one working day, because the tags go out to a workshop in Bedminster on a morning run and come back the same afternoon. Orders placed on a Friday afternoon with engraving will therefore leave on the Monday.

Returns on personalised things

Anything with a name stitched or engraved on it cannot be resold, so it is outside the normal fourteen-day return window. That is not a policy we enjoy, so two things soften it: we email a proof of the exact wording and thread colour before the machine runs, and if the fault is ours — wrong spelling against the proof, thread the wrong colour, stitching that puckers — we remake it and pay the postage both ways. Sizing is the one thing personalising cannot fix, so please measure first; the guide is on the collars page.

Wear

Embroidery thread is polyester and outlasts the cotton around it. Brass will dull; a minute with a cloth brings it back if you want it bright, and most people stop bothering after the first year. Engraving is cut, not printed, so it stays legible long after the tag has stopped shining.