Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Best Practice Tip for Mailing Blocks

Hello Everyone! This is Diana from Red Delicious Life and I'm the hive mama for hive 3. I wanted to share a best practice with all the Stash Bee participants about mailing blocks. January was my month to be queen and I wanted to show  you a block that I received in the mail --


The fact that I received it at all is due to how it was packaged. In case you can't tell, the envelope came directly from the US Postal Service and the highlighted text on the envelope says "Found Loose in Mail."  Apparently the packaging that this block was sent in was destroyed, but it still managed to get to me because the sender enclosed the block in a plastic bag and included my name and address on a sheet of paper inside.

Now you may be thinking that you always package your blocks really well. And you probably do, but to give you some perspective, the block above was mailed in a padded Jiffy envelope. I never would have thought there would be an issue but you just never know.

So here is my best practice for sending your blocks. Once they've been pressed, fold them and place them into a ziplock bag, a bag that you can tape shut, or even some Press'n Seal. Include a note or sheet of paper that has the recipient's name and address clearly visible.


If it's a slider ziplock type of bag, you might also consider taping the zipper down against the bag using some packing tape, as some of those slider zippers can be rather bulky and could rip your envelope when going through the mail system's sorting machine.

And there you have it - my best practice to ensure that the blocks you work so hard on get to their intended recipient.

Happy Quilting!


5 comments:

Lisa J. said...

Thanks for sharing this Dianna. I hope my first block made it!

Jane Holbrook said...

Thanks, Dianna. The post office said the same thing to me. They also recommended putting some light cardboard (eg., cereal box type) inside the envelope as a layer on both sides of zip lock bag for stiffness. It makes a more secure package and adds minimal weight. Tape over any metal closures on paper envelopes. The extra time it takes is worth it.

Cheryl said...

And for cheaper shipping overseas, make the package as flat as possible. Letter fees are much cheaper than parcels.

Cheryl said...

And for cheaper shipping overseas, make the package as flat as possible. Letter fees are much cheaper than parcels.

Unknown said...

I use press and seal when I mail mine. It makes it waterproof and flat.