Tangled Thread - Tips, Trick and Tutorials in Sewing & Stitching

different methods of pattern transfers

by Chloe on June 28th, 2007

I’m enjoying an afternoon in my studio and wanted to work on my backlog of projects :-)  I’m trying to complete an overdue gift for my sister-in-law & thought I’d share it with you all.

I’m making a table runner out of a cotton-linen blend fabric.  I’m going to applique a celtic interlace on to the center of it, out of the same fabric.

I have one little problem…  The celtic interlace I want to use isn’t an iron-on pattern, it’s been printed off from my computer.  It’s from a Dover copyright free book of designs.  I started off by scanning the book & then photoshopping the drawing to the correct size.  I also added little hearts to the design - just for something different :-)

I’ve got a couple of options to transfer my pattern from the paper on my fabric.

The first method we’re going to try is using dressmaker’s tracing paper (it’s like carbon paper for sewing) underneath the paper pattern.  Make sure your fabric is on a hard surface, otherwise you won’t get good results.  Line up the design & the tracing paper to make sure there aren’t any areas not covered by the tracing paper.  Try pinning the layers in place to prevent everything sliding apart.

Now take a pen or pencil with a dull tip and trace over the lines.  You’ll need to press quite heavily to get a good transfer on the fabric.  Carefully check the fabric underneath to make sure the lines are clear.  Press harder if you need stronger lines.  This is why you need to have the fabric on a hard surface!

There is a very cool product on the market from Sulky.  It’s a white pen for making your own iron-on transfers for dark fabric!  You just trace your design, using the pen, let it dry & iron it on - very handy!

Before you do a transfer on your good fabric, do a test patch on a scrap to see how it works first.  Just follow the directions for drying & ironing time :-)

Just one more thing… make sure you use the pen in a well ventilated area!

Now that your design is transferred onto the fabric - it’s time to cut & fuse.

Tomorrow…

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