How to transfer embroidery designs onto fabric
How to transfer embroidery patterns onto fabric
There are a lot of ways to transfer embroidery design patterns onto fabric. I’m going to mention a couple of different ways but I’m going to show you photos of how I get my patterns ready to stitch.
I started with taping the design onto a sunny window. While that’s economical to do, it was awkward to stand there and trace. Tracing onto a sunny window also left me a bit blinded when I was done due to the sun in my eyes. Plus there was one more problem I had with it… the lack of sun at night. Most of the time I’m creative at night when it’s quiet in the house and I have time to myself.
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Finally having enough of those problems, I went to Amazon to see what they had in the way of tracing pads. I thought a tracing pad was going to be super expensive, but I found one for a very economical price. Check this one out, it’s the exact same one I have.
The other items I use besides the tracing pad is:
Tape dispenser (Trust me, go with the weighted dispenser!)
iNee tracing pens (I love, love, love these!)
Fabric (these are already pre-cut for you)
Printer (I use Cannon, but any brand will do)
Gather up your supplies and let’s get started…
You’re going to start off by printing your pattern onto paper. For this tutorial, I printed a simple shamrock pattern (here). The pattern was originally drawn onto a 4×6 piece of paper, so you will need to shrink it down with your computer settings. I chose to print the pattern on a “wallet” size which is 2.5×3.5, but you are welcome to choose any size you want.
Set up your tracing pad by plugging it into a USB port, or take the USB plug and place it into a block to plug into an outlet. No batteries are required if you chose to order the tracing pad I recommended above.
Next, place the printed pattern onto your tracing pad. Center the design where you want on the pad. I usually place it near to the top of the board so that I can see the ruler and still be able to tape where I need to on the pattern.
Next get your tape dispenser ready and place it near your tracing pad. Now tape your pattern directly onto your board. Don’t smoosh down the tape because you will need to peel it off later.
Place your fabric directly on top of your pattern, centering it up as best as you can by just eyeballing it.
Grab your fabric hem ruler… Rather than get technical, just use the slide. Place the edge of the ruler on the edge of the pattern, and then slide the plastic piece on the ruler to the edge of the fabric. Now pick up that ruler and measure the other side of the fabric to the opposite side of the pattern. Is it center? If not, keep adjusting the fabric until it is dead center. Once you have the sides measured, carefully measure the top and bottom of the fabric to center it onto the pattern. Measure again to make sure that the fabric hasn’t moved on each side, and then place a couple pieces of tape on the fabric. I try to get my fabric to tape to the board rather than the pattern, but sometimes all you can do is tape it to the pattern. Taping it to the board makes it easier to pull up when you are done tracing.
Make sure your board light is on. It’s time to trace your pattern,
I highly suggest you choose an iNee pen that’s opposite of the desired shade you intend to stitch with. Because I want to use green on my pattern, I chose a red iNee pen so that I could see my lines better.
That’s it, you’ve traced your first pattern!
Carefully remove the tape on the fabric and pattern and discard. You are now ready to place your fabric in the hoop and begin stitching.
One last hint… after choosing your colors, write them all down on your pattern. This way if you loose a color when stitching you will at least have a reference to look at.
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