Do you have a favorite way to transfer embroidery designs onto your fabric? I usually print out designs on Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy but the design I chose has lots of satin stitch dots and fighting with the sticky stabilizer didn’t sound like a lot of fun to me. I bought an LED tracing pad a couple years ago but never used it before, and this seemed like the perfect project to start with! This was so easy and I’m almost ashamed I haven’t tried this before! I’ll share my process and hopefully this will help you the next time you need to transfer a design!
What You’ll Need
- A Design to Transfer – I’m using a free one from Needle N Thread, which is an excellent resource if you want to learn more about hand embroidery.
- A Light Source – The cheapest way is to use a window with bright light, but this LED tracing pad is not expensive at all, is thinner than a notebook and very bright.
- A Marking Tool – You can use a pencil or water soluble pen. I used a Sakura Pigma Micron 005 Pen in Brown.
- Something to Mark on – I prepared some white 30ct linen fabric that was in my stash.
- Masking or Washi Tape – You’ll need some tape to secure the design and fabric to the light source to prevent shifting.
How To Transfer Designs Using A Tracing Pad
- Use the washi tape to secure your design to the tracing pad. You don’t need much – a few squares to secure the corners of the printed design to the edges of the tracing pad is enough.
- Center the fabric over the design and tape it to the tracing pad.
- Turn on the tracing pad and adjust light intensity if needed.
- Trace the design using the marking tool. I used very light pen strokes and also referred to a reference image.
- You’re done! Turn off the tracing pad and remove the washi tape. Enjoy your newly transferred design!
I hope this will help you the next time you need to transfer an embroidery design! This did not take long at all and is much nicer than sticking a piece of Fabri-Solvy to my linen! Do you have a favorite embroidery design transfer method? Please leave a comment – I’d love to know! Also please visit my Tutorials Page for more helpful tips and tricks!
