Shubham Anil Jain
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Bangalore, India
Email: shubhamajain125@gmail.com
Introduction: There are several techniques to mark or transfer design an embroidery pattern to cloth, and one of them will definitely end up being your favorite. However, it’s a good idea to be familiar with all of your options even if you already have a preferred way over the others. The weight or color of the fabric being used can frequently affect the approach that works best. Try as many of these transfer techniques as you can, and keep the materials you need on hand so that you are prepared to apply them when necessary.
Various Design Transfer Techniques:
1. Tracing:
If the fabric is quite thin, you can transfer the drawings directly onto the fabric by drawing the lines using a chalk-based marking pencil or a water-soluble transfer pen or pencil and utilizing a light source, like a light box or window. A regular pencil that has been finely sharpened will also do in a pinch. When utilizing a window or other source of light to transfer a design, tape the pattern to the glass and cover it with cloth. You should be able to easily see the pattern through the fabric so that you can use your marking pencil or pen to copy the lines.
2. Water-Soluble Stabilizer:
The water-soluble stabilizer approach is a fantastic choice if you’re working with dark fabrics or if your pattern is intricate. The pattern can be printed directly onto the stabilizer using this material, which can then be placed on the embroidery fabric. Stabilizer will dissolve from the needlework after it has been stitched through the fabric and stabilizer. You must ensure that your cloth can be cleaned and that your embroidery floss is colorfast because this technique calls for soaking.
3. Transfer Pens:
Commercial transfer embroidery pens are widely available. It is crucial to test out the pen you decide on in order to assess the color’s intensity, the thickness of the tip, and whether it is permanent or water-soluble. Some pens fade out over time, while others are heat-removable. Fade-out pens are useless because they don’t last as long as embroidery may. Because permanent pens cannot be removed, they must be concealed with needlework.
4. Light Source or Lightbox Method: The light source technique is excellent for directly printing designs on fabric. A genuine light box or a brilliant window can serve as the source of illumination.
Using a window or lightbox, transfer embroidery patterns:
The cloth over the paper template after laying out the design.
Attach your light source securely to the fabric and design.
Use sticky tape to secure my fabric and pattern while utilizing a window.
It is possible to trace the pattern directly onto the fabric since the light passes through both the design and the fabric.
5. Tracing Wheel: A very traditional way of copying patterns is with a wheel that has tiny spikes on a handle. It favors larger designs and works swiftly.
How to use carbon to transfer embroidery patterns:
The tracing wheel, cloth or dressmakers carbon paper, and your pattern must be printed or drawn on some tracing paper. (Avoid using standard carbon paper.)
Put the carbon in between the fabric and the paper pattern. Place the carbon with the face down.
As you move the wheel along, it transfers information onto the fabric via the carbon as it pricks through the paper.
6. Printer Ink Method:
Many inks from ink jet printers can be heated up and transferred to cloth or another surface. I’ve not had as much luck using toner ink. I think this is my least effective way for transferring needlework designs. Try the heat transfer as soon as the paper is printed, while the ink is still fresh, as that is when it will work the best.
a) Use your printer to print your pattern.
Place the paper with the ink side facing the correct side of your cloth.
b) Use a symmetrical design to avoid having your image reversed. You should print the image in reverse if your design includes text.
Use a hot, dry iron to press.
c) Pull up an edge slowly to see if the design has transferred, being careful not to disturb the paper or fabric.
Conclusion: Transferring an embroidery pattern to cloth can be done using a variety of approaches. Choose the embroidery design transfer techniques that will work best for your pattern’s complexity, the colour and texture of your cloth, and all three. There are various techniques to apply an embroidered pattern on fabric. Carbon paper, water-soluble pens, iron-on pens, soluble paper, and friction pens are a few examples of frequent transfer methods. Depending on the design and cloth, you will decide how to transfer your pattern. In other words, the level of pattern detail and the fabric’s characteristics (such as thickness, stretchability, and so on).
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
