Transfer pens

[AnnieB]

I'm looking for the easiest way to write a few words in longhand onto some cotton fabric so that I can embroider them with, say, a stem stitch. I see a variety of transfer pens on the market, some with fine line points, some with print that fades over a day or two to become invisible and some that wash out with water. Can those of you with experience share your thoughts on these? Or is there a better way to do what I want that is fairly simple?

Thanks for your help.

[Jocelyn]

If you use one of the disappearing pens, be sure to test it on a scrap of the same fabric first. And read the instructions carefully - for example, some of the marks that disappear with water will never disappear if they have been ironed while visible.

But I think the way I would go about it is to write the words on tissue paper, tack it to the fabric, and stitch over the writing, going right through the tissue paper. After the stitching is done, it is a simple matter of tearing away the tissue paper. There are various dissolvable fabrics etc available now, that would work the same way as the tissue paper; but I like tissue paper because it is readily available and cheap. :)

[JoWynn Johns]

I've used the tissue paper method, too, and it works very well. Besides, you can write the words as many times as you want to, for the appearance you want. Then choose the one you like best.

[AnnieB]

Jocelyn and JoWynn.. thanks for the advice. I would never have thought of the tissue paper method, but now I can't wait to give it a try.

[MargB]

Some of the quilting forums, which I occasionally read (although I don't quilt - go figure that one out, I can't) talk about using the new (to us in Australia) Press and Seal . Has anyone tried that? I bought a roll but haven't quite got around to it yet.

[Lisa in Nevada]

I use press & seal food wrap. It sticks to the fabric and you can draw on it like tissue paper and peel it off after. Youcan't leave it on the fabric for weeks and you need to use tweazers to get it all off...but I like being able to see through it.

[AnnieB]

Lisa, I like that idea although I'm not quite sure about that tweezer thing. I've never bought that. Is it different from Saran wrap?

[Christine S]

Yes, it grips any item (the reason you can use it on plastic wear)w/o an adhesive. I have yet to use this idea but I was thinking that I would try it next, but I would do a running stitch in sewing thread along the pattern & then remove before I do a stem stitch or whatever stitch I will use.

[Mary Corbet]

I used transfer pens quite often for kids' embroidery projects, but I don't like using them on anything I would consider a "good" project that I'm using expensive fabrics and threads on. I've seen the marks come back, after being rinsed and rinsed, and I also noticed on one fabric that I used a transfer pen on, that the fabric took on a yellowish color where the markings were. I just don't think it's worth it to use the transfer pens!

The tissue paper's a great idea, and it works fine. Another option is Solvy or something similar. But if you don't want to stitch through layers, you could just do the window / pencil method: write out your words on plain paper, the way you want them. Then tape the paper to a sunny window, situate your fabric over it, tape your fabric, and trace lightly with a fine point, hard lead pencil.

On projects I know will be thoroughly covered by my stitching, I use a .005 micron art pen to trace the pattern.

I'm interested in trying the iron-on transfer pens. Has anyone ever used those? I think Sulky makes them? I'd like to know how well they work... just out of curiosity, since people are always asking about them...

[Jane]

Hi, has anyone used a good way to transfer onto dark fabrics. The tissue paper method would work of course for simple designs, and I have a light box which I can use for lighter and/or thinner fabrics. But I still don't have a way to put more complicated designs like those I use for my Japanese embroidery onto dark fabrics.

Any ideas?

[Mary Corbet]

Maybe you could use white dressmaker's transfer paper? I've used it before with good results. I've even used it on light gold silk with good results - the white was visible for stitching, but any areas that did not get completely covered with stitches weren't noticeable, and rubbed off with a Q-tip.

Anyway, you transfer your design just like you would trace with carbon paper - fabric down first, then the dressmaker's carbon, then your pattern. If my pattern's printed in black, I use a red ball point to trace over it again, so I can see what I've done. Oh - I use tracing paper (vellum) for the pattern itself.

Anyway, try it! It works!

[AnnieB]

Thanks, Paula. That really shows how effective the technique is. And Mary, I haven't sewn any clothes in so long, I had forgotton all about that tracing paper. I bet I still have a tracing wheel for transerring dress patterns somewhere. Such a pack rat!

[pat winter]

I have found that using the good old standard lead pencil with a light hand does the trick just fine. Sometimes the basics are best.