How-to guide
How to transfer an embroidery pattern to fabric: every method compared
For a detailed design like a dog portrait, the surest way to transfer an embroidery pattern is to print it on a stick and stitch sheet, press it onto the fabric and stitch through it. For simple lines on light fabric, trace with a water-soluble pen. For dark fabric, use stick and stitch or tissue paper.
Every transfer method, side by side
There are more ways to transfer a pattern than most beginners expect. They differ in three ways that matter: how the lines come off afterward, whether they work on dark fabric, and how accurately they carry a detailed design, like a dog portrait with a dot at every needle hole.
Nine ways to transfer an embroidery pattern, compared
| Method | How it works | How the lines come off | Dark fabric? | A detailed dot pattern? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stick and stitch | Print the pattern on a sticky, water-soluble sheet, press it on and stitch through it | The sheet rinses away in lukewarm water | Yes: the lines are on the sheet | Yes: every dot prints where it belongs |
| Plain water-soluble stabilizer | Trace the design onto a clear film and hoop it on top of the fabric | It rinses away, like stick and stitch | Yes | Only as accurate as your tracing |
| Tracing with a water-soluble pen | Tape the pattern behind the fabric on a window, light box or tablet and trace it | It rinses out with water; test the pen first | No: light can't shine through | Slow: every dot is traced by hand |
| Heat-erasable pen | Trace the same way; the ink fades with heat | An iron or hair dryer clears it, but lines can come back in the cold | No | Slow, like any tracing |
| Carbon transfer paper | Trace over the pattern with a stylus, and the color presses onto the fabric | It depends on the paper, so test it | Yes, with a light color | Possible, but lines can smudge as you work |
| Iron-on transfer pen or pencil | Draw the design in reverse on paper, then iron it onto the fabric | Usually it doesn't: your stitches must cover it | Depends on the ink color | A poor fit: every mark must hide under thread |
| Tissue paper and tacking stitches | Trace on tissue, tack along the lines with sewing thread, tear the paper away | You pull the tacking out as you embroider | Yes | Possible, but you stitch every line twice |
| Printing straight onto fabric | Feed fabric sheets made for inkjet printers through your printer | It doesn't: the print is meant to stay | No | A poor fit: the print shows beside the stitches |
| Freehand pencil | Draw the design straight onto the fabric | Pencil can linger, so keep it light and cover it | Hard to see | No: a likeness drifts by hand |
Our stick and stitch guide ranks the five most common methods for a first pet portrait. This page goes wider, with a page of its own for each method that needs more than a line.
Which method for which project
- A detailed design, like a dog portrait: stick and stitch. A pattern with a dot at every needle hole has hundreds of points, and printing puts each one exactly where it belongs. It's how our patterns are made to be used. Here's how to print on it, and how to choose the paper.
- Simple lines on light fabric: trace with a water-soluble pen on a window, a light box or a tablet. It's quick and costs almost nothing.
- Dark fabric: stick and stitch, tissue paper with tacking stitches, or transfer paper in a light color. See transferring to dark fabric.
- One design, many times: a ready-printed iron-on transfer can be pressed more than once, paler each time. Or print a stick and stitch sheet for each piece.
- Velvet and other fabric with a pile: a water-soluble film on top of the fabric, or tissue paper. It's hard to draw a clean line on a pile.
- No special supplies at all: tissue paper, sewing thread and a needle, or a pencil and a sunny window.
Why accuracy matters more for a portrait
A flower forgives a wobbly transfer. A face doesn't. Move the corner of an eye or the tip of an ear by a sixteenth of an inch and the expression changes, and that's the part that makes a portrait look like one particular dog.
That's why we print. A printed sheet carries every line and every dot at true size, as long as you print at 100% and the 1-inch check bar measures exactly 1 inch. Tracing by hand works well for simple designs, but over hundreds of dots, small slips add up. If you trace, trace the lines carefully and mark only a few dots, at corners and tight curves.
Five steps that work with any method
- Wash and press the fabric first. Linen can shrink the first time it gets wet, and creases distort a transfer. Pre-wash it, dry it and press it before any lines go on.
- Find the center and the grain. Fold the fabric in half both ways and pinch the folds. Line the middle of your design up with the crossing, with the grain running straight up and down.
- Check the size. If you print, measure the 1-inch bar on a plain-paper copy. If you trace, hold the pattern inside your hoop: every line should sit at least half an inch from the ring.
- Test your marker on a scrap. Mark a scrap of the same fabric, then remove the mark the way the package says: rinse it, heat it or brush it. If it doesn't come out cleanly, don't use it.
- Check before you hoop. Lift a corner, or hold the fabric up to the light, and compare it with the pattern. Fixing a missing line now is easy; finding it halfway through is not.
Will the pen wash out?
- Water-soluble marking pens are made to rinse out. Test yours on a scrap anyway, and don't press the fabric with an iron until the marks are gone.
- Heat-erasable pens vanish with an iron or a hair dryer, but the lines can come back if the piece gets very cold. Heat near finished stitches is a risk too.
- Iron-on transfer pens and pencils usually don't wash out well. Plan on your stitches covering every line.
- Transfer paper depends on the brand. Needle 'n Thread notes that Saral's wax-free paper won't set if ironed. Test before you trust it.
- Permanent fine-line pens aren't for fabric you'll wash. Our method ends with a rinse, so skip them.
- Pencil stays unless it's covered. Keep the touch light and stitch right on top of the line.
The two erasable pens are side by side in FriXion vs water-soluble pens. Lines still showing after you finish? Pattern lines showing after stitching goes method by method.
Transferring without transfer paper
You don't need transfer paper at all. Tracing on a window or a tablet, stick and stitch, a plain water-soluble film and the tissue-paper method all work without it.
The tissue-paper method is the oldest trick here, and it works on almost any fabric. Trace the design onto thin tissue, pin it to the fabric, and stitch along every line with small running stitches in sewing thread, smaller on the curves. Gently tear the tissue away, then embroider over the tacked lines, pulling the tacking out as you go. It's slow, because you stitch everything twice, but it leaves no marks at all.
Freehand is fine for lettering and simple shapes: draw lightly in pencil or with a water-soluble pen, straight onto the fabric. For a portrait, it's where a likeness drifts.
And printing straight onto fabric? Inkjet fabric sheets work, but the print is meant to stay. With a line drawing, it shows beside your stitches.
Questions people ask
What is the best way to transfer an embroidery pattern?
For a detailed design, print it on a stick and stitch sheet and stitch through it, so every line lands where it belongs. For simple lines on light fabric, tracing with a water-soluble pen is quick and cheap.
How do you transfer a pattern onto dark fabric?
Use a stick and stitch sheet, because the lines are on the sheet, not the fabric. Tissue paper tacked on with sewing thread and transfer paper in a light color work too. A window or light box won't shine through dark fabric.
Can you print an embroidery pattern directly onto fabric?
Yes, with fabric sheets made for inkjet printers, but the print is meant to stay. Your stitches then have to hide every printed line, which is hard with a line drawing.
Will the pen wash out?
Water-soluble marking pens are made to rinse out, and heat-erasable pens fade with heat. Iron-on transfer pens usually stay. Whatever you use, mark a scrap of the same fabric and remove it before you trust it.
How do you transfer an embroidery pattern without transfer paper?
Trace it on a sunny window or a tablet, print it on a stick and stitch sheet, trace it onto a water-soluble film, or tack it on through tissue paper with sewing thread.
How do you transfer embroidery patterns to fabric freehand?
Draw lightly straight onto the fabric with a pencil or a water-soluble pen. It works for lettering and simple shapes. For a portrait, a printed or traced pattern keeps the likeness.
Sources: Needle 'n Thread: Embroidery design transfer methods · Needle 'n Thread: Transferring a pattern with tissue paper and tacking stitches · Needle 'n Thread: Using iron-on embroidery patterns · Wandering Threads: How to use stick & stitch transfer paper