In this video I show you three different ways to transfer embroidery patterns – including super tricky fabrics like black velvet.
I mention a couple of products in this video. One is Sulky Solvy. The other is an iron-on transfer pen or pencil. Both are from Sulky and both work really well. But. . .
Update – Since I recorded this video I’ve discovered a new product that is so amazingly awesome it gets its own video. You MUST watch it. It’s also from Sulky and it’s called Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy. I call it The Magical Embroidery Stuff. 🙂 It’s pure magic! I use it now every time I transfer embroidery patterns. It works for regular fabric, for knit fabric, for dark fabric, and even for napped fabric like velvet or terrycloth. It’s fabulous!
Here are all my posts about working with patterns.
Pattern Sources
- My book – How to Embroider Almost Everything – has over 500 motifs
- My digital pattern shop
- My free patterns
- How to Work with Digital Patterns
- How to Work with Digital Patterns If You Don’t Have a Printer
How to Resize a Pattern
- How to Transfer and Stabilize an Embroidery Pattern (my preferred method)
- How to Transfer an Embroidery Pattern (other methods)
- How to Enlarge or Reduce Digital Patterns
- How to Use a Tiny Embroidery Pattern to Stitch a T-shirt
Return to the Learn to Embroider main Table of Contents.
Move on to the posts about knots. Yes – a whole section about knots. 🙂
VERY helpful video, Wendi.
Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you that was really helpful 🙂
Thank you, Wendi. This was exactly what I needed to know today. I really appreciate your time.
I bought this pencil from Handcock Fabric and it didn’t seem t work very well for me. Any suggestions? Also the paper I used to print my design on left black marks on my iron.
Crystal – Sometimes it helps to preheat the fabric before you transfer – it just makes things go a bit faster. Other than that I can’t think of why it might not be working well – I usually don’t have problems with them. Are you transferring to a relatively smooth fabric? They won’t work well on something like a rough linen.
Also – I’m guessing you’re using a laser printer. That’s what I use too and the black marks wipe right off my iron. I just keep a plain cotton rag at my ironing board and do it right away before I forget and end up transferring them to some other fabric. 🙂
Thank you SO MUCH for this. I’m new to embroidery. (I’ve done a lot of cross stitching, but have never really done embroidery) I’m making my mother a Hello Kitty purse for Valentine’s day and the image of HK is supposed to be embroidered. As simple as Hello Kitty is, she’s really a pain to draw in the right proportions. I tried EVERYTHING to transfer the picture, as the fabric I’m using is a black corduroy, but nothing worked. Once again, thank you so much for posting this!
I’m glad it helped!
hello! any chance you have this how to in words instead of a video? i am sending one of your patterns to my mom who doesn’t have internet access and has only used patterns from ben franklin 🙂 thanks!!!
Thanks so much. I can use all the help I can get and I love learning something new!
I just started my first project with the Sulky Sticky Frabri-Solvy. I’m wondering how to get printing on the solvy correctly. Thanks.
Thanks for providing the different ways to transfer an embroidery pattern on black velvet. It’s looking so beautiful.
cotton black velvet
Thanks.
If I wanted to transfer a pattern onto a pillow case to embroider how would I go about doing that?
It depends on the color. If it’s light colored you could use the Sulky transfer pens. If it’s a dark color I’d go straight for The Magical Embroidery Stuff.
Hi. I purchased a lovely kit from Australia to embroider. It’s a fuzzy cotton wool. How can I transfer the pattern onto the blanket without the bleed from a pen to a fuzzy fabric?
For anything fuzzy I highly recommend Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy. You can
read all about its awesomeness here.
<http://wendigratz.wpengine.com/2014/06/everything-ever-wanted-know-sulky-sticky-fabri-solvy.html>
Thank you WENDY ;really helpful video
Frixion pen is my absolute favorite. You use a light box or back light from a window to transfer your pattern onto your material. When done stitching a warm iron makes all of the Frixion marks disappear.
Frixion pens are cool – just be sure to test them first on the exact fabric you’re using. There have been reports of the markings coming back on some fabrics after the fabric cools. Yikes!
Great post! Thanks for providing the different ways to transfer an embroidery pattern on black velvet. It’s looking so beautiful.
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I have never done embroidery but would like to try. This is probably a completely silly question but what kind of paper is your flower drawing on?
Just regular copy machine paper – nothing fancy.
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I tried using Sulkey on wool blend felt and I had two problems: first, I made the mistake of embroidering white thread onto red felt, so it bled to pink thread 🙁
Second, I followed the directions carefully, but I couldn’t get all the “glue” from the Sulkey off 🙁
Have you had this problem with using Sulkey on felt?
Bleeding is always a potential issue – and red is the worst offender. But you shouldn’t be having a problem with all the glue not releasing unless you have a very old batch of Sulky Stocky Fabri-solvy. They had an issue a little over a year ago where one batch was manufactured with the wrong kind of adhesive. You can read more about the problem (and how to fix it) here. https://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/2021/09/alert-your-sulky-stabilizer-might-have.html
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