The first step before you start to embroider is transferring the drawing to the fabric. There are many ways to carry out this process, and we are always looking for a simple and effective way to do it. That’s why we suggest the point transfer method, which we will teach you how to do, step by step, in this tutorial.
They materials that we will need are
- The drawing that you want to embroider, printed on paper. It doesn’t have to be any special type of special paper—copy paper would be perfect for this.
- An awl.
- An erasable pen. It would be best to choose one that uses heat to erase, as it won’t require you to press the iron directly on top. Usually, pressing it on the wrong side of the fabric or applying a little steam is more than enough.
- The fabric where you want to transfer your drawing. We recommend that you use a light color so you can easily see the points you are making with the pen.
Step 1
We’ll start by using the awl to perforate the outline of the drawing and then its details. Each punch that we make should be spaced about 1/8 inch (3 mm) apart. Be careful not to make them too close together so the paper doesn’t tear.
To work this step and avoid damaging the table that you’re working on, put down a thin piece of cardboard or a little cork.
Perforate the edge of the drawing completely.
Step 2
Now we are going to transfer the points that we made along the drawing to the fabric.
Position the paper on top of the fabric in the space where you want to embroider it.
You can secure the paper to the fabric with a little washi tape to keep it from moving.
We will mark the fabric by putting the tip of the pen through the holes that we made with the awl, being careful not to tear the paper.
Repeat the previous step as many times as needed until you have all the points of the drawing transferred to the fabric.
When we remove the drawing, we will see the marked points.
When you complete the entire drawing, remove the paper.
Step 3
Little by little, join the points you marked in the previous step.
When you have them all connected, your drawing will be ready to start embroidering.
We hope that this step by step is very useful for you. It’s a simple and clean way to transfer drawings to fabric. If you put it into practice, we would love for you to share it with us on social media using the hashtag #weareknitters.
