I hope someone can teach me how to put a poem on a piece of cloth so that I can embroider it. I have reversed the poem on the computer to make like an iron on transfer, but this puts the poem on a piece of cloth with the rubbery backing that stays on the cloth. What should I do? Thanks.
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Depending on what kind of printer you have, you may be able to do this, which would be the easiest (test it first, on a scrap of fabric):
Print the poem backward, like you did, then turn it over onto the cloth and press with a hot dry iron. It may transfer the ink onto the fabric.
If that doesn't work and you have access to an older Xerox machine, try it with a photocopy.
Third option; print the poem out normally. Tape it to a brightly lit window, poem side against the glass, and trace over the letters with a transfer pencil from the fabric store. You will then be able to iron on the transfer pencil image (directions will be on the pencil's packaging).
You could also use dressmaker's carbon to trace the poem directly onto the fabric.
I would print or copy your poem onto tissue paper or dress designers paper. Pin it to your work, embroider, and pull the tissue out when you're done.
You could also iron the transfer (regular way, not with the letters backwards) to the back side of the embroidery fabric. This way, the shiny part won't even show =D
You can get a transfer pencil at wal-mart or a sewing store. Print you poem out on a piece of tracing paper then copy it on the back of the paper with the transfer pencil you can then iron it onto the fabric as you would a regular purchased embroider pattern.
How about the easy, "old -fashioned" way?!? Either find patterns for an alphabet you like for cross-stich, or make your own. Using these patterns, transfer your poem to a piece of graph paper. Then use this for a pattern. You can buy special cross-stich fabric that is designed to put cross-stich designs on t-shirts or other clothing items. You simply lay the cross-stich cloth on top of the cloth that you want the poem to be on, then you embrodiery your poem onto it, using the pattern that you made on the graph paper.
Hope this helps!
bailegirl in NC
I do a lot of stitching on muslin, I just tape my picture to the table or to a window and trace over it with a sharp pencile.....works fantastic. When I do the stiching I always have my traced material but then I cut another piece of muslin the same size and stitch through both pieces.
hope this helped
Karen
Living in Malawi, Africa where we certainly do not have all the luxury craft supplies as 1st world countries do. When I need to embroider anything, I use a piece of carbon copy underneath my printed poem etc.
I have had good luck just putting my fabric through my computer printer. I know it would depend on the printer and the fabric but can be worth a try.
Take the fabric (I prefer muslin or 100% cotton fabrics - they seem to work the best), wash and dry to shrink it and remove sizings. Cut a piece of material a bit larger than the size of a sheet of paper. Press the fabric and use a light coating of spray starch to stiffen the fabric. Trim to the size of a sheet of paper and put into printer tray with additional paper sheets beneath it. Print as normal. Let sit in tray for several minutes, then remove and press lightly with a warm iron to set the ink.
NOTES:
*Try to cut the fabric swatch so that a selvedge is the leading edge into the printer. This reduces fraying from the rollers. Edge can be trimmed off later.
*Test the method with scrap fabric to be sure the method works with your printer. Usually does not work with laser printers.
*If successful, this method can also be used to transfer photo images onto fabric also. Colors will be muted but results can be wonderful.
*Be sure to NOT have the fabric as the only thing in the feed tray. If you don't have "padding" from a stack of paper (at least 6 sheets) beneath the cloth the machine may feed it unevenly and jam. If it does jam, pull out the fabric carefully and check for any loose threads that may have gotten into the printer.
I use this method to make signature tags for quilts or other fabric projects. I used to use a typewriter but so few people have those anymore. Plus the computer gives you so many more font and size options.
Good luck!
HI!
I am just attempting this project myself. I have found that printing the entire piece (in this case a poem) on the computer, on regular printer paper, in which ever font style I choose, works. The next thing to do is get a piece regular carbon paper, which is made smear-proof now, at your office supply store, and place it over the fabric, face down, and your printed poem on top of that. If you trust you have a steady hand, trace the outline of your letters, this will obviously go through to your fabric. When finished, remove the printed poem, the tracing paper, and there you have it...your poem, printed and ready for embroidery!
Lisa B.
Florida
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