Transfer Pens

I have experimented a lot with transfer pens of all sorts. The one that I think work best are the Red Transfer Pencils. These will print to a fabric surface just by using a hot iron. The thing you need to know about these is to keep the tip of your pencil sharp for a nice thin line, if it is too wide, it will be hard to cover the linw with your embroidery floss.  

The Sulky Iron On Transfer Pens work very well. I like to use a Heavy Duty Tracing Paper  to trace my design to, and then flip it over and then with a hot iron transfer it to my choice of fabric. The thing you need to know about these is, you can not press real hard because the line will get too thick, you need to REMEMBER with these a light touch is best. The great thing about these pens is that you can also use them to apply some color to your design, it is best to practice a bit before you do this, but it works very well. The set pictured has 8 different colors in it, Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple. Althought a little more spendy, they last a long time and work excellent if you follow the manufacturers guidelines.
All of these products are available on our website on the Hand Embroidery Notion page. We also carry two different types of Transfer Paper, a lighter one for use with the Red Transfer Pencils and a Heavy Duty one for use with the Sulky pens.
One thing you need to remember also is, DO NOT use your ironing board to transfer designs. It works best if you use a couple layers of fabric on a hard surface. Smooth out the fabric on the hard surface. Iron it so there are no wrinkles and make sure it is smooth before you lay your fabric and design down to trace, Hold your iron and press down on your design rather than moving back and forth, this can move your design enough so the lines show wider. Again practice so you have a good idea of how it all works before you work on your final design.
All of these items are available at http://www.chickadeehollowdesigns.com/
Happy Stitching! Carol