Transferring your embroidery pattern using Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy

I know I’ve mentioned Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy before, but over the weekend I’ve received several emails asking about the best way to transfer an embroidery design to fabric, so I thought I’d post about it today.

I think it’s safe to say that this product has revolutionised the way I work.  You can purchase it in two forms – either on a roll or as 10 x 8″ sheets.  I have tried both, and whilst the roll is certainly more economical as you need only use the exact amount for your design, for me it has one major drawback – which is that you still have to trace the design.  This is because the curl of the roll has made it impossible to for me to successfully get my printer to print on it.  So I always purchase the sheets …

The Sticky Fabri Solvy sheets are made up of two layers – a paper backing layer and a non-woven fabric-type layer.  This is the side that you print on.  Yes – print!! Whoopeee!!  No more tedious tracing – this product makes it possible to transfer even the most intricate designs totally accurately…..

I don’t know if you can see properly here – this is the fabric side uppermost.  As you can see it’s quite a lightweight product, so it’s still possible to see your backing fabric while you’re stitching.  Remember what I said about more intricate designs?

Here I’ve printed my Festival Mandala design (coming in the August Magazine – and as kits too) and am working through the Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy onto white linen.  Here’s a geometric stag (this pattern won’t be available until September) so you can see how it looks on a coloured background fabric ….

The fabric layer has a sticky back, so when you’ve printed your design you simply peel it away from the paper backing and press into place on your background fabric where you want your design to be.  I haven’t found a problem with sticky residue on my needle at all, and the sticky fabri solvy acts as a stabilizer which can be helpful.  Using this product also makes it easy to transfer your design to thicker fabrics that you can’t trace the pattern onto, as well as textured or dark coloured fabrics.  When you’ve completed your stitching you simply immerse your work in cold water …

I usually put mine into the water upside down so any residue, and printer ink particles, can disperse to the bottom of the basin, but here it’s the right way up so you can see how the Fabri Solvy is beginning to curl and disappear ….

Here it’s been in the water for about five minutes.  I usually leave mine face down for around an hour to make sure every little bit has dissolved away, and then I rinse thoroughly.  The only issue I’ve had is if I don’t rinse thoroughly, and leave any printed particles behind, then my printer inkjet inks can bleed into my background fabric.  But that really is my fault for not rinsing and these days I’m super careful.
And that’s it!

I totally recommend this product (I’m not being paid to endorse it!), and it’s very easy to find – I usually purchase mine from Amazon, but I am sure there are other stockists too.  Oh .. and here’s another peep at my finished Festival Mandala ….

Perfectly accurately transferred, which is good as I think any inaccuracies would really stand out in this design!

Want to know more? We’ve put together a whole booklet on the best ways to transfer your embroidery pattern – just click below to get your FREE copy!

I did wonder if a lot of people had been put off purchasing Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy by having to buy a pack of 12 sheets all at once – especially as it isn’t a particularly cheap product. I was talking to Rosie about this and we came up with the idea of offering single sheets pre-printed with a Bustle & Sew design for those who’d like to try it for themselves. I’ve chosen nine of our most popular designs to begin with – but if you’d like one that isn’t there then please let me know. Pre-printed sheets are currently listed in our Etsy store only and you can find out more HERE.

Happy stitching!