How To Trace An Embroidery Pattern…

A piece of plain calico around 50cm x 50cm
Your printed out embroidery design and stocking template – print them here. Why didn’t I put the stocking template in the above photo? I don’t know. But you need that too!
Some Sticky Tape or Masking Tape
An air fading embroidery marker
A regular pen (or fineliner or grey lead pencil)
A nice, bright, clean window to use as a ‘light box’

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Okay – see what I’ve done here? I’ve got my stocking template and I’ve taped it onto the window nice and straight. So do that, please.

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Next – tape your calico piece over the top of the stocking template – just like I’ve done above. Make sure it’s nice and straight and centred on the piece of calico. That gives you heaps of excess fabric around the stocking, which is important. Please note that my bit of calico is a bit smaller then I have recommended – it’s the only bit I had and I like to use what I have! Keep the fabric as taut as you can – for easier tracing. Tape, tape, tape!

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Now start tracing! You should be able to see the outline through the fabric. I used a pencil – but you can use a regular old pen for this. We’ll be cutting along this line later. But not now. And that means that your line will be concealed in the stocking seam – so no need to do this with the fading marker. Trace your stocking outline! Trace, trace, trace.

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Remove the calico and tape from the window – and set your stocking template aside. You won’t need this now – but you will need it later if you would like to make another stocking some day! We DO still need the calico though, the one with the freshly traced on stocking outline, because we’re going to transfer the embroidery design next.

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note – it’s a bit hard to see my ‘just traced on’ stocking outline – but it’s definitely there – and yours should be too!

Now do kind of the same thing again! Put your embroidery design printout on the window – nice and straight – and secure with sticky tape. Then place your calico over the top. Be careful to position the embroidery design INSIDE the stocking shape outline, exactly where you would like it. I think centred is good. Be sure you keep it away from the stocking shape lines – you don’t want to lose your lovely stitching in the sewn up seams later! Tape, tape, tape!

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Now grab your fading embroidery marker and trace over the lines onto the calico! It’s very important to use a fading marker here, because we want the lines to vamoose later. You can add in little bits or leave bits out as you desire at this point, too. Or just do it the way I drew it! Make it the way you like – and don’t be afraid to customise! Trace, trace, trace again!

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It will look something like this when you are done – with whatever changes you made, of course… and without Brunswick Street in the background, of course. Super excellent work, tracers!

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See how mine is not extra-perfect? That’s just fine. But make it as clear and easy to follow as you can.

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What’s Next?!

We’re going to start stitching! Yippee! It’s really easy so don’t freak out. You’ll need the little bamboo hoop I asked you to buy, plus a needle and some embroidery floss and scissors too! And a cup of tea and some patience would be super good. See you very soon for Episode 3 – How To Start Stitching

xx Pip

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Mike’s Christmas Stocking Stitching – Episode 1

Awesome Embroidery Sites:
Sublime Stitching
You Tube – search ‘How To Backstitch’ or ‘How To Running Stitch’
Purl Bee