Review: Stitcharama Embroidery Transfers

Hello all, today I have the pleasure of doing a review of Stitcharama embroidery transfers, which you can find at www.stitcharama.com. They were kind enough to send me the embroidery transfer you see, so that I can try it out and report back to you with my findings.

Well, I suppose I can tell you the end at the beginning if you have no time to read this - I was very pleased with my results, and I do recommend them. But let me walk you through my process!

I started off with a regular flour sack tea towel and my transfer pattern. I did a quick read through of the instructions, and I wondered how well it would transfer. It looked just like a regular medium weight sheet of paper, and the lines didn't look particularly thick or dark.

I pinned the transfer into place and started ironing. After a few passes with a hot, dry iron, I pulled the transfer back to peek and I did indeed see some very faint lines appearing...

And after a few more passes with the iron I began to see darker lines appearing.

And voila! After working at the fainter lines for a bit, I was rewarded with a very nice transfer, and nice clean lines - not too thick or inky. I really like that the pattern is still clearly visible on the paper, which could be really handy if you wanted to re-trace the pattern to use it again.

I was curious to see if the ink had passed through the tea towel fabric, as the directions warned me it might, so I flipped over the fabric...

Indeed, I did see a very ghostly image on the back, but it did not transfer to my ironing board, which was nice.

In summary, I am really happy with the transfer, as I mentioned above. When purchasing a transfer pattern, you also receive a nice PDF with a finished image and stitch and color guide. I like how Stitcharama promotes the work of many artists through its patterns and credits them. Just FYI, this particular Kasia Jacquot pattern is no longer available.

But there are many lovely patterns and kits still up for grabs on the Stitcharama site (including some really cute Mollie Johanson patterns). Here are a few of the latest patterns that I think are adorable:

I wholeheartedly recommend the transfer option for your lighter colored fabrics, and the PDF pattern option if you'd like to do your own transfer method.

Thank you Stitcharama, for sharing this lovely pattern with us. For more on Stitcharama, you can follow them on Instagram @stitcharamacraft, or visit their site: www.stitcharama.com.

International Quilt Market 2010

I was extremely fortunate to be able to attend the International Quilt Market in Minneapolis last weekend. It was an amazing event with way too much eye candy to share in a single post. What I loved seeing the most, of course, were the many beautiful flashes of embroidery throughout the show and its many beautiful displays.

Here I am with fabric designer, new book author, and all around awesome person Melissa Averinos. Melissa's new book, Small Stash Sewing, features a wonderful project for embroidered unicorn and moon pillows. And whaddayaknow, that unicorn was at Quilt Market, too! (Psst ... as Nicole blogged a few posts back, the unicorn pattern is available as a free download on the Wiley site.)

Me & Melissa Averinos

I had the pleasure of meeting Alyssa of penguin & fish, one of my favorite online sources for adorable embroidery patterns. Her booth was absolutely beautiful and Alyssa was one of the nicest people in Minneapolis. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Alyssa of penguin & fish

Feeling Stitchy's very own Nicole (of Follow the White Bunny fame) also made her quilt market debut. Though she couldn't be there in person, she was well represented by a preview of her upcoming collaboration with fabric designer Lizzy House -- a series of embroidery patterns based on Lizzy's new fabric line, Castle Peeps. The fabric is amazing, and Nicole's patterns are sure to be, too. My mind is spinning with ideas of how to use them in some sewing projects ...

Bard embroidery pattern, courtesy of Follow the White Bunny

Wha'? There's that unicorn again! This time he's getting snuggly with the one and only Amy Butler. It was amazing for me to get to meet Amy in person -- I can almost singlehandedly credit her with sparking my interest in sewing and quilting via her amazing fabric designs. She is as warm & lovely in person as you might expect her to be. For all you knitters, Amy was showcasing some of her brand new organic yarn for Rowan.

Amy Butler and Melissa's unicorn, courtesy of the yummygoods blog

One product that caught my eye was this sleek little LED lightbox, perfect for embroidery patterns and other types of transfers. I sure would love to get my hands on one of these!

D'oh! There's that unicorn again!

Unicorn picture courtesy of the yummygoods blog

I had a great time at Quilt Market, and though it was my first time, I certainly hope it won't be my last!

Stitch School: Embroidery 101

Photo by Amy Cluck

Amy started a great series on her blog called Stitch School that takes you through the basics of embroidery. I'm really loving Lesson 2: Patterns and Transfer Techniques because she's included tons of colorful, helpful pictures and she gives a great overview of just about every transfer technique there is.

Go have a look! And thanks, Amy, for this helpful intro!