I had read about using freezer paper in the past but hadn’t tried it until recently, having mostly used Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy or similar papers to transfer my patterns, as in the image above.   

Two things prompted me to try the freezer paper method:

Firstly, no matter how accurate I tried to be, I was experiencing problems with stitch placement, especially when working text.  This led to disappointment when, after I'd soaked away the solvy I would discover small gaps where I thought I'd carefully stitched a continuous line of stitches.  

The second factor was the ever-increasing cost of Fabri Solvy, and having experienced difficulty in getting hold of it here in the UK.  In contrast freezer paper is inexpensive and easy to purchase.  So far I have achieved excellent results when using it as it's much easier to stitch accurately when the pattern is actually printed onto the fabric as in the image below... 

If you do decide to try the freezer paper method for yourself then you might find the following hints useful...

●    Purchase pre-cut freezer paper sheets.  These are available online from craft websites and cost around a third of the price of Sulky Sticky Fabri Solvy.  If you can’t get precut sheets then you could cut a larger piece to size, depending on how temperamental your printer is.
 

●    Cut your fabric a little larger than the freezer paper and iron the wrong side of the fabric to the wax coated side of the freezer paper. Don’t use steam as this will prevent the paper sticking.  Your iron should be set to hot and you should hold it in place for ten seconds or so to make sure the wax has adhered to the paper.  Pay special attention around the edges, especially the leading edge when you put it in the printer as if the fabric and paper separate your printer will jam.
 

●    Trim your fabric along the sides of the freezer paper.  Make sure there are no little frayed threads sticking out - again this may jam your printer. Iron once more to make sure everything is secure.
 

●    Place in your printer tray with the fabric side ready to be printed - yes, you are going to print directly onto the fabric.  You MUST HAVE AN INK JET PRINTER for this to work.
 

●    Once the page is printed, peel away the freezer paper and you are left with a printed pattern to stitch.

There are limitations to this method however.....

●    you can only use a fairly lightweight fabric. 
 

●    A4 is the limit of the size of design (and surrounding fabric) you can put through the printer, 
 

●    the pattern is permanent so you need to be careful when stitching over the lines. 
 

●    You must have a fairly tolerant (ie not too temperamental) printer that doesn’t mind taking the fabric/paper sandwich.

The images above were of patterns from the April and May issues of the Bustle & Sew Magazine (above).  The May magazine was published on Thursday (25 April) and if you're a subscriber you should already have received your issue.  If you haven't seen it and it isn't in your spam folders then please do let me know and I will send you another link. 

Until next time, very best wishes from us all!

Helen x

The Wheel of the Year panel is now back in stock on Etsy and delivery times have returned to normal after Christmas.  There is also a digital option if you're confident with drawing and dividing your own circle and transferring the motifs.the so many birds

Aflowers and other motifs I would have loved to have stitched but simply didn’t have space for!

Anyway, the Wheel of the Year panel is now back in stock on Etsy and delivery times have returned to normal after the Christmas holidays.  There’s also an option for a fully digital pattern if you’re confident drawing your own circles and transferring the motifs.) the edges of each panel as I always think finishing the edges to avoid fraying is one of the less exciting parts of beginning a new project.  The panels are printed on a nice quality pure cotton fabric that is a pleasure to work with.  I loved stitching my own wheel (you can see it in pride of place on my shelf in the first image), and really didn’t want to finish it.  I shall have to think of another project that takes us through the year in the same way – there are so many birds, flowers and other motifs I would have loved to have stitched but simply didn’t have space for!

Anyway, the Wheel of the Year panel is now back in stock on Etsy and delivery times have returned to normal after the Christmas holidays.  There’s also an option for a fully digital pattern if you’re confident drawing your own circles and transferring the motifs.