I make my own embroidery transfers because I can control the size of the lines and the design will wash out every time.
Transfer Ink Recipe1 heaping teaspoon white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon boiling water
Mrs. Stewart's laundry bluing
Dissolve sugar in water and add bluing by drops until it's as dark as you want. I never measured so maybe it was about a quarter teaspoon.
Mrs. Stewart's laundry bluing is available in the supermarket in the laundry section. The bottle looks like this:
Print out or draw your design on tracing paper. Flip the drawing over and trace the design with your bluing/sugar ink. I use a
Rapidograph drawing pen because it is fillable and comes with a variety of nib sizes.
It's the sugar that makes the ink stick to the paper and also to transfer when heated. Use a medium high setting when you press the transfer to your fabric. Be careful not to burn the sugar.
If I want a larger design I will use the pin prick method to trace the pattern. For this you will poke holes with a needle tool along all the design lines. An unthreaded sewing machine will do a good job of poking holes if the design is small enough to maneuver under the needle. Your pattern will have a smooth side and a poked side. Place the pattern smooth side up on the fabric and daub a bluing/water ink through the holes.
I snagged the following picture from eBay to illustrate a finished pattern. Click the picture for a larger version.
I have used the pin prick and bluing to mark a quilt top and had no problems with staining.
