How to Transfer Sewing Pattern Pieces onto Fabric

Until you start to develop your own habits and workflow for tracing and cutting out pattern pieces from fabric, the whole process can feel pretty tedious. I’ll be honest, this is my least favorite part of sewing. But it’s very important to be patient with the process because if you start with poorly cut pieces of fabric, you’ll end up with a less-than-ideal finished garment.

The basic process for cutting pattern pieces out of fabric includes first tracing and cutting out your original paper pattern pieces. Then pin the pattern to the fabric and carefully cut it from there. After cutting it, you add in all the extra markings, like darts, pleats, and notches.

There are many ways of achieving all three of these steps, and no way is inherently better than the others. I will go through the main ways that people commonly trace and cut pattern pieces out of fabric in this article, but you can pick and choose which techniques you feel most comfortable using, or you can make up your own techniques if you want to.

• Learn more about how to follow a sewing pattern

Part 1: Cutting or trace your paper pattern pieces

The first step will always be to prep your pattern pieces. Since most patterns come in a multi-size collection, you’ll need to trace the size you want first. When tracing, you always need to include the grainline, dart, and pleat markings, symbols and notches, stitch lines, as well as notations. 

For example, some necklines are labeled as having ⅜ inch seam allowance or will let you know how much hem allowance is included. Basically, everything on the tissue paper pattern should be transferred over when you trace your size.

Is it okay to cut the pieces out of the original tissue paper?

If you don’t feel the need to keep your original pattern pieces intact, you can cut them directly out of the tissue paper. If you do this, you don’t even have to worry about copying all the internal symbols and markings because they will already be printed on the pattern pieces.

The downside is that you can never go back and use a different size of the pattern. In addition, if you make any alterations to the pattern, you will not be able to go back and reference the original.

What to use for tracing patterns

Everyone will have their own way of tracing sewing patterns to prep them for use. Some will use an old-fashioned tracing wheel, while others like to use tracing paper or construction paper. The choice is entirely up to you. These are the common ways that I know of to transfer sewing patterns onto new paper:

1. Tissue paper or tracing paper. This is my preferred method and the most straightforward. You place a sheet or roll of tracing paper on top of the multi-layer pattern and trace your preferred size. The downside is that sometimes it’s hard to see through the tracing paper. The upside is you can get big rolls of tracing paper that you always have plenty on hand. (this is the brand I use, they have nice big rolls)
2. Construction paper and a sharpie. If you’re struggling to see through the tracing paper, you can use large sheets of construction paper instead. Place your multi-size pattern on top of the construction paper and use a sharpie to trace your size and markings. The sharpie will bleed through the tissue paper onto the construction paper. The downside is that this method doesn’t allow you to get nice fine lines, since the sharpie ends up making a somewhat splotchy seam on the construction paper.
3. Use a tracing wheel (one of these things). You can use a tracing wheel as well. This kind of combines the previous two methods because you can get fine lines but also trace the pattern with the pattern on top. You trace the pattern with the wheel onto whatever type of paper you want. It creates little divots in the paper that you need to go back to and connect the lines.

Part 2: Cutting pattern pieces out of fabric 

After you’ve prepped your pattern pieces, you need to transfer them over to the fabric and cut them out. The tricky part is getting the pieces placed straight onto the fabric without allowing the pattern piece to move while cutting. There are multiple ways of achieving this, from tracing your pattern to using pins and fabric weights.

• Learn more about how to follow a cutting layout for your pattern pieces

Do you have to trace the pattern onto the fabric?

Some people will recommend tracing all of your pattern pieces before cutting them from the fabric. This will allow you to remove the pattern piece from the fabric while you cut it. However, I find this to be less practical than other methods of cutting, especially when it comes to fabrics that are stretchy or delicate. Other methods of transferring the pattern to the fabric include:

• Pinning the pattern pieces and cutting around them.
• Using pattern weights and a rotary cutter. You will also need a cutting board to help keep your blades sharp and don’t cause damage to your floor or table.

Fabric shears recommendations

I highly recommend investing in a good professional pair of fabric shears. When I finally purchased my first pair of professional shears I was amazed at how they could cut through fabric like butter. 

There are a lot of brands of fabric shears out there and I have not tried them all. However, I can say that I love Kai brand fabric shears. I especially love that they have versions of their shears with smaller handles because I have teeny tiny hands. The ones that I’m using right now are the 7205 8” professional shears, and I love them.

For rotary cutters, I love the OLFA brand. I use multiple sizes of rotary cutters to make cutting curves easier. The 45mm, 28mm, and 18mm are all super sharp and don’t dull quickly. You can get replacement blades for them too. (if you can only get 1, the 28mm is the most versatile)

How to trace pattern pieces onto fabric

If you choose to trace the pattern pieces instead, there are plenty of tools you can use to help. This is a more traditional way of cutting patterns, so a lot of people still choose this method even though I personally think it’s less convenient.

• Use tailor’s chalk. This type of chalk is made to be able to easily draw on fabric while also washing out easily. It usually comes in triangle shapes.
• Use washable markers (made for sewing or fabric). You can get markers that will slowly disappear in the air and others that will disappear in water.
• Use tracing paper and a tracing wheel. This is again, the more traditional way of making internal markings. You place the tracing paper between your paper pattern and your fabric. Then trace the pattern with the wheel to transfer the color of the paper to the fabric. It’s not my favorite. I tried this method once and found that the lines faded very quickly, but maybe different types of tracing paper will give you a different result.

Part 3: How to trace pattern marking and design elements

There is also the matter of the internal marks and symbols. These are things like darts, notches, pleat lines, and those little circles and squares you need to include on your fabric. Most marks and symbols should be added immediately after you cut out your fabric pieces. This prevents the fabric from stretching or warping before you have a chance to add the markings.

I also recommend you add the marks to the wrong side of the fabric. This way if the chalk or marker doesn’t wash out for some reason, the garment is not completely ruined.

Tracing darts and symbols to your fabric

For most internal symbols and marks that you need to add to your fabric pieces, it will be easiest to poke holes in your paper pattern and use a piece of chalk or fabric marker to transfer the marks in the correct spot.

For darts and pleats, poke a hole at the tip of the dart or end of the pleat line. Make a little dot on your fabric through the hole. Then make small clips where the lines end at the edge of the fabric. Use a ruler to draw a straight line connecting the clips at the edges to the dot at the tip of the dart.

Tracing and cutting notches

Notches are probably the easiest to transfer onto your fabric pieces since they are right at the edge of the fabric. You can go in with a piece of chalk or fabric marker and draw the little triangle notches if you want to. However, what most people do is to simply make a small clip into the edge of the fabric right where the notches are.

Marks for buttons and buttonholes

I will usually add marks for buttons and buttonholes to the fabric later on. Since sewing chalk and markers can fade over time, and buttons are one of the last steps in the process, I find it’s best to wait until I’m ready to make the buttonholes to add the marks to the garment pieces. Just keep the paper pattern piece available so you can reference it when the time comes.