how to preserve a pattern: carbon tracing paper

Today, in the last part of her series on tracing and preserving sewing patterns, Sarvi is going to walk us through using carbon tracing paper. This versatile tool can make your pattern-making process much easier and more efficient.

 

 

What It Is

Carbon tracing paper is similar to the kind of paper you might use when filling out forms that require multiple copies. Instead of being transparent, it's designed to leave a clear imprint on the material underneath when pressure is applied. It has a waxy coating that feels a bit like tailor’s chalk—firm yet slightly pliable. You can find it in various colors, and although it might smudge your hands a bit, it creates very precise and long-lasting marks. The blue shade I chose is perfect for ensuring my fabric stays clean and unmarked during the tracing process.

 

How to Use It

Carbon tracing paper works great for transferring patterns onto different substrates like oaktag, freezer paper, gridded pattern paper, or even fabric. Whether you're working on a muslin for fitting or the final fashion fabric, the process is straightforward. Start by stacking your chosen substrate, placing the carbon paper face down (waxy side up), followed by your pattern on top. Then, simply trace over the pattern lines using a marking tool such as a pen, pencil, or tracing wheel. To give myself some cushioning while tracing directly onto my fabric, I placed a self-healing cutting mat under the fabric. This not only protects my work surface but also helps create better impressions.

 

 

Since I was short on time and needed to trace my pattern onto my dress fabric for an upcoming project, I decided to skip the intermediate step of transferring it to paper first. I laid the fabric face down so that any marks would appear on the wrong side. Given that I purchased this tracing paper specifically for making fit muslins, I went with the dark blue option to avoid leaving visible marks on the right side of my fabric. However, if you're working with something delicate or sheer, it's best to transfer the pattern to paper first to ensure precision.

When dealing with pieces that need to be cut on the fold, I carefully folded the fabric along the grainline and aligned the straight edge of the carbon paper before positioning the pattern piece. Folding back the pattern sheet along the fold line of the bodice piece helped keep everything neat. Using a ruler for straight lines, I ran a tracing wheel or the tip of a pen along the pattern lines. My favorite tool is the bamboo tracing wheel from Clover—it has a comfortable handle with a small indentation where your finger naturally rests, giving you excellent control while applying pressure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For pieces that aren't cut on the fold, especially when grain alignment is crucial, I carefully cut around the entire set of pieces and used a quilting ruler to align the grainline on the pattern with the fabric's grain. Once aligned, I traced off the required size. If you're someone who likes to maximize fabric usage (like the ever-efficient Fabric Scrooge), you might not love the idea of leaving space between pieces. But don't worry—you can always transfer the pattern to paper first. For materials like oaktag that are too thick to see through, this method is quick and effective. Just make sure your stack is in the correct order with the carbon paper sandwiched between the substrate and pattern.

 

 

Using a serrated tracing wheel (the one that leaves a dashed line instead of dotted marks) doesn’t puncture the paper, but it does leave indentations that could weaken the original pattern over time. To avoid this, consider tracing the pattern onto paper or interfacing first, especially if you plan to reuse the original pattern frequently.

 

 

Where to Find It

As always, you can find high-quality carbon tracing paper and Clover tracing wheels right here in the Oliver + S shop. While I couldn’t find it at my local craft store, places that offer garment sewing classes or supplies, or even sophisticated quilt shops that sell clothing patterns, might carry it. They often stock a variety of tools that cater to serious sewists.

And that concludes Sarvi’s guest series on preserving patterns. I hope you found these tips useful and picked up something new. Thank you so much, Sarvi, for sharing your expertise!

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