Have you tried cutting out those tiny pattern pieces, like eyes? My circles usually look like ovals and get smaller and smaller as I keep trimming, trying to get them just right. I tested a technique that calls for fusing freezer paper to your felt. It’s like magic.
Cut a small piece of freezer paper to fit your piece of wool-blend felt (note that I have not tried this with straight polyester felt). Place it on your felt shiny side down.
With your iron set to a medium setting suitable for polyester, iron the paper onto the felt.
One pass with the iron will usually do the trick.
I like to use carbon or transfer paper to trace the pattern onto the freezer paper. You can also cut our your pattern piece and trace around it, but I find that my pattern pieces “grow” when I do this.
Cut out your piece and then gently pull the freezer paper off and you are ready to sew.
I hope this technique helps!
This time of year is so much fun with all the felt oranaments. Another thing you can do with freezer paper is print the pattern right on it. It is a little tricky but can be done. I have done quite a few of your patterns and it is my favorite part of decorating the tree.
Don’t run freezer paper through a heat-based printer (like a laser) though, that wonderful bonding property is not so wonderful inside the printer.
It’s also great for tracing directly onto. I use a light-box (Crayola light-up tracing pad plus craft-store 50%-off coupon!) but freezer paper is thin enough it’s not really necessary.
I haven’t found any type of pen/pencil marker that really draws on felt. Here’s what I do: I cut out the paper pattern pieces, then copy and print them out right on printable freezer paper sheets. You can these from Amazon, Nancy’s Notions, your local quilt shop, etc. I cut around the freezer paper shapes and iron them onto wool blend felt, then cut the shapes out. The freezer paper pieces can be reused a few times. Felt fuzz stops the freezer paper from sticking after a few uses.
No! I can only imagine what a mess that would be!
Great tip. Thank you!