The Best Way to Trace a Pattern on Felt

Stop Messy Felt Marking: 2 Easy Tools for Crisp Pattern Outlines (Plushie Friendly 🧸😉)

Have you ever started a felt project, printed your pattern, and then thought: Okay… what do I do next with the felt? For bigger patterns like clothes, it feels easy. You can grab a chalk, or even use a rotary cutter if you don’t want to outline at all.

But what happens when you are cutting smaller elements for felt plushies? A rotary cutter won’t go smoothly around tiny curves and borders, and chalk can get messy or too thick. I remember asking myself these exact questions when I first started working with felt.

Hi, my name is Alyona 👋 I’ve been sewing and crafting for as long as I can remember. My “felt career” didn’t begin with plushies – it began with jewellery, brooches and earrings, using felt as a surface to stitch and embroider on top. Because of that, I already knew what outlining tools worked well before I properly got into plushies making.

If you want to practise straight away, you can grab my Free Plushie Sewing Pattern and test these outlining tips on a real pattern 🧸🧵.

Does the Type of Felt Matter?

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what felt you are using. You might be working with Soft Felt for plushies, or you might also use Stiff Felt for certain elements that need more structure.

Sometimes, when you see me say “hard felt”, I’m referring to stiff felt. That’s just my old habit 🙈. I used to work with it a lot when I was making jewellery and anything where I needed a firmer surface.

So yes, both types can be outlined neatly. The real difference is not the felt – it’s what you use to draw your pattern lines.

What I Tried First (And Why I Didn’t Like It)

I tried chalk. For me, it just wasn’t a good option! Especially on small plush pieces or jewellery where you need a thin, clean border. It can look a bit rough, and you don’t always get a crisp outline that helps you cut accurately.

I also tried a disappearing marker or pen (some people call it a disappearing pen). I didn’t like it either. The line felt too thick when outlining, and in my opinion it didn’t give nice borders around the pattern.

That’s when I stopped trying to “make it work” and just stuck with what actually gave me the cleanest result.

My Favourite Option: Rollerball Pen

For me, the best tool is a Rollerball Pen. It’s genuinely amazing for outlining felt patterns because the border comes out thin and clear, which is exactly what you want before cutting.

I’ve tried loads of pens over the years, and some of them make you go over the same line again and again before you can even see it. With this type (Rollerball Pen), I usually buy them as a set of three, and the line shows up straight away.

The only thing you must do is give it a minute or two to dry. If you don’t, the ink can slide on the felt and make it dirty. I normally outline my pieces, then go and prepare other supplies like threads, and when I come back, it’s dry and ready. Once it’s dry, it doesn’t leave messy marks, and when you cut the elements, the line doesn’t show on the final piece while you sew.

Which Colour to Use on Light and Dark Felt

When I’m working with lighter felt – pastel shades or skin-tone colours – I use black ink all the time. I tried blue ink, but I didn’t really like it. That might just be personal preference, but for me, black is the one.

If you are working with darker felt (like black), you can still outline with black ink. If your vision is perfect and you move the felt at different angles to the light, you will still see the line. But if you struggle to see it clearly, you can use the same type of pen in white, which is especially helpful for internal design details.

The “Cherry on Top” Tip: Tracing Paper for Face Details

Here’s a small tip that helped me a lot, especially in the beginning ☝️.
If you are making a plushie and you’re not confident drawing things like the face, muzzle, or any inner details, use tracing paper instead of trying to copy the pattern by eye.

I use Paper for Tracing Graphite. You put it on top of your felt sheet, then place your pattern on top. It often comes with a little metal stick tool, and you simply press along the lines. Whatever you trace transfers onto the felt 👌.

The sheets come in different colours. If I’m working on dark felt, I’ll use a more visible colour like yellow. But most of the time I work with lighter felt, so it’s perfect for pastel and skin-tone shades. I bought my set once and I feel like I’m set for life, because you can reuse each sheet around three or four times before the ink is fully gone.

And it’s not only for facial details. You can also trace the outside borders of the pattern this way, so it becomes a solid alternative if you don’t feel comfortable outlining with a pen.

Final Thoughts (And What to Read Next)

I hope this article was very informative for you. If you didn’t know these tips before, and if you use any other technique, I would honestly love to know what you are using. Maybe your technique is even better and I can try something new as well. You can share it down below in the comments.

And also, don’t forget to grab my Free Plushie Sewing Pattern if you haven’t tried my patterns before 😉. You can test this outlining technique straight away and practise on a real physical pattern. I build all my patterns myself 👇. I don’t use any AI programs or tools for them, especially because I know it’s a big topic at the moment and many people complain about it on platforms like Etsy. My patterns are created by me, and I truly put my soul into them. I hope you will like them and enjoy working with them.

On top of that, if you enjoyed this article, I think you will also be interested in How to Cut Your Felt Elements Symmetrically. After tracing and outlining, this is the next step you need to know. It will help you make your elements match perfectly, so when you sew them, you don’t need to trim or deal with mismatched edges.

I’ll see you in that article. But for now, bye 👋