Tracing Paper vs. Swedish Tracing Paper | Comparison & Review | SEWING REPORT

Comparing and reviewing traditional tracing paper vs. Swedish tracing paper, which claims to be sewable - which will come out on top?
There are several different materials you can use if you want to trace / transfer sewing patterns to keep the original pattern tissue intact.

For a while now, I've been using Bienfang tracing paper, but have heard positive reviews of Swedish tracing paper. So I thought I'd give it a try!

In this video, I do a side-by-side comparison and trace a pattern piece out onto both regular and Swedish tracing paper, then attempt to sew the Swedish tracing paper and see how it holds up.

BIENFANG TRACING PAPER

SWEDISH TRACING PAPER
White Swedish Tracing Paper
Sewable and Washable!
Sticks to most fabrics
Soft, Flexible, Tough, and Durable!
29 inches wide and 30 feet long

DRITZ DUAL PURPOSE MARKING PEN

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[marlenelaban]

Jennifer:  I too am a long-time user of Swedish Tracing Paper.  I always use it for tracing patterns and have never used it to create a muslin or toile.  This is chiefly because I take my toiles very seriously and strive to make them out of an inexpensive fabric that most nearly resembles my intended garment fabric on as many levels as possible.  That's why I haunt thrift (charity) shops in my home town and I have a stash of them available to me at all times.   The other blessing of using the Swedish paper, which is so easy to write on with just about every type of writing implement, is that if you hate your toile or muslin and you know you'll never make it "for real", you can simply turn over your the traced pattern pieces, tape them together like a mosaic and trace your next desired garment pattern pieces.  In my experience, one should use ONLY Scotch brand 1/2" frosted tape - it goes on and comes off like a dream (as it does with PDF patterns too).  If you use this tape, it would be wise NOT to iron directly on it when you want to flatten out your tracing paper.  If you must press it, please cover the taped portion with a pressing cloth and don't bear down.  I've been re-using large and small pieces of this paper many times in a "mosaic" fashion.  This may sound miserly but using it this way has always been my way to offset the initial cost for this slightly pricey tracing paper.  Which I love!  Did I say that?  Hope this is helpful to anyone - Marlene La Ban, Albuquerque, NM, US of A

[TheSwedeUK]

I've read about Swedish Tracing paper but never really understood what it is so thank you Jennifer for enlighten me (and others) with your excellent video

[howardgoldstein]

have been using the Swedish tracing paper for many years...would never think of using any other product for my patterns...use patterns made with this fibrous paper over & over again...very durable & patterns fold up small for

[bitsnharry]

have been subscribed but hadn't had any interest in Swedish tracing paper until now. Thank you so much for this video! I am getting back into clothing after about 15 years .... I definitely need to check fit, etc. You also reminded me I seem to have a roll of medical exam paper but I have no idea when and why I bought it. Ordered one of the last 2 rolls of the STP that Amazon had.

[fashionandfortunes]

I’ve never used Swedish tracing paper, but the idea you can sew it is awesome! I’m gonna try it because I want to save time and not have to make a Muslim. Thanks so much! 🌟✨

[lindabrown]

I like to use Pellon Tru Grid. It's soft and drapes well. I haven't tried sewing it. Will have to try it. A money saving tip: Keep some of the larger scraps of the paper pattern pieces. Use them to trace patterns from books or to make a new pattern piece. I do this all the time.

[maryriley]

Thank you for your demonstration with the Swedish tracing paper. I bought some through Amazon and I really like it. It’s fairly transparent and sturdy. A little pricey but I think it is well worth the money. I have ironed the original curl out of it for ease of use and ironed out any wrinkles I put in it on a low dry iron setting. I haven’t sewn any pieces together yet but I see by your test piece that it would be fairly sturdy for a fitting. I’ve marked it with graphite pencil, also water soluble blue pattern pen works well to dot through onto the fabric for marking darts, etc.

[teteebrown]

I'm into pattern drafting and I haven't bought muslin at all I use old sheets for non stretch garments. It's been working out so far. You can but sheets at thrift stores and there is lots of fabric to use over and over especially if you make as many mistakes as I do.

[LarenaLoves]

Thank you so much for doing this review! I was on the fence about purchasing this paper. Also, WAWAK has it for about $12, half what Amazon is charging.

[raraavis]

I found a super cheap sewable alternative way back when stuff like that wasn't available. Garden fleece. Well, I think it's called that. It's this slightly translucent fabric like stuff you wrap frost sensitive garden plants in to prevent 'frostbite'. It's super cheap and you can get it in different thicknesses even, especially around this time of year.
Can't be ironed though...it'll melt and gunk up the iron (ask me how I know) 😁
Works well for tailored garments, not so much for drapy fabrics, obviously.

[juliebute]

I found a neat tracing-type paper at the sewing and quilt Expo in Minneapolis. It’s called Bosal, Create-A-Pattern. It is 100% polyester and it is translucent, Pinable, will not fray when cutting in any direction. The roll I bought was 46 inches wide by 10 linear yards. I paid $20.99 plus tax for the roll.

[quiet_epiphanies]

This is really helpful. I think I'm going to use this when I make the Simplicity dress patterns I got for $1 on Black Friday. I've heard a lot about Simplicity having fit issues.

[celestemalec]

In South Africa we can buy something called Vitrace, usually white or green, which seems similar. Durable and relatively inexpensive although the price has increased substantially in recent times. I have always used it for tracing patterns, wouldn't be without it, although I have never used it for a toile.

[zamzamadb]

Thank you for this video. I have been considering buying this tracing paper so your review has helped me decide :-)

[Kameshwari]

I use this tracing paper and like it because I can write notes to self on the paper. Sometimes I need reminders from either the instructions or from when assembling the garment. I never thought of using this paper instead of making a muslin.

[jmarylastone]

if this is more expensive then interfacing I would just use interfacing - you can draw on interfacing and sew it also

[mallorikerr]

The pellon pattern ease looks very similar and I use it. So far I like it. I use pencil though.

[dianadivadiamond]

I'd like to know if you can use the marker on the cloth as well? Thanks for the info too.

[strayblackcatsmeow]

That paper looks much better than making muslin copies. I would try long non-basting straight stitch with a loose top tension to allow easier removal of the bottom thread when ripping to minimize paper damage. Just pulling it through will tear along the stitch line making it hard to transfer to fabric.