Easy Way to Transfer Patterns Onto Glass

Creating stained glass windows or painting scenes onto glass often requires transferring patterns onto different types of glass. There are several easy ways to transfer your patterns, even if you're cutting the glass with a wet saw. You can use a permanent marker coated with ChapStick, contact paper, a grease pencil or self-adhesive leading to transfer the outlines of your pattern.

There are two easy ways to transfer patterns onto glass when you plan to cut them out with a wet saw. The easiest is to tape the pattern beneath clear glass and trace the outline with a fine tip permanent marker on top of the glass. The marker will not wash off with the wet saw if you first seal it with ChapStick or beeswax, and then you can easily cut the shapes and designs. Another easy way to transfer the patterns onto opaque glass is to trace the pattern design onto plain contact paper and then stick the paper onto the face of the glass. You can use your wet saw to cut through the paper and the glass, and then remove the paper from your cut pieces.

If you need to transfer a pattern onto glass that you plan to paint, one easy way is to tape the pattern onto the underside of clear glass and trace it on top of the glass with a grease pencil. You can then paint your pattern between the lines of the grease pencil, removing the marks as you go or after you've finished painting. It's easy to remove the grease pencil marks from the glass with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab.

One of the easiest and most beautiful ways to paint on glass is with specially formulated stained glass paint. The colors are translucent and watery, just like real stained glass. It's also easy to transfer the pattern onto a clear sheet of glass with liquid leading or self-adhesive leading strips. Tape the pattern beneath the glass and outline it with the leading. Liquid leading squirts straight from the tube onto the glass, but you have to squeeze really hard for it to expel. Self-adhesive leading strips are much easier, just peel the protective backing and apply the strips to the glass. The strips are quite flexible and may be easily cut.