I've embroidery on dark fabric . . . but it's not something I'd want to do often. I traced the pattern onto tissue paper, then basted that to the right side of the fabric. Stitched over the tissue, tore off the tissue, then painstakingly picked out each shred of leftover tissue, from my stitches. I've also tried "stitch and tear" but you have to be really careful about pulling the stitches, when you tear it away.