I want to do plaid on the sides of a round cake, on the bottom tier. I don't trust myself to pipe it with buttercream upside down, or to do it with fondant strips. I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out how to do it to make it look right. Would a frozen buttercream transfer work? If I made it too tall for the sides, I could trim it, right?

I've never tried one before, so this would be a first for me. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

You'd have to find a way to freeze it following the curve of the pan. You can't bend it once frozen, and once thawed, if you mess with it, you'll ruin it. Not sure how to go about this one??

What I did when I made a fbct for the entire side of a cake was ...

I used a strip of waxed paper cut to the height and length of circumference =1"(to help with gripping) of the tier. crumb coat the tier....chill it just until firm...it doesn't have to be frozen. Create design on the waxed paper(if you have a clear board to work on(so you can see periodically the correct side) is nice but not necessary). Take each end of strip and align it with the tier...it is tricky and works best with two people...if you have to work alone on it, grab the piece at each end but toward the top.

After getting the piece onto the side, leaving the waxed paper on, with fondant smoothers, carefully smooth the piece while applying light pressure. Place entire tier with waxed paper still attached into freezer. Let it remain in there until frozen. Remove tier. Remove waxed paper. Clean up any lines with a toothpick

This will produce a flat surfaced image.

When I first ready this I was thinking exactly what all4cake said. Do the transfer, wrap it around the cake and freeze it all together.

OOPS! That was supposed to be +1" not =1"

I posted this question the other day and received great answers! I found a pattern on line then went to walmart today and got it printed on the edible image paper. I plan in putting it on fondant and wrapping as a ribbon. There is an article about using edible images also.
Here is the link to my question.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6046214-.html#6046214

or

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-598278-0-days0-orderasc-.html


If it does not come up then just search "Best way to get plaid fondant?"

My bad! I thought pkgurl was wanting to know how to do it with a fbct.

If that's an option pkgurl, the directions in Justbeck's link do produce wonderful results.

Justbeck, I couldn't help myself....I just couldn't stop looking at backgrounds...plaids, strips, swirls, dots...I'm not gonna have any memory left on this relic of a computer.

Justbeck101 - does WalMart do custom edible images?

Thank you for all your input. I decided that due to my limited time and the fact that I have 2 small kids constantly running around my feet, it would be easier to get the EI printed, so I did that. Now all I have to do is make the fondant, cake and b/c...

Yeah, this is going to be a disaster

pkgurl...the ei does not have to be applied to fondant. It can be applied directly to b/c. Just measure your cake height(at its' highest point) and cut strips of the sheets(if it's a large tier and you're covering the entire side, it's gonna take more than one sheet...try to line up the design, if possible). Dampen the b/c LIGHTLY if it has crusted over. Then, apply ei bands. Carefully trim the upper edges(small cuticle scissors work great..but actually any good, sharp pair will suffice).

It'll be fine.

Can't wait to see the results!