I hate marking my quilt tops....and I don't seem to be talented enough to go freehand! Pencils seem to smudge - blue lines have become permanent (OK, so left on wayyyy to long and exposed to heat and sunlight) - air-fades do just that way before I can get the quilting done. I'm thinking of trying a pounce, but want to make sure that pretty blue or red powder actually stays as long as I want it to and comes off when I don't need it any longer.

Anyone use a pounce? Pros/cons? I think that I read somewhere that you can do the same with corn starch on dark quilts...anyone ever tried that?

Thanks!
Lineless in San Diego (aka - Linda)

I bought one in blue. The lady at the quilt shop told me to mix 2 parts cornstarch and 1 part blue stuff and it would be dark enough. I haven't use it yet.She also said it would come out fine too. Of course she as a saleswoman.lol. I will be watching this to see what others have to say.

I have tried and tried to make mine work, to no avail!!! They make it look so easy at the shows, but I cannot make it work.

Me, either.

Neither can I or my friend who also bought it. I've packaged mine up and will be adding it to my Guild's Stash closet. Maybe one of the other members has a use for it.

I got one recently to quilt a dark quilt (the outer part of my avatar). I got the white. Now I made my own template so the slots are rather wide :lol: I do really like the pounce. You have to practice a little to get enough powder out and smooth it around, but it is great! It does stay in place fairly well, but if you wad it up or rub it much, it WILL disperse. So I try to quilt all I mark at the same time. And any leftover washed right out.
If you are concerned about it coming out, maybe try it on a scrap piece of light fabric. Good luck!

i bellieve i read that Eleanor Burns slightly dampens her fabric and then uses talcum powder

There has been a lot of problems reported about the blue pounce that it didn't come off. I don't know about the red but I imagine it would be the same. The folks who developed the Miracle Chalk have not been able to find a color that will come of with that product.
So I would use it with caution.
Using the pounce successfully also depends on how you intend to quilt. If machine on a home machine then it is going to rub off unless you punce/mark as you go.

Have you tried the "Multi-pastel" chalk pencils. They work good and don't come off while quilting. Yet, can be removed with brushing and ultimately washing. I only recommend them in white and light grey as they have no color in them. I have also used successfully the ceramic mechanical pencil sold under several brands - Sewline, Fons and Porter and Collins.

I have both the blue and white..neither have ever worked satisfactory! Mess going on...then disappears after a short amount of time.

It works great on wallhangings (36 inch and under). The chalk rubs off of larger projects.