Chalk lines
 

I've used a chalk marker to mark some of my stencil lines and most of the time the chalk won't wash out. Just finished a double irish chain with gaelic knots and the yellow chalk is very visible on the knots. Anyone have any ideas what to do?

I had this same problem and emailed the company for suggestions. They said to use 5 tsp of water mixed with 1 tsp of white vinegar and apply with a soft cloth. This worked on some areas of my quilt but not on others. Please try it first on a hidden area of your quilt to make sure it doesn't change the fabric color (it didn't when I used it). I also used a soft tooth brush on stubborn areas and this seemed to work better than the soft cloth.
Good luck--this is so frustrating!!

I've never heard of chalk not coming out. I've never used it before. I'm glad you wrote this thread!!!

have you pressed your marks? (heat set them)???
for some reason the yellow seems to be the most difficult of the chalks to remove-
generally an eraser- or brush will remove chalk-
some people have had luck using a 'magic eraser' too
an oxyclean paste rubbed into the marks then rinsed out has also been used with success.
i personally use chalk all the time and have never had any chalk marks remain after laundering the finished quilt-
when i finish binding my quilts the very next step is to go into the washer- normal cycle- warm water- normal detergent- and i wash it- then i toss it into the dryer & dry it- if i used alot of dark batiks and am concerned about color running i use cold water & toss in color catchers- or use synthropol---that is about the only (special) steps i ever take- figuring whom ever is going to recieve it is going to launder it like anything else- i make sure it's going to survive that. :)

I wish I never had problems with chalk. I found that its great for marking, if I make a mistake, I just wipe it off with a dry washcloth...however, once I stitch over it, it usually doesn't want to come out, so out comes the oxy, shout, toothbrush and multiple washings with cold water and no dryer until everything looks good. On the bright side, so far they have always come clean eventually!

I never had problems with chalk either. I make sure that I don't scrub the mark into the fabric while marking.

I've used tailor's chalk for marking quilting lines and have never had a problem with it. I wash all my quilts after they are done on gentle cycle, warm-cold water.

If you used a chalk with wax in it, the wax is the problem. Taylors chalk is hard and has wax in it so, you might want to try hot water to remove the wax. But before, did you prewash your fabrics, think about fabric bleeding. good luck.