Ladies, you have brought back some memories!
I was 16 when I got married. Not as smart as I thought I was.
For many years my dining table had little dotted lines in the wood. I didn't think of putting a cushion on the table before marking the lines on patterns.
I hated the marking...and I just figured out why. I would put the carbon paper in the middle of the 'sandwich'--layer 1--fabric, layer 2--carbon paper, layer 3--(on top) tissue pattern. As I was reading your comments I realized I should have had the carbon paper on the bottom,facing up!!!
OMG! I have embarrassed myself.
Joya