Originally Posted by
An Arm Long
At my guild meeting today, one of the members had just bought some pencils that are water soluble from a store for artists. Some were graphite that had not been treated with hardeners - we think. She also had a white one. I had never heard of actual graphite pencils that were water soluble. She tried them and they washed off with water with a tiny amount of dishsoap and a toothbrush.
Has anyone else heard of these?
I used a fons and porter water soluble graphite pencil twice. The first time I had no problems the 2nd was almost a disaster. What happened is that the graphite granules got imbedded in my thread and needle holes. It took 3 washings to get it all out along with a bunch of elbow grease and soft bristle tooth brush. I was in total panic mode. So I am no longer a big fan of the water soluble graphite for machine quilting. I will use it for hand though.
I have had excellent luck with the blue water soluble markers (Mark-B-Gone). The trick with them is to test (of course!) not mark way in advance, and to not expose the marks to heat. There are no loose particles with these markers to embed in the thread or needle holes. I marked this quilt with a mark b gone and you can see in some of the pics where I haven't quilted yet the marks are still quite visible but where I have quilted I spritzed with a spray bottle. In the completed pictures there is no more blue visible and I simply used a spray bottle. The final washing will remove any residual ink that may have seeped into the batting or backing.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...e-t184706.html
I have also had very good luck with the air soluble purple pens too but those you have to mark as you go. Again you need to test to make sure the mark goes away after 24 hours or with a spritz of water. For dark colors I like chalko liners or my fons and porter white pencil. I have also used the pounce pad in both white and blue, the regular pounce not the kind you have to take out with an iron.