I used the silver pencil severa years ago to mark a silk cape I made for an exhibit. It was silk pongee in light beige color. The silver was the only pencil I found that would mark and not leave smudges on the fabric. It glided over the fabric and was dark enough to see to machine quilt and even left a slight sheen like the fabric. Most of it rubbed off in the machine quilting and I didn't have to erase. So different pencils work for different fabrics.