Originally Posted by fabuchicki
I am doing a piece that requires precise ... well, ok, I guess that's a stupid way to begin because all quilt making has to be precise. I'm new to machine quilting and I have to be able to see the lines I'm sewing clearly because I'm doing curved piecing. I looked at my box of marking pencils and came up cold. I have tried a bunch and have been unimpressed. Before I started quilting I did lots of other art so I have charcoal pencils (white and black) and pastel pencils so I started using one of those. But then I got nervous. I guess I could do a laundry test but meanwhile, has anyone ever tried using these kinds of pencils? because they DO make a clear precise line ... Also, what's your fave marking method?
Everyone else has given you a list of great tools to use so I won't repeat them; I use a great many of them. Something that always seems to work for me is a thin sliver of soap. Once the soap in my shower gets too thin, I steal it and take it merrily off to my quilt room. The white works excellent on darker quilts and I have a couple of yellow slivers that work great on white quilts. The nice part is that the marks always wash out. The down side is that the mark is not super thin and it may not work for every type of design. Hope this helps.
~Tiffany