CaleyH

I was wondering what method of marking patterns on quilts are used. I've found that I don't do well with using plastic templates, but do well by marking the quilt top, and then slowly following those markings to do the quilt process.

But using heat erasable pens is a pain. Why? It seems these pens aren't as easy to use on fabric as they are on paper. I usually have to go over the lines I draw several times before I can see the line well enough to follow.

I am guessing chalk is probably the preferred method, but chalk is very difficult to remove from the fabric, unless you wash things after quilting. I have a big fear of doing all this hard piecing, basting and quilting, only to have the washing machine tear up the quilt into shreds and pieces, and on top of all of that, shrink the whole thing into an ugly sight..

I use cotton thread to do my piecing, and all the other parts of making a quilt. I am wondering if maybe polyester thread might be better, as I am guessing it won't fall apart as easily as cotton does. Of course, I really don't have much experience yet, so I am here to get comments and suggestions before I delve into my next quilt.