Wow am I glad someone started this thread. I am in process of FMQing a disappearing 89 patch on my mid arm machine (Baby Lok Quilter's Pro). I am using a stencil and here's the problem - some of the fabric is dark and some not. The stencil lines are cut rather narrow which means that any marker I use has to have a fine tip. NOTHING I used worked! I finally found some chalk markers in green and purple which show up ok and I am marking as I go becasue otherwise the chalk rubs off - marking designs for FMQ is turning into a real pain! Quilter's soap doesn't work, the purple soluble marker I have does not darken the lines enough to see, I am hoping the chalk will wash out....is there NOTHING out there that works on both light and dark fabrics, has a narrow point, glides easily, stays put and washes out...geez with all the gadgets the manufacturers have, can't someone come up with an answer? :0

I am a long arm quilter and I use the pounce pad with miracle chaulk in it all the time. I pounce the pad in holder on the roller of the machine and then you swipe the pad accross the stencil don't pounce it. it works great for me on any color but white since it is white. It is removed with steam. I have marked the whole quilt and then loaded in the machine and have marked as I went either way works it stays on until you steam it off.
hope you try it again.

I use my pounce pad all the time, and it comes off, you can use a clean paint brush or a piece of batting and it comes off, there is some that irons off. I haven't tried it as it only comes in white.
Pam Clarke demonstrated a pounce pad at the IMQS showcase in Overland Park. The secret is to make sure you have the rough side of the stencil down and your rub across your stencil not pounce.. When you first fill the container with chalk you need to put it in a plastic bag and beat the pad until the chalk starts coming out of the pad. I did not know all of this and my pouncer layed in a drawer for years. After finding out the correct way to use it, it works fine.. Also you can use a little spray adhesive to hold the stencil in place. Hope this helps, it works for me. Not sure if there is a tut on utube but I will check it out.

I have recently gone on a shop hop. In one store they
demo-ed a pen. As they wrote on the fabric, it just looked like a pen. To erase the marks you just iron them and they disappear. They told us that the pen is heat sensitive, so it shouldn't be left laying where it is hot, or in the sun.
Haven't tried it yet, but am looking forward to using it.
The pen is made by Pilot. Name on it is FRI X ION. Cost was $2.95.

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/pounce.htm there is a video on u tube on using the pounce pad. Here it is

As far as I am concerned, Pounce is a waste of monies. I do like the new iron away pens they have out.

I use the pounch when I use my long arm but on smaller things I use a marker.

This is what I use all the time with great success, just makesure you get the wash out and not the permanent . You have to be careful as the box looks alike. They come in many colors and wash out great.

Particularly on dark fabrics, pouncing the quilting design as I do each "hoopful" works very well for me. Takes a bit of practice but almost any other quilting skill does that, too. piecefully, the old one

Thanks! I guess I won't be buying that foam brush after all.

I love my pounce!! I lap quilt with a hoop & do a small section at a time. I have to put a book or something hard under to mark. Thats a little irksome but all in all I love it. Have only used the white so far.

I have mixed feelings about mine. I use the white iron off powder and it does iron off very nicely, but I find it only shows up on really dark fabric. And you use quite a bit of the powder for each quilt. The swiping part can really mess up a stencil, especially an intricate one with small points etc.

I find that most of my quilts are not dark, dark, so the chalk is hard to see. I think I am going to try the pilot pens mentioned here. I too hate marking my quilts, but when I do, I am pleased with the end result.

I have not used a pounce but I am going to San Diego on Saturday for a week. If I can only go to 1 Quilt store which one should it be? Thanks LindaZ

Been there,done that ,and I hate that darn thing. I get powder all over the place . Just a mess.

I enjoyed the video. Thank you. It made me realize that I will probably need a Pounce kit when I finally get around to making a Pickle Dish quilt. I have 2 Pickle Dish stencils that are very "busy", so I'll be wanting a Pounce when I finally get around to doing that quilt, but have to decide if I want the wash-out or the iron-out version.

A quilting friend stopped by and she likes it so I gave it to here.

Are these actually crayons or are they markers? This is a very interesting concept that I would like to try. I've always had trouble seeing my markings especially on quilts with busily patterned fabrics like the one I am now quilting. However, the backing of the quilt is muslin, and so I am quilting on the backside of the quilt just so I can see my markings. I am using a Sewline Ceramic pen in turquoise.

I've used the Pilot Frixion pen successfully to mark quilts for quilting. I got them in OfficeMax for about $1.50 each. As you said, the ink marks disappear when ironed (or washed and dried). There is one caveat...if the quilt should get chilled (such as leaving in a car outside in the winter), the marks can reappear; but they will disappear when re-ironed.

I have it and love it.! Only a couple of things I do. Iron the quilt first then spray with hairspray it will hold the chalk on your quilt till you get to it. Never Iron the chalk unless it says its ok as you will set it your quilt. I know that someone else said it but will say it again you rub not pounce! Hope this helps.

I use the pounce and "mark as you go" when I'm quilting on my longarm. It does work well and I am very happy with it. I've also used the washable crayola markers and I really love those when I want to mark a whole quilt before quilting. I've used them on several quilts of my own and have had NO problems with them once I washed them. It sure made me nervous the first time my quilt was a blaze of orange marker before I threw it in the washer! Came out beautifully though. Whew!

Rosie's Calico Cupboard
7151 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego 92115

Me either. It was a mess. I tried pouncing as the name implies. Next time I will try brushing. I think that is the newest technique with the Pounce.

My personal favorite is Rosie's Calico Cupboard. Big store - great selection - and great staff. Here is a link to her site and September coupons.

http://www.rosiescalicocupboard.com/COUPONS.pdf

I bought the stuff about 10 years ago, but never got around to using it. I've kept the white chalk stuff, but I 'think' I gave away the pouncer. BUT I'm pretty sure when I bought it they said to spray it with hairspray and that will hold it there, then it washes out.

I totally agree! I went there on a field trip a few years ago and it is the best organized store I've ever seen. I spent a lot of time in the "sale" room and my friend spent over $100 in the music themed area.

Cornstarch works better than talcum and is much cheaper.

I haven't used the pounced ones yet. I usually mark with the special pencils that wash out.

I have used the pounce that's shaped like an old blackboard eraser. With both the blue and white. I do an area at a time and brush it with a palm brushed when I'm finished. I usual rinse the finished quilt once the binding is on. Haven't had a problem yet. You can use old pantie hose with any fine powder.

I couldn't get my pounce to work at first. Then, I talked with the sales person at the quilt festival and was told how to get it to work. I took it outside and hit it several times on my brick wall. Now it works great. The chalk just needed to work its' way into the base. Good luck.

ok, heres my take on pounce, it works ok, BUT...
first one has to moisten the stencil, then pounce, if one doesnt then the powder goes everywhere and one loses their important sewing line. alsew, i dont like cleaning up after it, its a bit, oily...i use www.goldenthreads.com tissue paper on a roll, ill copy the pattern onto the paper, pin it to my quilt, sew thru the paper, and remove the paper. its kind of a pain too, but, i like it better. wish you luck
katz

Hey - I like that idea!!!

Panty hose?? What are those? :) Oh yeah..... those expensive, sheer, one-time wear things that we could not leave the house without!!! While sorry for the factories that used to make them.....I am sooooo glad that they went out of style!

I marked a queen quilt with white iron-off pounce chalk. I used stencils that I designed on vellum, then hand punched holes into with a size 14 sewing machine needle. I changed my mind THREE times on how I wanted to mark my top, and ironed it off twice. The 3rd time as the charm and it is now on my frame being hand quilted. It stays on well and irons off like a charm. You do need to practice a wee bit before you use it so you get the rubbing (not pouncing) correct and you need to carefully lift your stencil to see if a sufficient amount of chalk came through...or at least I did. I am quite happy with the white, but had to use a wash-off marking pencil on the lighter parts of my quilt. Hope this helps!

slivers of bath soap works for the dark fabrics

I agree, they really should have come up with a better name. I used the white one that has to be ironed off when longarm quilting and it worked well.

I have used both the white and blue pounce. The white comes off with the heat of a steam iron and stays on long enought to quilt the quilt. I used the blue on white fabric and it did not come out completely when I ironed it; however, I have not washed the quilt. Like both of them.

I have used the iron off powder and it seems to work just fine. Just my experience.

I just buy the cheapest notebook paper I can find (tears away easy, usually from the dollar store) and draw my lines on it, pin it to the quilt, and follow the lines. I am new at this so I use what works.

I tried it. Did not like it. To messy & it came off the fabric.