Blue line won't come out :(...help!
 

I just finished a queen sized Lone Star/Corner Stars, that I also did a lot of machine embroidery on. Sadly most of the mitered corners have blue line marker that refuses to come out, some worse than others.

I used a Dritz Mark-Be-Gone washable blue marker. It washed out every where else & I had many many blue marks on this quilt. I have tried cold water, alcohol, peroxide, a peroxide/baking soda/dawn mix, vinegar, etc. None worked.

I think I made the mistake of ironing the mitered corners.

I purchased the Blue Line Eraser product & it won't even take the blue lines out :(. I have washed the quilt 5 times. I made it for a friend, who lives several states away & need to get it shipped soon.

The fabric & thread are both 100% cotton & are a cream color that has the blue lines. See photo.

I'm open to suggests.

Feather3

first, your quilt is stunning, and nothing is going to take away from that. Your friend will love it. Sadly, I think that heat of any type (iron, dryer) tends to set some markers.

I suspect it was ironing that set the blue marker. There are many tips in this link. They do reference marks after ironing about half way down. I hope one works for you.

https://www.anniescatalog.com/quilti...=609&type_id=T

Please don't use any more peroxide on your beautiful quilt; that stuff weakens fabric! Instead of trying out all kinds of removers on your quilt, I would iron some blue marker onto a scrap of the quilt fabric and try various removers on that first.

Edit: Better yet, make up several test fabrics with ironed-on marker. That way you can try soaking one in Oxyclean, using lemon juice on another, etc.

Beautiful quilt, but sad to say ironing the blue will make it permanent. I haven't heard of anything that will remove it. :(

OMG I am so sorry for you, I ad some dye go to some yellow on a table runner recently and used some 20 Mule Team Borax/ which is a Natural laundry Booster and it came out. Hope you fine something that works.

Only a suggestion - I know hair spray removes ink and felt pen marks. Do you have a piece of fabric you could mark, iron and then try this? Got a lot of ink out of a pair of white cotton pants, mine. DH left an ink pen in a shirt pocket and I washed and dried it with my pants.

If worse comes to worse can you embroider something over the corners?

How heartbreaking!! Your quilt is stunning even with the marks. I was going to suggest Borax as well.... I have no idea if it will work. Straight Dawn dish soap has removed anything that I have run into..I have had to wash twice on 2 occasions, but it worked

Try mascara remover on a scrap piece that you ironed the blue pen mark. It won't hurt your eyes so it won't hurt the fabric. Also I have had good luck with Fit Vegetable Spray to remove Sharpie marks so that may work too.

Try some retro clean

What a beautiful quilt! I am sorry this has happened to your beautiful work and I hope one of the suggestions will do the trick of removal.

I used club soda on blue marking that had been ironed and it came out. I had not washed the item when I got the blue out. Good luck.

Another idea....my daughter totally believes in the Tide pens. I have never tried it on something like this, but if nothing else works, maybe it is worth a try.

Is it the outside corner? if so I would remove that corner square and pop either the same design back in or something different

I've tried just about everything everyone suggested & so far no luck. I have it soaking in vinegar water right now.

I was really hoping the Blue Line Eraser would work. Tried it several times again & no luck with that either. It looks like I'm stuck with it. Lesson learned. Do NOT iron before removing blue lines!!

>>Is it the outside corner? if so I would remove that corner square and pop either the same design back in or something different <<
It's all 8 of the mitered corners in the borders. I'd have to rip out the binding, all of the borders & many embroidered designs. Many of the embrodered designs are 15 inches long. It's just not possible. I can't remove them & do them over.

I have kicked myself many times over this :(.

I don't have any better suggestions than those already offered but that is a beautiful quilt - the only thing I can think off if the marks remain is to applique over it or some other embellishment?

Salt? a salt solution might be worth experimenting - though i agree with others ... test on scraps first and only treat the quilt once you find something that works.

I am so sorry that your blue line didn't come out. I can understand how you must feel, as I have done the very same thing & didn't realize it until it was to late to fix. Your work is lovey though & you should be proud of that!!
:D :D :D :D

Crazy thought - Have you tried using the blue marker? Get a scrap and heat set blue marker on it then go over the same area again with the blue marker and see if it removes it. I know coffee removes coffee and wine removes wine. What can you lose at this point?

You could couch a cotton yarn over the seam, it would go thru your embroidery, but if done on all the lines it will become a design element. Other yarn alternatives would be thin ribbon, or turned fabric tube, like for a spaghetti strap, made from same background fabric. I think the tube from the same fabric would be the least noticeable.
This is how I make mine. Quilting cotton is heavier than the fashion fabric she is using, so you will have to make the tube a bit wider. Working with shorter lengths is much easier than trying to turn a single tube for the whole project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muPk3tXV4I0

OMG, I am *so* sorry you're going through this after all the work that went into that amazing quilt. It is glorious. I hope one of the suggested solutions will work for you.

My solution hasn't been mentioned yet ... art stores sell markers for fabric or paint that comes out in a pen (I don't know how else to explain it) ... if you bring in a scrap of the fabric, you could test the paint on it, and see which one hides it

It would be permanent, and at least it would hide the blue.

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this ... I'd be very ticked at myself too!!!! On the plus side, it really isn't noticeable from 3 feet away!!!

Applique something over the corners. What if you used some of the prints and appliqued a thin strip (the size you used in the pieced borders) over the blue line? Or applique a square in each corner.

Did you use detergent when you washed the quilt? Some products react with detergents.. Rinse the quilt again in a couple of clean rinse waters. Then apply the blue line eraser product again. If that doesn't work try rubbing achohol. It takes out ink.

The quilt is fantastic. You did a beautiful job. I am so sorry that you have had the problem with the blue marker. I use the Frixion pen and don't have any problem with ironing it and it still comes out after washing. Not that it helps you with this one. I hope you are able to get it out. I was wondering what motif you used for the corner feather? Is there a pattern for it? I could probably free-hand, but would prefer a pattern. It is for my father-in-laws quilt for Christmas.

Be careful using an outside hose on your quilt unless you let the hose run for 5 minutes first. Hoses have green algae and the algae will stick to the quilt and can create mold growth and or mildew. You can pour bleach down the hose and let it sit, then attach the hose to the outside spicket turn the hose on and the water will flush the hose. Ask me how I know. I was doing a test quilt that was going to a pet rescue shelter.

I am so sorry but I would give it to them that way and say that you think it will come out in time, they will appreciate it and love it anyways. However I am very disappointed that the Blue Line Eraser product didn't work. I purchased some at the Houston show and I remember them saying it would take it out even if it had been ironed (which is supposed to make it permanent). I think I would try emailing them and asking about it - can't hurt

I would rather have the blue line then have applique or any other patch over the beautiful stitching.

What a gorgeous quilt! I once had a lipstick go through the wash and dryer and I asked the housekeeper of an elderly gentleman that I took care of what to do and she told me to put the clothes in a plastic bin with oxyclean and water and leave it be for a week, just opening it once each day and agitating it. I was amazed to find that after the week went by the lipstick was gone. Maybe This would work for your quilt.

What a beautiful quilt - I would be sick also if I did this - however, I wonder if you could use some of those paint sticks or whatever they are called that you can color on your quilt. I have seen quilts that the quilting design (feathers) were colored in and they really pop - perhaps that is a new idea for you to try.

The designs I used are a collection called "Quilting Whimsy" by Diane Gaudynski. I got it on a CD. It's hard to find, but OESD still has it. It's on sale at OESD right now. http://www.embroideryonline.com/p-46...ng-whimsy.aspx

Thanks to all the replies. I have tried so many things & none have worked :(. So I have decided to just ship it to her & appoligize for the blue lines.

I plan on another quilt using the same pattern ( I love Lone Stars), different fabrics, but like colors. I will make sure I do NOT iron any blue lines this time!

Here's a close up of the some of the many embroidery designs I did on it:

I am sure your friend will love it as much as everyone on this board loves it. You did a fantastic job - well done and thank you for sharing it with us.

There is a product you can buy that works quite well. Here is the review and link to buy it http://www.badassquilterssociety.com...e-blue-bottle/ It is called Blue Line Eraser http://www.bluelineeraser.com/. I have used it and it worked great for me.

She posted she already tried that product and it didn't work.

Sometimes the more you work on it, the worse it gets. Leave it be after trying all those things. The only thing I've ever found that took out old, set in stains was RetroClean. Pricey, but worth it. For this one, let it go. Your friend will understand! Or make another and keep this one...it is so beautiful and there's so much love poured into its completion that it just needs to be used. After awhile, you won't see the marks, just the overal beauty of a job well done.

You did a great job, your quilting is wonderful. But you are not able to iron over the washable markers, heat sets the marks (iron, dryer or even the sun). SORRY

Try some pure laundry soap and elbow grease. Best of luck.

Your quilt is absolutely stunning, and I promise you she won't notice!!!

On another note ... love your avatar ... is that your macaw?

Yes she is my Blue & Gold Macaw. Her name is JaJaBinks & she will be 16 in January. I got her at 2 years of age. Previous owners abused her. She's a great bird. Super silly & fun loving & very bonded to me.