After reading the posts on cost of marking pens and chalk marks not coming out of the fabric, I got to thinking about teachers. They use chalk everyday, invariably wipe off their hands on their clothes, and that chalk washes out.

On my current piece - I'm at the hand quilting stage - I marked the motif I wanted to use with white, 99 cents a box chalkboard chalk on the dark blue and red fabric. Quilted, and to my delight (and relief) the marks came right off. Used both methods - dusting it off and also water wiping it off.

Worked like a charm! And I have plenty left for drawing on the sidewalk!

Smart thinking Nina!! Did you have a problem keeping a sharp edge to draw with?

Thanks for the tip!! Did you try any of the colored chalk on light fabrics?

No problem with sharp tip - used a crayon sharpener. Used one with a piece on it that catches the shavings - am going to try to put them in flannel and try pouncing to get the pattern once I collect enough. I use that method with baby powder on my ceramics.

Didn't try colored chalks - figured the dye might leave a permanent mark. I've got some my grandkids use on the driveway. Will try on a scrap and let you know. Hopefully tonight.

I'll wait right here... :lol:

Well, the pink and green came out. Didn't try the blue.

Thanks Nina!

Haven't tried this myself but a quilting friend swears by the new chalk markers by Fons and Porter. She says the lines stay in place until you want to remove them. I plan to get same but haven't seen them advertised or in the shops. Anyone else out there who has tried these markers? Suzanne

I haven't tried them either, will be at JoAnn's tomorrow, so will see if they have them there, and if so, use my 50% off coupon, since all the fabric types I like will already be on sale. They had all the quilting notions at 50% off not long ago, but they always exclude Fons and Porter, that's when I whip out my coupons, unless the fabric isn't on sale that I want, but I can use 3 coupons, as long as they are from a different source (e-mail, newspaper,mailer) they filled me in on this at one of the other stores not so close to me, that I can buy 3 different cuts of fabric, using 3 different coupons

I've just started using a new (to me) chalk marker by Dritz and I think I'm going to like it a lot. A friend of mine at my small guild swears by them. The package contains several white, and a variety of other colors for marking light fabrics. The chalks are thin, and are placed in a pen-like holder for marking. It has a little pencil sharpener too. So far I've only used the white, and I like how it marks and comes off fairy easily. I found it at a JoAnn's while I was in Little Rock for the Quilt Congress. Wish we had a JoAnn's close by!

I feel soooo silly. I tried usung chalk for chalk board. The only thing, I could not get a thin line, WELL HELLO- never thought of using a pencil sharpner :roll:

don't feel lonely Chunkymama, I didn't think of it either, ( I'm chunky too) LOL

Thank you for the tips on using regular chalk, I like being able to save money on notions so that I have more money left for fabrics and thread :D

I seen on a tv show that instead of using the pouncers, this quilter had the loose chalk powder in a rubber maid container and used a foam brush. She just dabbed a very small amount on the brush and lightly brushed it on her stencils, a little really went a long way. This method also kept the chalk dust down to a minimum, she showed how pouncing made the dust fly all over the quilt and surrounding surfaces, but little went anywhere other than the stencil using the brush. I have been trying to figure out the easiest (and not so messy) way to make chalk dust out of regular chalk, now. :D

try the zest side of your grater. the chalk in those pouncer is a little pricey but it stays put untill you iron it off, it doesn't rub off (too much) from handling

ewwww doesn't sharpening the chalk give you hideous chills?? sounds like a great idea, but i'm afraid i'd have to bribe the girls to sharpen it for me in the other room! LOL

Except, by the time they got done, you'd probably have a pretty little pile of chalk dust jbs! :lol:

Doesn't bother me to sharpen chalk, but I never liked writing on a blackboard. ~~~~s~h~i~v~e~r~~~~ :mrgreen:

I bought the Fons and Porter chalk marker, works fine for straight lines but not well for curves. I have the pounce and like it very much. I did learn that you can use corn starch in the pounce when you run out of chalk. Cheaper.

Cinnamon works well in a pounce bag as well, I also save soap that gets worn down to very thin and it works great on dark fabrics as well. When it looses it's edge I just keep turning till edge is gone and get me another thin piece, when there is no edge left. I make sure I clean my machine out well after using cinnamon , and the smell is an added bonus, for me anyway.

all good suggestions. I just bought the ones from Fons and Porter, but haven't tried them out yet.

Hi!> I have a set of these chalk markers. Bought them at a JoAnn's in New Jersey

Got mine at JoAnns too, took advantage of the 50% off coupons I had, the fabric was already on sale.