Frixion pen question
 

I have heard a lot of talk about the Frixion pens. I have never used them. Well last night I bought my first one. I do like how it rolls and marks, but I saw that the "ink" goes clear when ironed.. it doesn't go away. Then I googled and I found where some woman said the markings come back when the quilts get cold. I live in Indiana.. its going to get cold. What have your experience been with the Frixion pens? I am now afraid to use them. Do they wash out so that the markings don't return when the temperature drops? I don't want the markings to come back.. I will just stick to my washable markers if that is the fact about the Frixion pens

I just tried one, too and I was impressed with how easy it was to iron and make it go away. I was told that if you wash the quilt twice, the marks go away. I sure hope they do, it's cold in Iowa too.

If I were try the Frixion pens, I would mark several types of fabric, iron, throw in washer and dryer, put in frig, wash, iron, etc. to see if the marks re-appear or not. I'm at the point where I want to test for myself -- especially marking products.

I heard that a quilt arrived at a quilt show with all its markings showing. Apparently the quilt was marked with one of those pens, and was mailed/ travelled in the cold and all the marks re-appeared. The quilter had a note on it asking if someone could please run an iron over it if the markings appeared. The person unwrapping the quilts said we don't have time for that! And the quilt was hung with the markings showing.

I have also heard that if you iron the quilt after it's quilted, the gel ink will actually melt from the fabric into the batting and won't reappear when chilled. haven't tried this yet, however.

I am glad that I asked, good info. I don't think I am going to use this, at least not on the project I am working on. This is too scary for me to try

I, too, just bought my first friction pen. Tested on the scraps of the fabric I wanted to use it on. Ironed off and then put in the freezer. Marks did come back only lighter. I am wondering if the marks fade over time. I was told that they do go away after washing several times. I bought mine at the LQS and wonder if the ink is somehow different in pens made for quilters.
Sue

Looked at these pens in Staples. Are they the ones in the red packaging that say "erasable" on them? I am willing to try them, but don't know if these are the ones you are talking about. Thanks!

I got one of these. IMHO, a waste of my money. used on a wall hanging made in a class. Class was 12 sessions in the middle of winter, average night time tempt about 35 to 40 Every time I took my project out of the house to class, all lines and marks showed up again. Would not have been to bad if it had not been an embellishment class. Some lines still show because I could not get under some of the beads, an ribbon work. I played with the pen, at 42* lines showed up. Tried washing marked fabric, 100% cotton, and blends, with everything I could think of, including bleach. Lines kept returning, and some develop light lines that never went away. Went back to the way I was taught, a sliver of hand soap washes out every time. Gave the pen to DGD to draw pictures with.

A fellow quilt guild member of mine actually called the company that manufactures the Frixion pens and talked to a customer rep about this very subject. She was told that the pens were never manufactured for use on fabric and were never tested for this use and that they do not recommend their use on fabric. Frixion quilt marking is entirely a "fabrication" of the quilting community.

I've been using them for almost 2 years now and have never had any problems, and I live in Penna. and it gets cold here. What I don't like are the frixion markers, the pens I love, but not the chiseled felt tipped markers, I don't have any luck getting that ink off.

Iron, and wash and they won't come back. If you don't wash it will

I have used them with good success. However, on batiks they leave a faint white mark. It is cold ( usually) in Michigan. I have had good luck with the crayola washable marker. They come out great.

I use Frixon pens all the time. I have found on some darker fabrics that it will leave a faint almost like a bleach mark when you iron the fabric to make the mark go away especially if you use the red Frixon ink. I don't mark my quilts for quilting with a Frixon for this reason but when I am putting markings on the quilt for sewing and matching patchwork it is my pen of choice because I know that it will wash out where pencil and ink won't. Sometimes I use parchment paper to make a pattern for FMQ where I put it on the quilt as a guide and stitch through the paper. I always use Frixon pens for this because I know if any of it gets on the thread it will wash out. I use a water soluble marking pen to mark for quilting if I am marking directly on the fabric.

Last year I made several samples of different fabrics that I marked with red and blue and black fixion pens. I ironed each and the color was gone. I then put them in the freezer and the color returned. I then iron them again and the color was gone again. I them washed them with my normal wash, and the color remained gone. I put them back into the freezer and the color did NOT return. Hope this helps.

I don't believe the ones that say "erasable" are the same, they will erase with the eraser but not the iron, I have tried it and it didn't work.

Sharon Schamber uses Frixon pens. That's good enough for me. She explains in detail how she gets the ink out of her quilts on one of her videos.

If you leave a quilt that was marked with a Frixion pen out in the car and it gets below zero, or any very cold temp., the lines will re-appear. My advice to you is, throw it in the dryer for a few minutes and voila, no more markings, no more stress, no hand wringing. Simple as that.

When these first came out, several tests were performed to see how they worked. You can conduct a search and find the results of these tests on-line.

I always seems that ironing any marking can cause the "setting" of the ink. Why not skip the ironing part, wash the quilt when finished quilting, then use the iron on any marks, then wash again to see if it is gone....or wash twice then see if the marks show when it turns cold....then throw in the dryer to get rid of the marks. Has anyone tried not ironing, but washing first to get the ink out?

I use the pens on everything. White whole cloth quilts, satin, anything cotton, everything![SUB] and have never had a problem with the gel showing up or the color coming back. I even put a quilt (white one) in the freezer for several days, and nothing showed up. I have used several and have gotten different colors to use.
I get mine either at an office supply store or Walmart as they are the least expensive. It seems the quilt shops, at least here charge nearly twice as much.

I do try them on a piece first just to make sure, but have yet to find a piece of fabric that is a problem.

I've tried the air erase and the water erase pens and don't like them nearly as much as the frixion pens.
Jane
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I use these pens, but I mark where they don't show. The marks are for reference only - like making a small mark on the right side of white printed fabric, or marking a sewing line on the back of a block for HSTs. That way, they won't show when quilted, frozen, or washed.

Try marking on a scrap block, wash and dry it a couple of times, then throw it in the freezer/fridge overnight and see how it works!

gee I've never had a problem with the pens and I live in Massachusetts

I love using them. If they come back, just iron again. After the first wash, they won't come back.

I really don't think I will be putting my quilt in the freezer or leaving it outside where there is no heat. I would think our homes are warm enough the marks would not come back. I have not had a problem with them

Why bother with all that. I simply use a #2 mechanical pencil and good soft eraser, or pounce chalk.

I also am a frixion pen user and LOVE IT!!! I always wash my quilts after working on them. The faint white line that is seen on darker fabric comes out w/ wet rag and light rubbing.

Check this out: http://www.freckledwhimsy.com/2010/0...ns-to-use.html

Your link doesn't work-it's been truncated so you can't copy/paste a shortened link by just highlighting the link. You have to right click and click 'copy link' or whatever. Is this the page you're looking for? If so it's about labeling quilts, not marking them for quilting.
http://www.freckledwhimsy.com/2010/0...ns-to-use.html

The marks return in the cold FOREVER no matter how much you wash them. They also dry out very quickly. I only use air erase pens on my quilts.

Although I have used Frixion pens and I really like them a lot, I am cautious when using them. I've never had a problem with the ink not washing out, but I'm careful to only mark areas for cutting, which would be hidden in a seam if it came back. I don't use them for marking quilting designs.

Yes, our homes are warm inside, but what if I made a quilt for my granddaughter, wrapped it for Christmas, and took it to her house to give it to her? It is often below 0 here in Wyoming, and just getting a package into the car exposes the contents to very low temperatures. Have you ever taken a quilt to a high school football game? That could also expose the quilt to temperatures low enough to reveal the markings. The point made about quilts being sent to shows via airline is another situation that we need to consider.

I won't stop using Frixion pens, but like I said, I am cautious and suggest that we all use care when marking our quilts.

I have a quilted pillow gift from a friend that used the black frixion pen on white fabric....this gift has gotten very cold several times and no lines have returned. My friend loves them.

I bought 1 of these pens but am scared to use it after hearing about everyone's experiences. Maybe I'll give it to the grandkids as an art pen. LOL.

:mad: That would be "graphite" in the pencil.

I took a hand quilting class from a woman who has been quilting since she was a child. She explained a couple of the new ways of marking, such as the Frixion and other pens, but you could tell her heart wasn't in it. Finally she said she uses a No. 2 pencil for light fabrics and tailor's chalk for dark fabrics. I have been using the No. 2 pencil for light fabrics, and it works beautifully. It never causes a problem with being retained by the fabric, and it even starts disappearing as you're quilting. I have a Sewline marker, and I use that in white for dark fabrics since I'm not going to go out and buy any chalk until all my white is gone. Keep it simple is the correct way of marking fabric for me.

I took a Harriet Hargrave class and this was her point as well. She says we don't know what those chemicals do to the fabric long-term, either - it could be weakening the fibers and we won't know until a decade later. So she recommended against Frixion pens for that reason.

I tried them anyway and I don't like them because apparently I make my lines too fast - they vanish as soon as I make them, probably from the heat of the ball point rolling over the fabric too quickly. I love my blue water-erase markers, as long as I'm careful not to let the iron hit them they wash out so cleanly and easily. I use old fashioned tailor's chalk for anything that will need to endure heat.

Be careful, these pens can bleach the color out of some batiks when ironed.