Hey guys, we have some misunderstanding about the Frixion gel pens. When you use them on fabric you do not use the tip on the end of the pen to erase the lines. You just touch the marks with a hot dry iron and they disappear immediately. It is amazing. Don't miss out on using them they are great.

Robin in Brownwood TX

Hi Robin, I'm kinda new here and these pens are new to me. Can you tell me what 'mm' thinkness the writing tips are? I'm always looking for a better way to mark my quilt tops. These sound interesting!

Thanks

The pens are very fine - like any other fine-point roller ball pen. The highlighters are just like any other chisel-point highlighters. I got the highlighters because sometimes on a busy print, just darkening the fabric slightly with a light blue disappearing ink will work better to mark the fabric than a pencil or pen. I don't know if the highlighters work like that, yet.

I haven't tried all of mine yet, but I do know that they do disappear instantly when you press them with an iron. I read somewhere that they come back if you put them in the freezer, but I haven't tested that.

The packet I have doesn't actually say what mm they are but they are like a regular ball point pen.
Just be aware that the marks do reappear if it gets really cold (below freezing)
So far they seem to work great.

Thanks for clearing up how to "erase" them; I was thinking it was way too much work to erase them with the end of the pen! I'll have to experiment with them some more.

It's interesting that they may reappear when exposed to really cold temps. I can't help but wonder WHAT they are made of.

http://officesupplygeek.com/pen-revi...e-gel-ink-pen/

I had not heard of these pens - been looking for a better fabric market. The link is a review of the pens, and answers one question I had. They say that if the marks are exposed to "cold" the marks will reappear. Fading out while sitting in a hot car could be a problem in Texas! But, will they return in the winter? I don't have hot water to do laundry with in the winter - sometimes it's 36 degrees! Maybe I better keep looking for a better marker for quilting!

Can you tell me what 'mm' thinkness the writing tips are?
Temps that ink reappears?

The Frixion pen tips are 0.7mm

The ink reappears at temps at 14 F.

jetpens.com carry a set of 24 for $46 and some change. Some really neat colors. I'm a junkie for pens and stuff. Love office supply stores.

Robin in Brownwood TX

I tested 8 colors of the Frixion pens and 5 colors of the Frixion highlighters.

With the pens, I had to scribble pretty hard to get lines on a white-on-white print fabric. They disappeared instantly when I ironed them.

The highlighters left a white mark when they were ironed, with a trace of color. All the marks came back strong when I put them in the freezer.

But, all the marks disappeared completely with just a few seconds of hand-washing in cold water with a little Dawn dish soap.

Next, the Crayola washable markers.

Well, I don't think I'd use the Crayola washable markers to mark a quilt, especially a very light colored one.

I tested 8 colors and ironed half of the test strip to see if heat makes them more permanent. Washing by hand in cold water, *most* of the color came out but there are definite blobs of color left even after a pretty vigorous scrubbing.

Ironing didn't seem to make any difference. Orange and purple washed away the best and red and blue stayed the most.

I never got To marking with the Crayola washables. I didn't like the fat
tips. Not a worry now. Thanks for the research.
Robin in TX

Thank you, Robin, you're a great resource!

Thank you, Robin, you're a great resource!

You are so very welcome.
Robin

I just purchased these pens and they are really fabulous. I am marking embroidery patterns and applique patterns onto white fabric. The lines come off completely with hot iron. What an amazingly easy thing to do - and to tell you the truth all the other marking tools left some sort of marks too. Even the chalky pens left residue. This seems like magic. I have no hesitation.

the problem i've seen with those pens is---yes the ink disappears when ironed--but then it comes back when the item gets cold- so if you are using them to mark a quilt- be prepared for your lines to be back if the quilt ever gets cold.... mark lightly- it can be quite heart breaking to have a beautiful quilt all finished and then have marks appear out of no where- of course you only need to (re-iron) but seriously- who wants to have to iron their quilts all the time? and do you put that on the label if you are gifting the quilt?...if lines appear on quilt-just iron with a hot iron???
they may seem like (magic) but they sound like a pain to me- i'd rather use something that actually goes away- instead of something that is just disguised for a bit of time...under certain conditions.

Totally agree with that.

I bought two on a trip to the LQS a few weeks back. I left them in my car when I returned to work. you know how hot it has been here, so as you can imagine....... I am going to put them in the freezer, see if that somehow makes them at least useable :-)