How to mark batiks.
 

I'm making a quilt for an important auction so I can't have a disaster. I need to mark the quilting on dark red and blue batiks. Would white chalk pencil come out easily? I will wash the quilt with Retayne, maybe twice then Woolite to make sure there's no bleeding. I can use the blue pen on the red but what about the blue? Thank you.

I've also got this question and am wondering if white tailor's chalk would work. I have an entire box that I use for garment sewing. You can use it as lightly or as heavily as you want but I've never used it on a quilt yet.

I believe white chalk pencil would come out. Why don't you test one on your batiks to see?

What concerns me is your plan for washing the quilt. You *never* want to wash a finished quilt in Retayne. Retayne will permanently set any bleeds. Retayne should only be used on yardage before it is incorporated into a quilt. Also, no one recommends washing a quilt in Woolite these days, probably because there are too many chemicals in it.

I recommend testing your fabrics to see if they are going to bleed. Just take a small piece of each fabric, soak in water, and lay on paper towels to see if any dye transfers. That will give you a good idea of what to expect.

For washing of the quilt, I recommend using Synthrapol (or Dawn dishwashing liquid) and *lots* of hot water. Domestic front-loading washers do not use enough water to dilute dye bleeds. Use a domestic top-loader or a large laundromat front-loader. Both Synthrapol and Dawn make a lot of suds when agitated, so use a very small amount if using a machine. Alternatively, you can use a bathtub and lots of Dawn. Here is a link to a website that describes how to get dye bleeds out of fabric; however, the instructions would work equally well for keeping dye bleeds from settling into fabrics in the first place. She has detailed instructions for using the bathtub in her PDF:
https://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/sav...ing-quilt.html

I use Crayola white blackboard chalk sharpened with a pencil sharpener to a point. I use a tooth brush to remove it after quilting or a damp facecloth if it is [ATTACH=CONFIG]592118[/ATTACH] arked heavily. Dress makers chalk sometimes has wax in it and I would not recommend it myself.

Like Tartan, I use regular school chalk which I sharpen with a pencil sharpener. After I mark it, I spray it lightly with some cheap aerosol hairspray to temporarily set it. Both the hairspray and the chalk have washed out completely for me. Surprisingly, this includes one that I had marked with blue chalk on a white fabric that sat in the UFO pile for many years that I thought would be stained.

I also agree with Tartan about the tailor's chalk--I used to use it for garments, and remember scrubbing more than one item with Dawn and a toothbrush trying to get the marks out.

FYI, I save the powdered chalk shavings to use in my pouncer.

A sliver of white bar soap will work well, and you won't have to worry about whether it will wash out.

I learn something from you with every post. I sware, you are a quilting guru.

If this was my project, I would pre-wash all batiks before cutting.

I find Bohin chalk pencils great for batiks. They put out a three-in-one pencil that hold white, pink and grey chalk so I can usually find one that works.

I swear by this product as well. I use their white chalk on dark fabrics all the time and have never had an issue.

AS DO I! Quilting Guru, indeed! ;-)