I guess I should have read about it first - Frixion Pens
 

Hi All. A co-worker asked me if I would make two plain pillows for her mother (she gave me the material). I used a turquoise Fixion pen on the top to help with quilting. It was great except I had no idea that after ironing the lines out that they could re-appear if the item gets cold. Several women on quilt videos on YouTube raved about them so I gave it a try. Well the pillows were in the car for a while in the cold and the lines came back.

I was so excited about the pen but now am avoiding them. I guess it was too good to be true. This was my first time using the pen. I had plans to use the pen on several more items including a baby quilt.

Is there a trick to them working?

Thanks and blessings for the New Year!

They are not designed to be used on fabric. I do use them, but only on things that will be hidden in a seam allowance. Some have had luck with washing the project after finishing, but that could just be the dryer heat making the lines disappear again. I haven't tested that theory yet.

I don't have any but from what I've read, I'm avoiding like the plague. I use chalk and pencil and keep an eraser and unused makeup brush nearby to dust and erase the marks.

The pen ink will wash out of fabric. If you can't wash the item then toss it dryer for a few minutes. I use the pens all the time for my quilt marking. I wash the quilt afterwards. No marks have re appeared after washing for me, I stuck a few items in the freezer to check. I have had one quilt that I marked with the pen when it first came out. It's been years and so far nothing terrible has happened to the fabric.

I love frixion pens. I have not tested them by taking them out in the cold or putting them in the freezer, but I do hope they wash out. I love that they iron out so easily, so I hope OnebyOne is right. I've never noticed that the marks come back. I hope it stays that way.

I avoid using anything that is liquid based for marking like the plague - just on general principles.

I do not trust ANYTHING that seems ink-like - whether it is "supposed" to disappear or not.

I use pencil type products - and test, test, test - to make sure it the marks are removable before marking an important project.

I do have reasons for my phobia!

I read an article some years ago where fabric from a quilt shop was washed the first time in a home washer. The wash water was analysed and the chemicals in it was a harsh chemical soup, some considered toxic. If you don't wash your fabrics or the finished item, those chemicals are in the fabric. A little non toxic ink isn't going to make any difference at all.

Once you warmed up the pillow cases did the ink go away again? Remember they will not be used outside in the cold but in a warm home.

Just remember the ink is still there when you press your item. It is like invisible ink. Unless you wash it it will always be in the fabric.
peace

The is a response from Pilot, the makers of the Frixion Pens. They were not made to use on fabric. I copied and pasted it.

So in summary, straight from the manufacturer’s mouth so to speak, a summary of using the Frixion pens on fabric:
1. Frixion pens combine gel ink and thermo ink. You are marking your quilt with a gel pen that disappears.
2. The marks will reappear if the quilt gets cold (anything below freezing I think-I did not confirm the specific temperature) unless the mark is completely removed with an ink remover. Even after a thorough steam of the marks, they will reappear in the cold. This is part of the inherent chemistry of the ink combination.
3. To completely remove the ink so that it will not ghost or reappear in the cold, you will need an ink remover and also may possibly need to scrub the area. The manufacturer has tested Amodex and Mötsenböcker’s Lift-Off 3 and found them to be fairly effective in removing the ink.
4. Frixion pens sometimes leave a ghost mark after steaming. This is the thermo ink showing on the quilt, not the gel. The Pilot rep said to rid the piece of ghost marks you would need to treat it with the ink removers listed above.
So this is a definitive summary of the Frixion pens straight from the pen’s manufacturer.

There are a lot of various problems with different markers. I prefer using white powdered chalk except that doesn't work on light fabric. Beware NOT to use any of the powdered chalk that is blue, yellow and red. They will NOT wash off.

Of course the maker isn't going to say it's made to use on fabric when it's not marketed for fabric. Doesn't change my mind about using them.

A friend of mine used them to mark a show quilt. She had washed the quilt to block it and the marks reappeared. Nothing she tried got them out. I prefer to use a product specifically manufactured for marking on fabric or something that will easily brush or wash out like chalk or a sliver of soap for dark fabrics. I use blue water soluble markers for light but only after testing.

I was under the impression after they are washed the lines do not come back.

This is exactly where I stand also. FriXion pens, no matter what the manufacturer says NOW, were not originally developed for marking on fabrics.

I have used these pens I like them , but then I live in a warm climate so it wont be something I will need to worry about .

I use either just a plain old #2 mechanical pencil for light fabrics and the Bohin mechanical pencil in white for dark fabrics. Only one time did I have an issue with the #2 pencil on a very white fabric but did manage to get that graphite out. Personally, I would not use any ink-based product for marking but that's just me.

there is product out there that remove the lines permanently. I have also steamed and did a wash test and did not have lines appear but the quilt had to be washed, so they can be used you just have to keep this in mind

I use Frixon pens all the time in my sewing room for writing notes and some marking because I know if I accidentally get some marks on the fabric or clothes they will wash out. I am cautious about using them to mark a quilt for quilting because I have had them leave shadows on fabric - especially the red one and red fabric - when you iron them away. I use a chalk pen for darker fabrics and either a blue water soluble or purple air soluble for marking for quilting. I wash all my quilts after they are done anyway so whatever is there is gone after the wash.

I only use the Frixon pens to mark embroidery lines. When ironed away, if they come back, they are under the thread. Will use them until they are dried up, but will not buy more.

I apparently am too fast for those pens - the friction of me zipping the pen ball along the fabric would make my lines vanish as quickly as they were drawn! I had to slow way down and that was annoying. (I also sort of don't trust them on fabric, I use them at work now.)

I use plain ol' tailor's chalk unless I need a really fine drawing and then I use the blue wash-out pens. I like the tailor's chalk because it always comes out, and I don't have to worry about "setting" it with the iron like I do with the blue wash-out pens. Plus it's extremely inexpensive and easy to find. I have it in white, blue, yellow and red - between those four colors I can always find one that shows up on the fabric I'm using.

It also reminds me of my gran, who was a quilter. :)

I use a Sharpie for tracing patterns, though. If it's going to be hidden in the seam allowance I love my Sharpies for marking fabric.

I have used them and love them. I have also used their highlighters. I ran my own experiment with them. I took about 15 different fabric scraps and wrote on them with a Friction pen and highlighter.I ironed them and put them in the freezer and the lines came back. Then I ironed them again and threw it in the washing machine with Tide.I put them back in the freezer and about half of them came back very faintly.
I also did a demo the same way for my quilt guild using various different marking methods. I don't remember all of them right now. I left them on the fabric as they were, I also ironed over them before I washed them. I did find that a lot of the blue marking methods were the hardest to get out. There must be something in the blue that makes it harder to remove. I used about 15 different marking methods and several colors of some of them.

Washing with detergent has removed every mark on my quilts, none have reappeared. Odd that some does.

I use them all the time & (knock on wood) I never had a problem with the lines coming back. Hopefully I never do because I really like using them.

I know some use the washable crayola fine line markers. The kind kids use.It has to be the Ultra-clean washable markers. I have tried them and so far no problems. I have used the frixiion gel pens but they do come back for me. They always leave a white line. I don't use them anymore unless I know it won't show up somewhere.

I think once you wash it, it won't happen again. If you iron it again, it will disappear again.

I use the FriXion pens where they won't show, for things like drawing the lines to make HST's, and I really like them for that.

For everything else, I use the Crayola ultra-clean markers. I LOVE them! I've used every color and even ironed over them, and they've always washed right out.

I ended up throwing out several of those Chaco chalk markers because none of the colors that I used (red, blue, yellow and grey) washed out and two quilts that I used them on were ruined. I've read that the white ones are fine, but once burned...

My bad...I should have tested them first. It was an expensive and frustrating lesson. :(

Never used them after researching their use on cloth.

I opted not to use them after I did some research.

FriXion pens are the only thing I have used that gave me a thin enough line. The only colors I had trouble with were orange and red, which did not completely iron out. I didn't go as far as washing whatever it was to test that.

I do use yellow Chaco, but don't like the way the powder gets all over the needle and bed.

Do a test...mark on similar type fabric scrap...iron the lines out..then hold the scrap up and look at it...you will see a faint line of the ink (invisible to the naked eye, unless held up to light)...this is the ink. Wash the item as you think the owner would...dry in dryer...hold up to light...is the marking residue still there? If not...then washing will remove. I've tried my pink and red...the residue washed out just fine (white cotton/poly).

I only use them for marking where it will never show. A quilter actually had her accepted quilt rejected from Paducah because she had marked her quilting lines with a Frixon pen and in the shipping the quilt got cold and all the lines reappeared.