Marking with chalk pounce pad
 

Hi - would be interested to hear of experiences in using the Chalk pounce pad - I would like a safe method to mark grids/stencils on a customers quilt however I am concerned to do this as it may leave a residue or faint marks, however thought chalk may be the safest way....thank you in advance! ��

I have used pounce. The white chalk washed out fine - seems like I had trouble with the blue chalk washing out

What keeps me from using the pounce is that it wipes off before I get through all of my sections of quilting.

Currently my favorite method is using the crayola washable markers. They wash out well.

Marking with the pounce is quicker but the markers don't wipe off :)

I love the white Miracle Chalk pounce. Used with a stencil, it's fast, and makes an easy to see line. I once had trouble getting out the blue chalk, so I don't use that at all anymore. I never did get it all out.

About the only other things I use for marking are a chaco liner (a tube with a tiny wheel that dispenses a super fine line of chalk) and Roxanne's white and silver pencils. All these are safe, none will damage cotton fibers over future decades. I don't want to spend so much time and money creating something then chance it falling apart in the future where lines were marked with damaging chemicals. So I'm very conservative with marking tools.

To keep the chalk from disappearing before you finish quilting give it light shot of hair spray.

Cari

As with any marking method Always test in an inconspicuous area first to make sure it will come out. Sometimes what worked before doesn’t work next time. Always test first. If your customer used starch, sizing, fabric softener, whatever - it can have an impact on what easily comes off or what seems to want to stay.

One thing I found with a chalk pounce pad is that you need good ventilation while using it! I did not like breathing in the fine dust it creates.

Thank you to all responded
 

I really appreciate your responses! 💐

I bought the magic pounce pad and iron off chalk from the company at the quilt show. It has it's pros and cons.

Pros: It doesn't "bounce" off while stitching
Cons: Either I'm doing something wrong or it is MESSY. Whew!

If I am not mistaken the white pounce washes off but the blue one irons off. I bought them years ago at a quilt show and what I personally found out was that it did disappear so I only worked on a quadrant of the quilt at a time but I used predominantly the blue one and just ironed it off. I didn't have any problems but definitely don't use it often.

You don't pounce the pad, you rub it across the stencil. The first time you fill it with chalk you take it outside and slam it down hard about 100 times on a hard surface. I did it on my porch ledge. Then and only then is it ready to use with no more pouncing. If you are pouncing on the stencil you are doing it all wrong.

I haven't used the pounce chalk. I did a guild presentation a couple of years ago on quilt marking methods. I used numerous different methods. I washed them as they were and also did a separate sample where I ironed over them before washing. In general blue seemed to be the most difficult color to remove, followed by yellow. I have no idea why.

I've used both the white and the blue. I've had one quilt where the blue didn't wash out too well, but I actually like the faint lines it left behind! It's been washed, dried and ironed twice trying to get rid of the blue ... so I gave up.

The white is awesome.

Follow the instructions above, and you won't have any problems ... rub, don't pounce across your stencils.

I only use the chalk on really detailed stencils - then I use hairspray to stop it from coming off.

For other stencils I use crayola washable markers - all the colours can be used - you just have to wash your quilt on a "full cycle" not a short one, for all the markings to come off.

Oh heavens. I loaded my new pounce pad downstairs in my sewing room. Even my hair was full of it!

I bought that a few years ago at an AQS show in DM. Well, the stuff bounced off and I complained to them the following year. They said to lightly spray it with hairspray...like Cari-in-Oly said. Am just a bit worried to do this on a customer quilt.