Hi, I am new to this message board, or any message board for that matter. I have had trouble finding a good product to mark with. Has anybody ever tried a chalk line from the hardware store. This was a sugguestion from a friend of mine and it sounds like an excellent idea for straight lines. What do you think?
Thanks

For straight lines I use masking tape! for some reason I just don't trust chalk, I know many people do but with the tape if for some reason (I have three kids so thats reason enough) if I have to stop in the middle of a line I don't have to worry about the chalk getting brushed off while I am away! the tape stays in place pretty much no matter what, I had some tape on a quilt until just the other day, it had been on for at least three months folded up in a box, i pulled it out put it in the machine and stitched the line! removed the tape and nothing was left behind and the tape had stayed in position!

You can also get tape in many different widths to get different width lines!

Hi and welcome. Teat it out on a pice of srap that you are going to use first to make sure it will washout with out leaving a mark. I love my sewline pencials(?).

I will definetly try the masking tape. I never even thought about tape. Thank You very much.

I have the sewline pencils , but I must not be using them right because I have a hard time seeing the line.
Thanks

I liked my first sewline pencil so much, I bought a second. With the first, it came with fine, graphite looking leads, and I purchased White and Yellow refills. I bought the second pencil so that I could keep a white or yellow lead in that, and the grey, graphite lead in the other pencil, to save having to change over each time I wanted a different colour. With the grey line, you have to draw softly, i.e a fine line, otherwise it's harder to erase if you need to.

I'd hesitate to use this. Would it wash out afterwards? Others have mentioned washable Crayola markers and I'm going to give them a try.

markers ? I wouldn't do that. I just doesn't seem safe. Do not use pencil either ,that will never come out. I use tape for stright lines and a pounce (powder chulk) for stencils,however that doesn't work for all cases. I think we all have a problem ,when it comes to doing our own quilting.

I use snap lines all of the time, but not for quilting!!! The chalk used in those would probably stain your fabrics. Unless you can find a "clean" one with no chalk/chalk residue in it and load it up with a quilting chalk :wink:

Welcome to the board from southern California. I use tape to mark my straight lines, especially if they are diagonal across the quilt. Just be sure to use the blue painters tape. It comes off easier. I pull the tape up as I come to it, never stitch on the tape. I have had a time or two where some stickiness from the tape stayed on the quilt and it caused my sewing machine foot to sorta drag and messed up the quilting. It is now in the garage (the tape not the quilt) so I won't use it again. I guess I just had a really sticky roll of tape