My return to the world of quilting after taking a 20 year "sabbatical" has not been going smoothly. I broke my machine trying to assemble a quillow. Next I pieced a pretty (IMHO) wall hanging and had endless troubles trying to use fusible batting. After I managed to peel off the puckered batting, I discovered all my stenciled lines and designs had disappeared. I used a purple water erasable marker from Clover. I am a hand quilter and it takes me a while to finish a project. I need ideas for better marking tools. TIA

Sorry, I am one of the get it done in a hurry machine quilters. I am sure there are lots of things out there, but for now I am tickled with a chalk that I just found that disappears after the first pass of the machine. LOL it sure does take all of us to make the world go round.

I really like the Sewline pencil. http://www.sewline-product.com/Sewline_Fabric_Pencil

Are you sure it's a water erase? Most of the time the purple ones are air erase (which happens rather quickly) and the blue are water erase. Which ever one you decide to use make sure the marks are completely gone before pressing. Heat will set them and they will never come out. Ask me how I know.....

Vinegar is supposed to take those marks out, according to a tip in a quilting magazine. Worth a try.

Vinegar is supposed to take those marks out, according to a tip in a quilting magazine. Worth a try.[/quote]

Thanks, I'll give it a try :thumbup:

I was at Joann's today and got a set of markers, one is blue and the other one is white. They are water erase, and I found them by the regular sewing items, not the quilting ones. I have used the blue ones before and like the way they work. I'm sure I'll like the white one to use on dark fabrics that the blue one won't show up on. I think they were Clover brand.

My favourites are watercolor pencils. They rub off after a while and all remaining lines go with the first the time the quilt is washed. I always look for a color that fits the fabric, a few shades darker or lighter.
For light fabrics (especially solids) I use the method of needle marking, therefore I don't have to remove any marking lines.

Had never thought of watercolour pencils...hmm, beats messing about with chalk (the air/water erasable pens scare me!)

You can find them in shops for artist supplies. Normally they are used by painters who do watercolor paintings. They don't contain wax like the regular color pencils and they are water soluble.
The air/water erasable pens also scare me! A friend of mine used the blue one a lot and one day she left her marked quilt in the sun for just half an hour - she wasn't able to remove the marks anymore.

I'm a hand quilter too and I used almost everything but I have to say I love the Sewline pencil works great.

I love to use a Fons &Porter mechanical pencil, it comes with dark and white lead, so it will mark on any color.

Makes so much sense. Never thought of that. Even have watercolor pencils. Thanks for sharing.

I love the mark b gone pens. They are purple on one end WHICH IS DISAPPERAING INK and blue on the other which is goes away in water. The only thing is I go through the blue like crazy.

I also like the white clover pens for dark fabric.

I have never tried the pounce pads.

I also used washable crayolas for marking. I used the blue. It didn't all come out. But it was on there for 2 years so that may have been an issue. Either way, I won't use blue anymore as I've read on here that blue is a problem.

Kyia

I have watercolor pencils, too! Thanks for the tip!

There is one thing more I would suggest when trying out a new marking pen: always test it on the fabric you use! Different brands of fabric sometimes react on a different way because of the chemicals they are prepared with. Some pens are very easy to remove on one brand but not not the other.

Gosh, I bet the purple one IS air erasable and not water erasable. That makes more sense. Thanks! It was disappearing before my very eyes.

Someone suggested recently to use talc and put it on with a sponge brush, then spray Aquanet on it. Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like a great idea.

Thank you for the web site. Sounds like a great pencil. On the site, I didn't see a place to order it. Where can I buy one of these Fabric Pencils?

Does it say not to iron over Sewline pencil lines? Seems like I used it once, ironed, & the lines were permanant. Also make sure you use a water erasable pen & not an air erasable pen. Like said before, the air will erase before you have it quilted.

You can Google it for retail outlets. I know Hancocks of Paducah sells it as does the Fat Quarter Shop. It's made by United Notions, makers of Moda Fabrics. My LQS sells them so that's where I get mine.

Yes, the package says to erase the pencil lines before ironing (I would do this with any marking pencil anyway). Testing on the fabric to be used is also recommended on the package. The lines are very easy to erase with either the included eraser (or any soft eraser) or with dabbed water. I've used the white lead on black fabric and it came out without a trace.

The only thing to be careful of is in using the eraser. If you erase on the bias, you can stretch the fabric if you are over zealous in your rubbing.

just looked..the crayola s that i have are "ccolored pencils"the same or wrong again !!?