This will be my 3rd quilt to handquilt, my previous ones being done in a 14" hoop. I made this top especially to handquilt and I have a quilting frame I have never used.

After reading so many posts in this forum, I am now questioning my plan. I planned to mark the entire top with pencil before loading in the frame. The back is a one-piece bleached muslin.

How would YOU do it?

Thanks in advance!
lynne

When I hand quilt I usually quilt with the pattern so I mark as I go. This may not be of any help to you.

I'm not a very experienced hand quilter, but when I did a bed-sized quilt using stencils much like yours, I only marked the area I was currently working on. It took me so long to hand quilt the whole thing that I'm sure the original markings would have long rubbed off as I dragged the quilt around the house from one place to another to hand quilt. Hope you find this helpful. Also, that's a neat quilt!

hello from new jersey. where do you live? anywhere near new jersey? there's a great show coming up here.

I'm not really sure what to tell you. There are a couple of ladies on here who exclusively hand quilt and they may be more help. I know that Fons and Porter have special mechanical pencils for marking fabric. There are two colors of lead, white and gray. I plan to give them a try. I've used water washable pens on my quilt without issue and it stays in place.

I am a hand quilter. NEVER yse a pencil to mark your quilt. It will not come off. You a water soluable pen like Mark-B-Gone or a chalk pencil but not a lead pencil. I make as I go and then spritz to remove the marls after I have finished each section.

can't help you but my DH loved your quilt...could you tell me the pattern or did you disign it yourself. Beautiful!!

I usually use a regular pencil to mark my tops. It will wash out if you mark lightly. If I make a mistake and mark too heavily, I may have to wash the finished quilt a couple of times to get all the marks out.

I mark as I go and use mark-be-gone or disapearing ink pens. It works for me and I don't have to worry about the marks being rubbed off by handling. Beautiful Quilt too!

I mark as I go and use chalk pencils. By the time I finish the quilt it has all rubbed off.
chalk comes in different colors. Some last better that others.