Removing pencil markings
 

I just finished quilting a quilt 72" x 72" totally needle turn applique with 12" blocks around the outside with a center panel surrounded with an inner border and sashing. It took me a year to applique, then six months to hand quilt. I marked it with mechanical pencil. It is mostly cross hatch. In matching up from block to block, sometimes my markings were slightly off and I had to remark. I had a good pink farber eraser that took care of many of the visible markings, but too many remained. I finished quilting thinking I would have to live with the marks. I do not want to wash this appliqued quilt at least until I have to. It will be mostly on a bed for display. I decided to use a product called Marking Pencil Removal from Quilter's a Rule Int'l. I sprayed it on the marks and worked it into the fabric with a soft bristle toothbrush. Some marks took more work than others, but it works. The visible pencil marking is gone and I am happy. I will post a picture when the quilt is bound.

Glad that worked out for you. I use pencil most of the time for marking-- but Always launder every quilt as soon as the binding is finished. I consider the laundering as the final step to completion-- especially quilts that contain any amount of hand work since the oils from our hands can cause spots in time if it hasn't been washed.

I never use a regular lead pencil for marking my quilts. I never mark a quilt for quilting. I do mostly FMQ.
Like ckcowl I always wash my finished quilts.

I have stayed away from REGULAR graphite pencils (the ones we all used in school and every day) since I saw a gorgeous antique quilt in the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth, TX many, many years ago. It had been hand pieced, appliqued, and hand quilted, and marked with a pencil whose lines were still prominently evident on the quilt over 125 years later. To me, as a quilter, it didn't really detract from the appeal of the quilt -- because it just added to the charm and history of it -- but I knew then I didn't want pencil marks on my own quilts. I don't expect them to be hanging in a respected museum a century from now!

I use a water washable graphite drawing pencil from General. For me it works well on light or dark fabrics and washes out when I wash my quilts after binding them.

Jan in VA

I hand quilted this quilt. Couldn't do it without marking.

I mark my quilts when I am ready to do the quilting with a regular school #2 pencil. After I get the quilting done,
I bind it. I then put is in washer on gentile with laundry soap and a little Zeab stain remover (get at walmart in paint department). This takes all pencil marks out and never has did anything to my quilts. I started using it to get the stains out of my husbands work clothes years ago. This stuff takes the stains out and never harms the color.
Best stuff I have ever used.

I too am glad it worked with you. I prefer using a Hera marker (by Clover) to mark my crosshatching lines.
http://www.joann.com/clover-hera-marker/9620873.html
I learned how to use this quilting tool from EB. Nothing to remove.

Thank you for posting this. I have bookmarked this product as there are times I could use something like this as well.

I use generals chalk pencils to mark now, after trying numerous other markers.