removing pencil marks
 

I have been working on a large church banner for quite some time now. I had an initial design which had many minor modifications along the way. I am close to finishing the top now, but I really need to remove many, many pencil marks that were made when I *thought* the design was finished. The worst was when I started to put on the celtic knot work border, I discovered it was way too overwhelming and I had to change the plan. But, I had already marked the border with pencil and the placement of the motifs, and it is all so visible now.

Do any of you know a method to remove the pencil marks--or at least to make them far less visible? The fabric is all 100% cotton, and the marks are all on various shades of white and cream.

Thank you for your responses. If the markings were close to where the border or appliqués were, that is one thing; but since the border appliqué was changed entirely, the markings are all in the wrong spots. Ugh.

Carolyn

Could you try erasing them? I would try one of the hand held erasers on a sample first. Some erasers just smear pencil marks. Or I suppose they would wash out if you are planning to wash the banner when you finish.

Try a pencil eraser on the end of a pencil (a clean one) and see if that helps

I just read that you should use hairspray. Try it on one spot to check it out.

Erasing does not work. I've tried that many times. Sigh.

I think I've heard rubbing alcohol helps but I would definitely try it on a scrap. Good luck and let us know how things work out for you.

I used a fabric eraser but had to keep cleanig it otherwise it did smudge and make a mess.

Oops. I recently took a quilt design class and the teacher told us to NOT mark our fabrics with pencil, because it was impossible to get out. :(

Maybe a google search "how to remove pencil marks from fabric" would yield results.

I just finished hand quilting a quilt and had a lot of pencil marks. I used an eraser, but it only erased a few of the marks. I found success using a product called Marking Pencil Removal from Quilter's Rule Int'l. It is a liquid spray. I sprayed it on the mark, let it sit briefly, then scrubbed with a soft bristle toothbrush. I had to repeat two or three times on the most stubborn marks, but when it dried, all the marks were gone. I highly recommend it.